It's hard to hate on Hyman Strachman. He's a 92-year-old World War II veteran who was featured in The New York Times over the weekend because he's sent some 4,000 boxes full of DVDs to members of our nation's military serving overseas. Sounds like quite a mensch? Well, that and one of the world's biggest bootleggers.
Shocked you, didn't I? Now you know why he ended up in the Grey Lady. But what really shocked me is the response Strachman's DVD piracy is getting from our troops.
They adore him! Literally, he's been dubbed "a hero to soldiers."
Even though they know exactly what he's been doing in his home in New York. Kind of ... odd, don't you think? Considering our military is charged with protecting the American way of life, and here Strachman is breaking American law. Shouldn't they be angry with him? They are supposed to defend our Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. And he's a domestic threat of sorts ... albeit in a pretty tame way.
The guys who spoke out on his behalf make a good case for him. The number one request from servicemembers serving far from home is movies. It's the kind of thing that keeps them entertained when they're off duty, the kind of thing that gives them an escape from the hard work they do every day, the kind of thing that connects them to home. And the only thing they get from movie studios is old-fashioned reel-to-reel films and projectors. It's like a bad flashback to the 1970s.
I respect the heck out of what they do, and I have donated many times over to charities that send boxes to our troops. I think they deserve something better than what they get right now.
I just don't think bootlegged movies are "better." I think Strachman means well, but what he's doing is really a slap in the face for our military. They fight for us so some guy can sit in his house stealing movies and costing the government thousands in taxes that are levied on the movie industry, costing the movie industry thousands that would be fed back into the economy via their employees' paychecks?
I don't hate Hyman Strachman. But I certainly don't think he's a hero.
Is this no big deal because it's a bad thing for a good cause or something so illegal you can't look past it?
Image via bizmac/Flickr
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Comments 50
It's nice that he "meant well", but can we really take a person's good intentions into account when deciding whether or not they've committed a crime? His crime is not less serious because he meant well or honestly couldn't afford DVDs.
There are other things he could have done. Personally, I didn't know that our troops really want DVDs. He could get the word out, I will happily send movies to our soldiers! I have sent care packages in the past and movies were never on the list of desired items.
I'm going to let you in on a few secrets...... 1) It's a shit hole over there. Literally. There is no sanitation system and people literally just throw refuse in the street. 2) The only thing in that shit hole, besides terrorism, is knock offs of anything you can think of, including movies. A service member can get any movie you can think of, including anything that just came out in theaters, while deployed. The fact that a 92 year old man wanted to send them movies wasn't even necessary as far as them obtaining movies, but a 92 year old man, living on a probably very tight, fixed income, DID do something that many people of all ages in this country can't seem to find it in their heart to do, CARE.
wow, i wish i had seen this sooner. the person that wrote this sounds like a tool, a big fat giant tool. the troops buy their own body armor and socks for crying out loud but the government pays salaries to already millionaires for life out of our tax dollars after 2 to 4 years of service. jeanne sager you sound like a yuppie snob who has no idea what kind of crap the troops go through for a government that doesn't care about them or anyone else but the people who contribute to their campaigns.