Laughter in a War Zone

national | anti-war / imperialism | other press

Thursday May 28, 2009 13:18

by Ronan Gallagher

Sick Jokers for Kilkenny Festival

Alonzo Bodden arrived in Ireland this week for the Carlsberg Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival. He’s back here after playing to US troops at Camp Liberty in Iraq. As a former Stealth Bomber mechanic, Alonzo was no stranger to the military world when he signed up to bring a bit of laughter to the lives of troops on active service. The zany comic told Jay Richardson wittily in an interview published in today’s Irish Times.

“I have so much respect for the military and I know the pride they take in what they do, and their discipline. They’re still human though, and in stressful situations, sometimes people crack.”

Bodden and fellow troop entertainers, Lewis Black and Kathleen Madigan, who are also at Kilkenny this week, see the serious side of their work delivering as they do vital psychological release for military personnel, many of whom will be young soldiers away from home for the first time.
Bodden is very proud to have brought a little laughter into the lives of troops stationed in Kuwait, Israel, Panama, Jordan, Honduras, Cuba, Egypt, Spain, Turkey and Guam during the course of his comic career.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2009/0528/....html

Comments (1 of 1)

why does irish times publish this sort of stuff ?

by ronan g

Thu May 28, 2009 13:45

I wonder if the Irish Times knows or cares about the generally anti-war sentiments of its readership when they publish this sort of interview . The article carries not a word about the fact that the same military these people get paid to entertain is responsible for the deaths of over a million Iraqis. When two British servicemen were shot by the IRA two months ago the Irish Times whipped up howls of indignation : howls of laughter for these sicko comedians .