Here is a post on the comments section of the post titled, I can Admit When I'm Wrong I thought I should post it on my main page instead of burried in the comments section. Let me know what you guys think.
Anonymous said...
Funny title...'Cause it really seems like you never do! And as if you haven't already asked for enough sympathy--when really you should take some responsibility--do you really need a DONATE button?
You're probably not even man enough to leave this comment up so as to not spoil your pathetic image you've worked so hard to "create"...we don't all believe in it though, FYI. Some people can see right through you. Sad how you need attention so badly, you'll even take the negative bits to satisfy your super ego. Grow up, man! And be honest with yourself!
Beware, readers of Zachary, it isn't all he makes it sound to be!
February 16, 2009 7:31 PM
18 comments:
...And once again, here he looks for more attention, support, and sympathy...
Go ahead, shower him with words of praise and sympathy and tell him how good he is...poor guy. :(
As a reader..I'm curious to know what your problem is? A donation button? An ego? Neither seem worthy of breeding such hatred. Enlighten us.. please.
What isn't all he makes it to be? You criticize but yet you are here again being a voyeur of his life.
Hatred? No. Voyeur? Not exactly. Try this...maybe this opinion is based on more facts than the mere blog observations most of you are making--you're only getting this one sided picture painted by the artist himself.
He omits truth to not tarnish his reputation, to still appear beautifully and tragically broken. There's more, much more. And it's frustrating to see his sickness for attention be fed by people who don't get his full, honest story all the time.
And perhaps this is less for you readers and more a cry for Mr. Scott-Singley to take a minute and be honest--at least with himself, if not for the small following you know you're proud of. It's sad how you can be explicitly honest on things that might help gain attention for yourself, but completely deceive the truth on anything that may accomplish less than that. Maybe you'll never get better if you can't live up to something for once and take responsibility. And obviously, we're no longer talking about sideburns here, are we? It should be okay that this person has chosen not to feel sorry for you and cares more about seeing you do TRULY better for yourself and those who are living among your obviously disheveled existence. Just a thought. Perhaps reading a title that actually seemed promising for once and then finding there was no salt to it at all was...well...sad...and disappointing.
Hey, he paid his dues, more than most some would say. Some days life sucs & we all get down & could use some sympathy, attention & understanding. Hope we can all find some happy in our lives & get better from what is obviously still some combat issues for alot of our generation. If you can't help the situation then go bother someone else. It's easy to sit @ your keyboard & act like the xpert in dealing with combat issues but until you've "walked a mile in a soldier's boots" ........ would it kill you to say a kind word once in awhile?
Buzzy
Excuse me?! Nobody knows the military better than me...but you can't use that as a crutch to excuse all things--plenty of soldiers with PTSD who have honestly seen even more than this one have managed to take better responsibility (not for their having combat stress--because it's unavoidable--but for how they've handled it and what they were willing to keep hold of/throw away because of it).
If you don't know what I'm talking about, then obviously there's alot more you don't know that would probably clarify this all for you! I absolutely appreciate my fellow military families. There's my kind word. But this has no more to do with Zachary's military service than his blog "I can admit when I'm Wrong" had to do with realization or admission. Does it, Zach?
Sometimes helping a situation means confronting it instead of either hiding behind it or completely running away from it. Period.
Its clear that you know Zachary on a personal level. Maybe this is a conversation you should have with him. I can't say I see the pertinence of you coming on here and lashing out. This is not the appropriate venue. Sometimes finding a connectivity and brotherhood in another's words can be healing. Even if, as you claim, Zachary is not he seems to be, if his words offer comfort to even one other, why attempt to destroy that out of your own personal hurt.
Just a bystander, but it seems like this is a perfectly appropriate venue. This blog is years old and it seems like not much progress has been made for the blogger, so maybe he needs someone to be honest with him and not sugarcoat everything with empty words of support. If the person who left those comments does indeed know him personally, then it seems that maybe he's been engaged in something unhealthy or counterproductive and they have found a way to confront him in which he might listen up.
