Dr. John A. King responds to a veteran who accused him of appropriating PTSD. He clarifies he never claimed to be a veteran, only to have PTSD, and argues that trauma survivors shouldn't compete over whose suffering is worse. Instead, he says, they should unite to address the issue.
So I got contacted by a female vet on social media accusing me of appropriating post-traumatic stress disorder. I didn't think you could. She said I shouldn't be speaking about it because I'm not a veteran. Well, I never claimed to be a veteran, just claimed to have PTSD. And she said that I would never understand what she went through, and I said, no, I won't. So we talked more, and, and then I tried to explain to her I said to her, there's a massive difference. I said, before you signed up, you had a very caring, loving family. You got married, had a caring, loving family, signed up, went over, experienced some trauma, and came back to a caring, loving family, and you're having trouble fitting in. She said, I never had that. When it started for me at 4, I never had a caring, loving family base. All I've ever known is fear, paranoia, stress, concern, and trauma. They're radically different. I don't understand why it has to be a pissing competition. I don't understand why people that have this issue can't just rally together and solve it.
