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Goggins, David. Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds. Lioncrest, 2020.

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Quote 1: “Life dealt me a bad hand. I was born broken, grew up with beat downs, was tormented in school, and called n***** more times than I could count” (11).

His family lived in extreme poverty and was bullied more than he can ever count. He lived in harsh conditions.

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Quote 2 “Hard Ceilings. That there are some things we just can’t do no matter how mentally tough we are. When we hit our genetic ceiling, he said, mental toughness doesn’t enter into the equation. Everyone in that room seemed to accept his version of reality because this senior, tenured professor was known for researching mental toughness… someone in the audience noticed the look on my face and asked if I agreed. And if you ask me a direct question, I won’t be shy. “There is something to be said for living it instead of studying it”... What you said is true for most people, but not 100 percent” (12-13).

A senior professor discusses how genetic factors can set limits, making a debate among the students and teacher.

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David's routine after talking back to his dad was to strip off his clothes when arriving home, getting ready for the beating that always followed. The beating lasted for several minutes, hitting him on his thighs, legs, and more, until his father was exhausted. Then Goggins would go limping back to his room.

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Quote 3 “I’m leaving your father. You two can stay or you can come with me…. I shot out of that chair like it was on fire, grabbed a few black garbage bags, and went upstairs packing” (32).

After dealing with Trunnis's abuse, David and his mom had enough and decided to leave him for good.

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Quote 4 “We stayed with my grandparents for the next six months, and I enrolled in the second grade–for the second time— at a local Catholic school called Annunciation” (35).

After his family left Trunnis, they lived with his grandparents for six months. During this time, Goggins enrolled in the second grade again, this time at a local Catholic school named Annunciation.

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Quote 5 “... none of the other kids I knew I was repeating a year with, and there was no doubt that I needed it. I could barely read, but I was lucky enough to have Sister Katherina as my teacher” (36).

Goggins repeated a grade without his classmates knowing, but he was lucky enough to have a supportive teacher who helped him greatly with his studies.

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Quote 6 “Third grade was a shock to my system. Not Just because we had to learn cursive when I was still getting the hand of reading block letters, but because our teacher, Ms. D, was nothing like sister Katherine” (39).

Goggins entered third grade, struggling with reading block letters, but his new teacher, unlike Ms. Katherine offered less support, making him fall behind.

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Quote 7 “I started cheating my ass off. Studying was hard, especially with my fucked up brain, but I was a damn good cheat. I copied friends’ homework and scanned my neighbors work during tests” (42).

Goggins began cheating because he struggled to keep up with his class due to the abuse he faced.

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Quote 8 “Then, when I was in fourth grade, she met Wilmoth, a successful carpenter and general contractor from Indianapolis… There was no violence in him. He gave us permission to exhale. With him around it felt like we had support. Like something good was finally happening to us” (45).

David’s Mom finally found someone she can love without being scared or in fear.

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Quote 9 “They’d been stalking him out for hours, waiting for a window, and as he climbed out from the driver’s side door, they stepped from the shadows and fired from close range. He was shot five times in the chest. When he dropped to the floor of his garage, the gunman stepped over him and delivered a kill shot right between his eyes” (48).

Wilmot, David's mother's partner, was unexpectedly shot dead in front of him, ruining the peace he had found.

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Quote 10 “Overeager little boy ran toward our bus carrying a platter of cookies. The driver didn’t see him. The bus jerked forward. I noticed the alarmed look on his mother’s face before the sudden crush of blood splattered my window. His north howled in horror” (50)

A boy ran toward our bus with cookies. The driver didn't see him, causing a tragic accident.

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Goggins made the freshman basketball team, but his grades and the cost of the school led him to leave after a year.

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Members would parade down Brazil's main street on Independence Day, wearing their distinctive hoods.

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https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2021.33.26

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National Museum of African American History and Culture

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Photograph by

Platon, British, born 1968

Subject of

Ku Klux Klan, 2nd, American, 1915 - 1944

Medium

pigment on paper

Dimensions

H x W (image): 19 3/4 × 14 1/4 in. (50.2 × 36.2 cm)

H x W (sheet): 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)

Description

A black-and-white photograph of Ku Klux Klan Regalia, by Platon. At the center of the photograph are a set of white, full length, Klan robes and a matching hood displayed on a form. The hood is conical-shaped and has a back flap with squared corners. The face mask attached to the pointed hood is pulled down. The robe is secured at the front with a row of buttons. Sewn over the proper left breast is a machine embroidered, round patch with a light tone, square cross outlined in black against a medium tone background. At the center of the cross is a black outlined, white diamond with an embroidered "blood drop," oriented vertically inside the white diamond. The design is typically referred to as the "Mystic Insignia of a Klansman" (MIOAK). The robes and hood are slightly wrinkled. The background of the photograph is black. The photograph has a thick white border. The edition number, [5/12], is printed in the bottom left corner. The photographer's signature and date, [Platon 19], is handwritten in the bottom right corner. Inside the border, at the bottom center, is the photographer's embossed mark: [PLATON ? / EDITIONED ? / PRINT ?[encircled between two bands of embossed dots]]. The back of the photograph is plain and white.

Statement

Objects depicting symbols of hate or related to organized hate groups may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate history and culture.

