What I learned from HBO about the US Marines

My husband rented Generation Kill, an HBO production about the Iraq War based upon articles in Rolling Stones magazine.  I watched the first ten minutes and learned the following:  US Marines are exceptionally foul-mouthed (which I actually believe, ’cause they’re young and male).  They’re homophobes with subliminal homoerotic instincts.  They’re extremely racist, but in a friendly way.  They hate “Commies” although they don’t know what they are.  They are pedophiles who hate children.  And they want to kill, kill, kill — to hell with any moral underpinings regarding their actions.

The series is highly acclaimed, but I just got disgusted and quit watching.  If the Marines aren’t as they were presented in the show, it was a vile slander.  And if they are, frankly, I don’t want to know.  I need to be protected by Orwell’s “rough men” and I’d prefer to keep alive some illusions about my protectors.