Let’s see past the stereotyping of veterans

Nobody likes to be stereotyped. It’s not fair, and it’s not mostly accurate and it can be offensive. For example, there are some nice estate agents out there, some salespeople are quite humble, and we can assure you that local journalists do not hide in bins to steal your secrets – despite what the writers of EastEnders would have you believe.

And there’s the rub… when you think about it, a lot of the stereotypes have been perpetuated by television drama, soap operas and will films. It’s because this shorthand is, for a writer, a useful way of introducing a character, so as to not spend the audience’s time having to explain their personality. But this doesn’t help real-life people dealing with the reallife world. And this is what Jay Saunders’ – justified – complaint is.

He developed PTSD after dealing with the terrifying outbreak of Ebola in Sierra Leone. As he says today: ‘Veterans are always stereotypical in TV dramas and in films – especially those with PTSD. They are automatically a danger to society, a loner who can’t socially interact.’

Now, people in this area more than anywhere know that veterans have issues that they have to cope with, but equally we know that these issues do not equate to being a dangerous loner.

So while Ross Kemp can help spread the word, we can all do the same. It’s a good rule of thumb for all areas of life, but let’s be careful not to judge – or pre-judge – people through our own bias. In the case of the lone wolf, damaged veteran, let’s think again. We are surrounded by veterans’ groups who do great work not just for but with veterans in this area, and who are largely run by veterans. We're thinking of Forgotten Veterans UK and Veterans Outreach Support in Portsmouth, to name but two.

Every autumn we stand in remembrance, wearing a poppy, with and for veterans. Let's make sure we open our minds as well.