Perhaps giving him something to think about and helping him realize that at some point you have to fess up and finally overcome your battles. And if you're too invested in the enjoyment of receiving that appreciation and sympathy, that can stand in the way of true healing. Kuddos to Zach and kuddos to those who can both support and challenge him. I don't think anyone meant to be hateful.
Zach's already mentioned he's getting therapy [@ his own xpense] & in typical macho stoic guy fashion has tried to bull his way thru the pain, we all have & he should be commended for it. Writing our xperiences down on paper or on the computer screen seems to help alot of us go thru the process of leaving the bad memories safely dealt with & locked away where they belong & moving on with our lives as best we can. Calling Zach out to task or telling him to just get over it shows a clear lack of understanding & compassion @ the very basic level. What Zach needs [or seems to need in mho] is alot of compassion, sincere thanks for doing his difficult job & a kind word from alot of his friends that we'll be here for him & laugh @ his stupid jokes. This too shall pass & we'll all remember the good times & good friends that paid the price & the better way of life we brought to some honorable people that needed our help. It does get better, just takes some time & some true friends that will stand by him.
Buzzy
So you are here asking for an apology? You or someone close to you feel wronged by him and you feel that he should "own up" to something he did. You feel that he is using his PTSD as a crutch to dismiss actions you feel are wrong? The taunting of his blog seems a little immature and not actions of genuine individual. You attack him by saying that he does not fully disclose everything to everyone - do you? Do all your coworkers, friends and family know everything about you? You speak of facts yet you give none. Yes, his story is one sided as is yours. If you feel this offended and concerned by his actions and truly care, then contact him and the Zachary I know would listen at the very least. Say your piece and move on instead of lurking behind your anonymity throwing stones both at him and the readers.
I don't believe this is the forum for such random accusations. Obviously you have a personal vendetta against Zach and it truly has nothing to do with this blog, so why bring it here? To embarrass him and make yourself feel better? It doesn't seem to be working since he posted your comment on his front page, so maybe you should grow up a bit and deal with whatever is going on between you two as an adult. He wrote an entry about mutton chops and you twisted that into him being a horrible person that deserves to be publicly criticized. Maybe you should get the name of his therapist. You can't really expect anything to be solved by this route.
Holy Cow. I haven't seen bouncing off the wall, woodwork gnawing lunacy like that rant since I was a high priced Hair Stylist to the rich and spoiled bitches of Madison Avenue and had to listen to an always self victimized woman get out her violin & start smashing it over the heads of anyone in screaming distance.
God I don't miss a front row to all those dozens of identical scenes that I put up with for over a decade.
I can only assume this is another Vet who's not getting enough attention him/herself, A bitter ex or family member or friend of one who just doesn't get that anyone who chose to be part of Zach's life and knew where he was headed is equally responsible for helping him put himself back together again with a nearly limitless amount of patience & expectation of false starts, failed attempts & starting all over again from behind square one on his part if it takes a decade to make progress.
And if he's going to work and helping to raise his kids then he's doing a lot more than many people I know who've never seen any action beside that in a movie theater but are crippled by psychological problems & depression & are by the assessment of all but their closest loving friends & family deserving of a wide berth. People who've never been near a military uniform or, who by the luck of the draw, are surrounded by family or married to partners loving & compassionate enough to stand by being equally crushed by the depression & anxiety until it eases because that's what you do if you love or even just care about someone let alone someone truly involved in such a person's life. Family or the closest of Friends.
And I know of what I speak. Boy do I!.
Funny that as I've followed this blog since Zach began it, know a good deal about trying to write with depression & severe stress & a chronic likely terminal illness more severe than most average citizens I've ever known but no where near that which I would expect of any service person or for that matter the other natural Hero's of the world those who sign up to fight fires or join law enforcement for once they sign on to any such profession, they are indeed immediately heroic in willingly signing away their lives to fate. But to have lived through infernos carry dead babies from burning buildings or had to go to the site of an urban massacre & look at the carnage of the aftermath of a home invasion gone off the rails or being forced by commanding officers to do things that completely turns your soul inside out in forcing you to perform what would be to any decent person to near madness.
