Sending prisoners and the unemployed to Afghanistan

One of the most popular parts of the local newspaper, The Herald-Mail, is the Mail Call section. It’s where people call in and leave messages about the things that concern them. To be honest, I used to think that The Herald-Mail was just making up these calls. Most of them are almost too silly and too entertaining for me to believe that they are true.

I’ve since changed my mind. I’ve realized that the Hagerstown area has no shortage of the type of people that would call into Mail Call.

Here’s one that caught my attention today:

I’m a veteran. What they should do is empty out the prisons, and all these young guys hanging on the streets, and send them to Afghanistan. They’re not doing any good on the streets where they’re at now. All the prisoners and people that’s unemployed and stuff, roaming the streets, send them to Afghanistan. Let them fight the war.

As an unemployed person, I really appreciate being grouped in with people in prison. As bad as getting laid off was two months ago, if this person was in charge, I would be on a plane right now sitting next to Bernie Madoff and Charles Manson heading to Afghanistan.

That would really suck.