Place printed

New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

Place captured

Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America

Classification

Media Arts-Photography

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Platon

Object number

2021.33.26

Restrictions & Rights

© Platon

Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5d9f11e0a-5d6c-4f14-a191-cb27e4290e96

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A black-and-white photograph of Ku Klux Klan Regalia, by Platon. At the center of the photograph are a set of white, full length, Klan robes and a matching hood displayed on a form. The hood is conical-shaped and has a back flap with squared corners.

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Scott Gearen shared a horrible experience of a mid-air collision during a jump. Knocked unconscious and fell, he luckily survived after being brought back alive twice in the ER.

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Attached to a SEAL team in 1987, one Airman began what was to be a normal parachute training out of a Marine CH-46 helicopter at 13,000 feet. Freefalling around 3,500 feet
watching vast Virginia state scenery; the Airman opened his chute, everything was clear until another Airman pummeled through his parachute.

The Air Force Pararescue staff sergeant woke up in the hospital several days later with no recollection of what happened.

"The memory I have of the actual event is very limited to the physical aspect, the things that happened were described to me," retired Master Sgt. Scott Gearen said. "The mind blocks out a lot of the pain, so I don't remember much prior to being on the airplane and jumping and then two or three days later I knew I was severely hurt."

Gearen sustained major injuries to the point where he was unrecognizable. Doctors found that he had fractured his skull in multiple places along with several bones and sockets shattered.

For three months of his recovery, Gearen knew he was in good hands and was very confident of being taken care of and everything would be ok. Having family, friends and Airmen around him pushed Gearen to remain in the service. His drive to stay on active duty was only a few of the reasons he continued to serve.

"I wanted to finish in my Pararescue career on my terms rather than having an incident like that cause me to have an injury that I couldn't recover from. I was blessed and lucky enough that my injuries were something that I could overcome. It was a matter of the willpower and the will to survive and the desire to want to continue being a Pararescuemen."

Lying in the hospital bed, Gearen began to think about the positives of his current situation. He started to recollect of being in technical school at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico and hearing about the commandant at the time, Senior Master Sgt. Donald Baehr, with similar experiences. Which pushed him to recover faster.

"He's had two parachute malfunctions and had severe injuries on both of them and came back in the career field as a Pararescuemen. I was thinking I only had one parachute malfunction ... I can't quit yet unless I have least three. If he can't quit, I can't quit."

As his recovery progressed, Gearen remembers it being a team effort to help support the recovery. With some thinking that he may never come back, they still supported his goals to stay a Pararescuemen. To him another motivator to prove that he was still a strong and able Airman. Gearen mentions it was an overall team effort, which helped him put his situation in perspective and continued to jump 18 months after the accident.

Gearen gave a few words of advice for Airmen, mentioning that everybody is going to have tough times, some more than others, good day and bad days.

"You find something deep inside you that is going to make you want to continue to pursue your job or your goal and you just don't quit. You just keep going until you succeed," he said.

From his experience, Gearen has made an effort since to reach out and continue being an Airman, to share his message on resilience.

"After hearing about Gearen's heroic journey, and knowing that he is a part of our 70 ISRW family, we knew he would be a true 'Hero Among Us' to represent at this year's Air Force Birthday Ball," Capt. Aaron Morphy, 707th Communications Squadron.

This year, as an extension to the 70th ISRW family, he will be the guest speaker for the Fort Meade and Andrews Air Force Base, Md., 69th Air Force Birthday Ball. Guest that attend the event will have a chance to meet and hear his story of 29 years of resiliency through tough times, and his inspiring journey as an American Airman.

Gearen notes to always do your best because you never know how the choices you make today may impact your tomorrow.

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29 years after injury; Pararescuemen gives back to Airmen

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Attached to a SEAL team in 1987, one Airman began what was to be a normal parachute training out of a Marine CH-46 helicopter at 13,000 feet. Freefalling around 3,500 feet watching vast Virginia state scenery; the Airman opened his chute, everything was clear until another Airman pummeled through his parachute.

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Goggins remembers a tough moment when he scored just 20 out of 99 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test. Despite years of cheating, he was surprised to see a different test format and failed the test requirement for the Air Force.

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After a shower he cleared the steam from the bathroom mirror and saw a person he didn't recognize. He hated with who he had become he had a harsh talk with himself, making him realize it was time to face reality and change.

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He saw that the people who made him uncomfortable were struggling themselves. Understanding that making fun of others based on race showed their own issues, not his, he realized their behavior came from their own insecurities

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The army instructor nodded, smiled, and left him the truth. He had less than three months to lose 106 pounds. It sounded like an impossible task which is one reason he didn’t quit.

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Watch This Guy Get Wrecked While Trying Navy SEAL David Goggins’ Extreme Workout and Diet

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The “epic and intense” routine supposedly helped Goggins lose 100 pounds in 3 months.

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David Goggins watched the Rocky movie from his couch, explaining the storyline. Rocky faces more and more challenges, losing ground in the fight. In the 14th round, he's knocked down but rises up.

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He weighed himself every day, and in just two weeks, he lost twenty-five pounds. As he kept working hard, the weight came off quickly. In ten days, he reached 250 pounds, allowing him to start doing push-ups, pull-ups, and intense running

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After training hard for 3 months, and studying, David Goggins successfully became a SEAL candidate that he had worked so hard for.