ENOUGH OF THE BS THAT DOES NOT WORK! Raise awareness THEY CAN HEAL PTSD!

2 motorcycle convoys are headed for Ottawa. One worries it will be mistaken for the other

CBC News
Avanthika Anand
Posted: Aug 05, 2023

The Rolling Barrage motorcycle rally, pictured in St. John's, N.L. where it kicked off this year's event on Aug 1. (Submitted by Scott Casey)

As two motorcycle convoys descend on Ottawa, the organizer behind one rally worries it may be mistaken for the other.

On and off for the last seven years, the Rolling Barrage cross-country motorcycle ride has come to the National Capital Region to raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among military veterans.

This year, the ride's organizer Scott Casey said he's worried another motorcycle convoy might distract from his campaign.

The Rolling Barrage is expected to pull into Ottawa on Wednesday. When it does, Casey is concerned his riders may be mistaken for the Rolling Thunder motorcycle convoy, a group whose origin can be traced back to the self-described "Freedom Convoy" that occupied downtown Ottawa in the winter of 2022.

Rolling Thunder arrived in Ottawa Saturday, just days before Casey and his group.

"I honestly don't know what their mission is," Casey said. "Whatever they have planned... that serves absolutely no purpose to us whatsoever."

Upon returning from that tour, one of Casey's close colleagues died by suicide. That tragedy became the catalyst for starting The Rolling Barrage PTSD Foundation in 2016.

One year later, Casey launched the namesake ride, "for combat veterans and first responders, [to] specifically create peer support right across the country for those people and their families."

"PTSD and operational stress injury is essentially a moral injury. It can be treated, and it's a matter of finding the right piece of the puzzle that works for you," Casey said. "It's just a different injury. So it was important for me to be able to raise awareness [around] that." read more here

What the hell is going on, or more to the point, why is it still going on? How many groups need to begin because of yet one more suicide that didn't need to happen? How many more need to "raise awareness" about #PTSD before they themselves become aware of what works instead of what they want to do based on abysmal limited knowledge of what works?

Yes, they understand the suffering especially if they suffer from PTSD. Yes, they know that it helps to stop isolating and be around people again. What they haven't become aware of is the simple fact that veterans and all those hit by PTSD because of their jobs need to learn the most important lessons of all.

The first one is millions of survivors join the PTSD club no one wants to belong to every year from surviving as a civilian and most of the time, all it takes is one time to do it. How many times do they face trauma on their jobs? Once they learn how prevalent PTSD is, they begin to understand that no amount of training can turn them into machines able to withstand what PTSD does. No matter how much training they are given, how brave, dedicated and tough they are, they are just human after all. 

The second one is that they may not be cured but they can heal and more often than not, they can become a better person than they ever imagined when they do heal. Why? Because they turn around and help others heal too and that spreads a lot faster than bad news. 

How about all these groups decide it is time to spread something veterans can find hope in instead of reminding them about how others took their own lives because they didn't find hope to help them stay alive one more day?

ENOUGH OF THE BS THAT DOES NOT WORK! Raise awareness THEY CAN HEAL PTSD!