Marine Shot in Cleveland: Should America Pull Out of Ohio?

"...since he was a Marine and didn't have any money he didn't deserve to live...."

An interesting attitude, to say the least.

Marine Lance Corporal Robert Crutchfield was home on leave, at a bus stop, with his girlfriend, when thugs shot him. He died months later, from an infection.

His death is a loss to his family, and to America.

"Who's to blame?" I can imagine some fairly stock responses:

• The Bush administration, for deceiving America and invading Iraq through a culture of deception (this practically makes sense, since Corporal Crutchfield probably wouldn't have been standing on that corner if it weren't for American military actions in Iraq)
• America's military-industrial complex, because the dead Marine had been following his (military) commander's advice when he was killed
• Liberal media, for whipping anti-America feelings up to a fever pitch

And of course, an oldie but goodie: Crutchfield was a victim of victims of society.

There isn't enough data in the news reports to make a sensible choice, but I'm inclined to think that whoever pulled the trigger is personally responsible for making a decision to kill someone else out of pique. It's likely that the killer was disappointed because the corporal didn't have much money.

Here's an excerpt from the news, about this Marine. I suggest that you read the whole article: he sounds like a fine young man, and I'm sure that his friends and family miss him.

"Marine, back from Iraq, shot dead in his home town"
CNN (June 2, 2008)

"On leave from the violence he had survived in the war in Iraq, a young Marine was so wary of crime on the streets of his own home town that he carried only $8 to avoid becoming a robbery target.

"Despite his caution, Lance Cpl. Robert Crutchfield, 21, was shot point-blank in the neck during a robbery at a bus stop...."

"Crutchfield was attacked on January 5 while he and his girlfriend were waiting for a bus. He had heeded the warnings of commanders that a Marine on leave might be seen as a prime robbery target with a pocketful of money, so he only carried $8, his military ID card and a bank card.

" 'They took it, turned his pockets inside out, took what he had and told him since he was a Marine and didn't have any money he didn't deserve to live. They put the gun to his neck and shot him,' Holt Crutchfield's aunt] told The Associated Press...."

"... Connie LaNasa, who works in the school office, said Crutchfield was a well-behaved student and went about his school work with little notice.

" 'He lived out what he wanted to do and that is to be a Marine,' LaNasa said.

"Faculty members remembered Crutchfield as a top student in the computer design program, an office assistant and participant in the prom fashion show."

Now, about America's involvement in Ohio: Of course, I don't think America should pull out. Appealing as the idea is, I don't think that any American state or city should be abandoned, just because it's a dangerous place to live. The people who live there deserve better.

Although the circumstances are very different, I think that American involvements in other parts of the world are important. I also think that America has a responsibility, as one of the few countries or organizations which care about freedom - and can do something about that concern.