GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Worldwide mourning over the tragic death of retired NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and eight others in a helicopter crash on Sunday also happens to be the best possible time to bring up the fact that roughly 22 veterans are lost to suicide every day, says local veteran Adrian Smith.
Smith, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, wasted no time shaming people on Facebook who were publicly mourning Bryant’s death instead of publicly mourning the death of a Marine who served with Smith back in 2006 when both were lance corporals.
“There’s a whole lot of people posting tributes for some stupid basketball player but no one seems to care about Lance Cpl. Joey Banks, one of the 22 veterans who kill themselves every day,” Smith posted on Facebook, thinking that surely most of his friends on the social network would immediately attempt to learn more about his fallen comrade instead of thinking that Smith is a total fucking asshole.
