Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
Govt. Files Motion To Dismiss In Jeremy Hall Case
Yesterday, July 8, 2008 the U.S. Government attorneys filed a motion to dismiss atheist soldier Specialist Jeremy Hall's case against Major Freddy Welborn and Secretary Of Defense Gates. (Here's a copy of the memo supporting the motion to dismiss in PDF format.)
Their reasons? Why, Specialist Hall cannot show that he was "injured" by Major Welborn, or that his non-existent "injury" would be likely to happen in the future. Also be cause he didn't use the Army's intra-military grievance procedures to redress his complaint before contacting the MRFF and filing suit in Federal court.
Yeesh. This is turning into a mess. If you are in the military, then military procedures need to be followed, even if they are stupid - as they were in this case. I can sympathize with Specialist Hall - and the reasons why he didn't go through normal military channels to address his grievance are crystal clear. I mean, it's like asking the fox to investigate himself for stealing the chickens from the hen house. Sometimes you just have to squawk loud enough so that the farmer comes out to see what all the commotion is about.
But, as much as it pains me to say it, I'm afraid that Jeremy and the MRFF are going to lose this one.
No matter what his reasons were, or how much sense it made to avoid going through military channels at the time - and make no mistake about it, it did make sense at the time - the fact remains that he should have gone through those channels first, then filed suit afterward if his complaint was not resolved to his satisfaction.
The military rules are not perfectly set up to allow a grievance like Jeremy's to be fairly investigated and acted upon. That much is perfectly clear. However, ignoring the rules was not the right course of action. It just gave the U.S. Attorneys all kinds of legalese and bureaucratic bullshit ammo to use to dismiss the case.
Now NOTHING will get fixed, and the Christian fundamentalists who run our military will continue doing what they do, treating non-Christians of any stripe as second-class citizens and soldiers.
I'm not saying I like it, but it is what I think is going to happen. I admire Jeremy for his willingness to stand up for our country and for our constitution, but I don't think that a victory is in the cards.
This time, anyway.
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Still, Mr. Hall's efforts
Still, Mr. Hall's efforts have been nothing short of heroic and will surely make it easier for the next soldier to complain about discrimination against atheists. I am so tired of the religious believing they have the right to dictate how everyone else thinks, especially in our military where everyone should understand the importance of upholding the Constitution.
Rule of Law
The rule of law is probably the only way for a civilized society to run, but it's only as good as the laws we write.
Following the proper channels wouldn't have done him any good at the time, and may have made the situation worse, but hindsight being 20/20 it's too bad that he didn't.
I must have been lucky
I was openly Atheist when I was in the military, and never once encountered the kinds of flack that I hear about other soldiers going through today. True, my time of service was during the Reagan and first Bush administrations, and though it seems strange to say, they weren't nearly as pompous in their religiosity (GHWB's "No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots." statement aside).
There were a lot of casual references to religion on a daily basis, in the sense that it was just sort of assumed that you were a Christian, maybe a Jew, and on a rare occasion, a Nation of Islam follower. The only option I had for "religion" on my dog tags was "Other", but that may have changed before I got out (can't remember that far back.)
But I never once shied away, nor felt I had to, from telling a superior NCO or Officer that I was an Atheist so no, I would NOT join them in prayer. A Major tried the "If you don't want to pray, look down and inspect the shine on your boots for the next minute or so" on a group of us before some meeting, and I didn't feel the least hesitation in refusing to do that. I knew my shine was good and had no need to inspect it.
I never tried to start a meeting of like-minded individuals, nor saw any indication that anyone else was trying to do that in my areas of operation, but I would have gladly gone to one just for the hell of it. (Get it? See what I did there?)
Yea, the kid should have gone through the channels, but it's just a goddamned shame that he needed to in the first place.
Rob Miles
--
There are only 10 types of people in the world;
those who understand binary and those who don't.
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