If I had to be around, be friends with or married to a person who'd been where Zach has been. Worse for his understanding the language of the people you are unwillingly inflicting, by your own moral values, horrible pain & suffering upon & unlike most of your comrades, can understand the other sides emotions & words. Am I the only one to get what a monumental difference that makes for Zach compared to those who understand hardly anything but the most basic words?
Well, that puts an entirely different & deeper wound in a soul simultaneoulsly rubbing salt in it.
To the insensitive Boob who complains that this Blog has not progressed enough for a jackass such as yourself.
Hey, cancel your subscription.
Do you go berserk on any celebrity website when your favorite attention seeking musician or actor becomes inconsistent in their blogging? NO.
How do you know what he's doing? And even if you do know. I don't care if you're as close as a twin brother. Then you still can't say at what pace he should be able to do anything
I continued to come here after the first few reads because I saw a chance to reach out to a Troop & know the face & a bit about the person as I felt that sending money & boxes of candy overseas never knowing if they got anywhere or making donations to various military causes some of which I still do, did not convince me that an anonymous check, letter or box of "stuff" was really making a difference to anyone.
I'm selfish. When I water a tree I want to see it grow at least a little and if it grows all twisted. Well all I can do is stick a stake in it's roots & curse at it. But keep it between the tree & me!
I do exactly that to Zach.
I have shown a few intimate friends who get my rather offbeat, "march to my own drummer" no matter what the consequences way but who love me anyway, advise me that perhaps I should edit or soften how I what I write to Zach.
Well you know what. I've never shown anyone one of those missives before already having sent it & before this cowardly, ANONYMOUS attack on him, I can't imagine that even his Mom or Dad would say some of the outrageous things I've said to him because I know what a person who is suffering but truly wants to glue himself back together is willing & even appreciative in hearing. I can recognize a when another human being is blessed with the glue of a sense of humor about himself & his ability to turn it upon himself as that is a common & effective form of therapy.
Only the self pitying, martyrs who want to make no forward movement & make no effort to heal generally refuse to listen to or read the kind of brain rattling words to cajole or email version of a bucket of cold water thrown in their face the way Zach does and always responds with a sense of humor & clear thoughtfulness that shows me he is listening & does not want to be handled with kid gloves & I've never heard one self pitying word from him but rather someone who's only deception is hiding veiling his pain or skirting an uncomfortable topic with the humor I know very well.
You can be writing out suicide letters & pouring pills into a bottle of whiskey, be interrupted by a phone call & dry your tears long enough to talk for a little while crack jokes like all the world's just fine. Then go back to attempting to end your suffering.
I have three ideas of what type of relationship near or possibly not to Zach the person who wrote that bitter, rabid attack & because of my respect for him, I won't say what I normally would in my big mouthed opinionated way.
But go on and re-read this especially the opening and trust me it's only my respect for him that I don't say any more.
I suggest you go visit a Veteran's hospital and ask the men missing limbs if they think that fellow vets who got out with all their body parts in tact have no reason to react and fall deal with their emotions however nature forces a course. You'll be surprised and if you told the most maimed and torn upon all about this and what you have said here...I'll be you see an armless man or woman hand your head to you and shove it up your ass for being such an asshole to him.
I do know that you're a rotten, cold, self pitying piece of crap. You just may deserve as much or MORE sympathy than Zach. Even by far but you're still a shit for doing this to him here & I'm glad that he has the Teflon with which to just post it for all the decent people who come here of whom you sound awfully jealous considering that you go out of your way to minimize us as such a little meaningless bunch of groupies.
It's probably good to have one remind us there are so many pigs who have no respect for those who have the balls to give their lives to protect their country especially when they know that most of what they will be forced to do makes no sense to their individual egos. That's what a soldier does...what he's told with his mouth shut & no one has the right to complain about his course now.
Sure they can complain. They can also go away. If a girlfriend or wife has had her life turned upside down by life with a soldier she certainly deserves as much sympathy as the soldier. But no matter how awful it may have been back home it was still Paradise compared to what he went through. That's why some women don't marry a man who's determine to enter the service or even some give them an ultimatum, stick to their guns & leave when the one they love insists on going.
Yes there are many possibilities as to why a person could become maddeningly frustrated dealing with a depressed or traumatized person but there is no excuse for taking that frustration & turning it into a public lambasting unless you're some kind of sick, damaged soul yourself.
In the end what do you get? Do you feel better or do you feel like the ass you clearly are?
Do you fell vindicated because you inferred there are some horrible secrets Zach's hiding Oooh. Good for you. Want to come see under by bed. I'll really give you something to scream about.
As for those who are pissed off because Zach's not being a good trained seal and balancing enough balls on his nose here. I have an idea. You start a blog & be just half as open about your life then post a link here so we can read it for the month & a half you'll keep it up.
He's going to finish his service in his own time because you see that's just the point. He's still in it.
What the fuck are you doing?
Peace - Out you lousy Twat.
Jerry Tuccillo.
Jerry Tuccillo,
Well done & bravo zulu Sir. Thank you from someone that has come out the other side with the help of unquestioning patient buds & agonizes watching someone else go thru the process & yeah they're all different & some backslide a coupla times before they find the brakes. There is a healthy amount of rightious indignation in your note, as it should be. Trust me nobody want's to know the secrets we have hidden under out beds lest they wake up screaming in the middle of the night. [smells are the worst] Anyway, thank your for helping a buddy in arms & if you don't mind will be printing out your note & probably be copying the good parts for yrs to come. If you have a newsletter I'd like a subscription.
Buzzy
Why thank you Buzzy. I took a great deal of time agonizing over who I might be reaming before I figured it didn't matter. He has enough crap to deal with and I know that when you have a cloud the follows you around like a balloon on a string. It is not for fun. And only someone who is either clueless to suffering of the mind or has an personal axe to grind and frankly I don't think even one's parents have the right to speak to someone like that especially in a public forum.
Zach's written of his father's experiencing some knowledge of what he's going through due to his own experience in war but even if he came on here and publicly said "Zach needs to buck up, I did". I still say "Well you're not Zach and he's not you".
By all means use whatever you like of my post. No, I don't have a sight as I am currently buried by my own demons but I'm supposed to be writing or so everyone who's not in my head tells me.
But you can find my occasional observations, rants and postings of the odd strings and twigs I find on the Internet and comment upon at Facebook as of course...
Jerry Tuccillo (I'll remember the name Buzzy if you just put it in a note with a friend request.
Thank you for supporting Zach. I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I just wing it and figure if he doesn't hunt me down and murder me and keeps thanking me, I can't be too far off.
Regards,
Jerry
Jerry & Buzzy, I applaud your defenses of Zach and couple of other anons out there and could not put it in better words. I Personally do not know Zach but have been reading his blog for years now and know that he has gone thru allot and to be given credit for moving on and trying to make sense of his life after his war experiences and the last thing he should be given is a lambasting by someone who has hate going on and hiding behind an Anonymous name. Obviously he is a coward and cannot show his name or face, thats why he is hiding!!
Zach, he is not worthy of your attention, like all bullies he is not worth the dirt on your shoes!
Hi All,
Very interesting. I also have followed your blog Zach since you started it. I was taken back by the comment left and was not sure what it was all about. I was angered by it, but obviously those who speak better than myself have left thoughtful and passionate responses. I agree with them. I am a person who goes out of her way to make sure I never intentionally hurt another person, so of course the comment was hard for me to understand. I was against the war from the get go, but I would never disrespect a soldier, unless what he was saying was extremely objectionable to my morals or values. I have kept my mouth shut even when I have disagreed. My 16 year old daughter sings and one of the songs she does so well is Traveling Soldier by the Dixie Chicks. Right before Christmas she sang it at a Hotel in Syracuse, NY. Three soldiers currently serving stood and removed their baseball caps. I cried. One came to the mic and hugged and thanked my daughter as he talked of the friends they lost. Again, I cried. The point is, the soldier then started to explain to me how he was proud of what he was doing in Iraq and how they are doing a job. Obviously he believes in what he is doing or needs to believe in it to justify what he does. Now I disagree with what is and has happened, but I would never not offer my respect and support to this soldier. So why then would someone come on here and disrespect Zach - no matter what their personal beliefs? Yes this is an open forum and yes we all have a right to our opinions. But, that does not give us a right to judge others and think that we know what is going on in their heads and hearts. No one has that right. I feel a special bond from following Zach, but by no means do I know him and what goes on inside him. I just attended a funeral of a friend who commmitted suicide. I had no idea he was so depressed. I was so sad and it just makes me wonder how someone could judge or think to know what is going on with Zach when I didn't know how depressed my friend was. Let's all try to be respectful and understanding of all other human beings. If world leaders followed those values, we wouldn't be in Iraq/Afganhistan in the first place. I wish for you Zach: love, peace, and inner sense that things are getting better for you!
Margie from Jordan, NY
PS Zach, I see Benny on your pic. I have a female Springer Spaniel - same color. My first and I love her so much. I always had labs, but since I put my lab to sleep (sickness), we decided to get a different dog because we were so sad over Mia. Now we have Rylie who looks just like Benny. They would make good puppies. Rylie has an awesome personality. Too bad you are so far away. Everyone I know says if we could make a dog just like Rylie - they would take a pup!
Very well put Margie & what special connections you made thru your daughter...very proud
I know Zach Attack here, personally, too. He was my classmate at DLI/FLC, and then my roommate at Goodfellow AFB.
I'm not going to comment anonymously, because I've said everything I'm going to say here to him before, to his face.
Scott Singley, or Scotty (as I call him) is a better fellow than he generally gets credit for.
I knew him pretty well for about three years, and it was funny how from the very beginning he managed to elicit extremely negative reactions from people. I mean, quite a few people hate him at first sight.
He did his best to make an enemy out of me, by insulting and making fun of me frequently when we first knew each other at DLI, and I was struggling a little at the beginning of our follow- on MOS training after basic. He did in fact piss me off.. But after a couple three months, I think he realized I wasn't quite the completely ate up piece of shit that certain people (and DS's) thought I was, and he laid off me.
We gradually warmed to each other, and by the end of our Arabic Basic course, we were friendly. To the point that when people called him a douche bag, I would defend him, saying "Sure, Scotty can be a douche, but there's more to him than that."
Some of my favorite memories of the Army include him.
Like the day we sparred in the surf during our DLI class picnic at Pacific Grove. It was great, our entire class watching, the two of us trying to knock the other one silly for about two minutes. After action, even the fucking Marines were impressed by us. I think it was a draw, Scotty, eh?
Then, after we graduated, he and I did a road trip together from CA to TX, to our follow on assignment at Goodfellow. It was beautiful, the two of us driving through AZ and NM deserts..
When we got to Goodfellow we roomed together. And that is when you really get intimate with someone. (Heh heh. Hell, no, not like that.) You get to know what someone is all about. And Scotty is not a bad fellow. I like and respect Scotty. But he knows (I think, and hope for his sake) that he didn't *always* have my back like he could (and so should) have, then.
And that, ultimately, is really the only thing I will lay at his door.
Scotty, sometimes you're too self absorbed. That self absorption is the source of what other people label "immaturity," "self pity" or "obnoxiousness." That's why you get called a douche bag.
I wish I could give you a prescription to change all that, but I can't.
I'm rooting (in Catholic parlance, praying) for you, though, Scotty. I know you're better than they think, and even better than you sometimes act.
Don't let the fuckers get you down.
Curtis
Post a Comment