Would that more journalists saw things this way
ESPN.com's Jemele Hill apologizes to the Duke Lacrosse players wrongfully accused of rape (it's a long passage, but well worth the time and bandwidth):
My being a black woman, my knowing too many athletes who treat women like items to be purchased in a vending machine, and my witnessing enough athlete rape trials where accusers are overwhelmed by their fame and fortune -- it all tainted my perception and made me doubt your innocence.
I feel stupid now.
I could blame Durham County district attorney Mike Nifong, but that would be too easy. Oh, he's a lout, no doubt. He played upon the emotions of a community and its long-held hostilities, and put his reelection bid above morality and common sense. He played all of us and should be punished with nothing less than disbarment.
I could blame Jesse Jackson, who I have hoped for years would disappear to a faraway land where CNN wouldn't follow. As usual, Jesse showed up and showed out. He incited the masses and then left everyone else to sort out the wreckage. And if Jesse wants to gain an ounce of the credibility he no longer has, he would find the nearest camera -- and we know he's good at that -- and express sorrow with all the sincerity he can muster. But the day Jesse apologizes for causing a scene is the day Rosie O'Donnell wears a muzzle.
But if there is anything to be learned from Don Imus' fall, it's that real apologies are never accompanied by rationalizations.
So to Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans, the three Duke lacrosse players whose lives were mangled by an unsupported rape accusation, I say two of the hardest words in the English language:
I'm sorry.
It's not enough, and I won't pretend that it is. For the last year, your lives and those of your families have been more difficult than any of us can possibly imagine. I'll never know what it was like walking around normal society labeled a rapist. I'll never know what it's like to lose everything -- your school, your program and your life -- because of one unproven accusation.
You deserve all of that back and then some, but unfortunately, you won't get it. You have every right to not trust anyone and think less of people. Duke University abandoned you. An overzealous prosecutor tormented you. A community, a nation, didn't believe you. Journalists everywhere, sensing ratings and salivating over the salaciousness of black strippers and white athletes, chose to keep you under attack.
Not that this is a contest to see who was wronged the most, but the Rutgers women's basketball team at least received justice, because Imus was suspended and dropped by MSNBC, which simulcasts his morning show. Plenty of people are outraged on their behalf.
But who is outraged on your behalf? What justice will you receive? Will the same networks that willingly aided in destroying your reputations now give you airtime to vent your frustrations? Will Jesse Jackson now offer the three of you a free scholarship like he did the "victim," since he helped assist in your battered reputation?
Maybe the only modicum of fairness you have received is that the News & Observer in Raleigh decided to print the name of your accuser. I don't normally advocate that the names of alleged victims be printed, but it feels right in this instance.
I know I'd certainly like to ask your accuser a few questions, even though she stood by her story as North Carolina's attorney general vehemently proclaimed your innocence. Does she understand she has tanked not only her credibility, but that of other women, too? Does she understand the next time a woman comes forward with an allegation this serious, all of our minds will scroll back to this case, and we will be less inclined to believe her? Does she know women with legitimate sexual-assault complaints will look at this furor and decide silence is best?
I can't deny that your race, gender and class have everything to do with how you were treated then and how you are treated now. Some people believe white men are exempt from sympathy and incapable of being maligned, so they will not swallow their pride and offer you the decency you should have received in the first place. Yes, you made an unwise decision to entertain strippers at a residence, but that just makes you guilty of being like 90 percent of college males.
Bravo to Ms. Hill, who put politics and BS aside in the face of what is right, and my best wishes to these three young men, who have learned a very painful lesson about race, class, and sex in this country. I hope that they are able to pick up where they left off, and come to a place where people don't know their names except based on their accomplishments and kindnesses.
1
"Bravo to Ms. Hill, who put politics and BS aside in the face of what is right, and my best wishes to these three young men, who have learned a very painful lesson about race, class, and sex in this country. I hope that they are able to pick up where they left off, and come to a place where people don't know their names except based on their accomplishments and kindnesses."
Well said. And kudos to Ms. Hill, for addressing the issues most wouldn't. I especially respected her for addressing actual victims who might choose silence out of fear. That happens too often already and our media isn't doing it's job (not that they ever have, really). Thank you, CTG, for doing the job that they chose not to, and for giving a voice to the REAL victims in this case.
2
Great post and great link. There is such a stark contrast between the uproar over the Imus/Rutgers incident and the lack of it over what these young men had to endure. That alone makes me stop and ponder what is really wrong with our society.
Here from Theresa's!
Posted by: Karin at April 14, 2007 10:16 AM (wwK1H)
3
I'm glad she seems to finally get it and that she apologized. The fact that she compares the more than year long torture these young men have endured (and the continuing stigma that will follow them the rest of their lives - because there are so many who will always consider them to be guilty) with the fairly innocuous dissing of the Rutgers women's basketball team, is troubling. (talk about moral equivalence!)
Everyone raise their hand who thinks that the idiot Imus has labeled these women for life! (yeah, I don't think so either)
I must say that on reading the entire thing, I kept hearing an "Archie Bunker" accent. Honestly, if a white person had written this, they would be crucified for being an over the top extreme bigot and would most certainly lose their "journalist" job.
So, I'm conflicted. I do believe her apology is sincere though and that's something I can seldom if ever say about other liberals. It's a start.
Posted by: Teresa at April 14, 2007 11:24 AM (gsbs5)
4
Wow - that was a great read. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Gretchen at April 19, 2007 09:40 PM (Tpvct)
Science and Belief, Not Incompatible
As you all know, I am a scientist. Most of my friends are scientists, my colleagues are scientists, and I have had the privilege of meeting many of the world's deepest and most renowned scientific thinkers.
And again and again, I am struck by the depth of faith to be found in the scientific community. While laypeople bitch and moan over Evolution, Creation, and Intelligent Design, many scientists simply don't see the incongruity.
The more you know about the amazing intricacies of the world around us, the easier it is to believe in an omniscient supreme being as designer and creator. It's all just so smart you know?
Anyway, the point of this post is to share with you a bit of this piece from CNN, where Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the Human Genome Project at NIH, discusses his faith and how one can be a scientist AND a believer.
So, some have asked, doesn't your brain explode? Can you both pursue an understanding of how life works using the tools of genetics and molecular biology, and worship a creator God? Aren't evolution and faith in God incompatible? Can a scientist believe in miracles like the resurrection?
Actually, I find no conflict here, and neither apparently do the 40 percent of working scientists who claim to be believers. Yes, evolution by descent from a common ancestor is clearly true. If there was any lingering doubt about the evidence from the fossil record, the study of DNA provides the strongest possible proof of our relatedness to all other living things.
But why couldn't this be God's plan for creation? True, this is incompatible with an ultra-literal interpretation of Genesis, but long before Darwin, there were many thoughtful interpreters like St. Augustine, who found it impossible to be exactly sure what the meaning of that amazing creation story was supposed to be. So attaching oneself to such literal interpretations in the face of compelling scientific evidence pointing to the ancient age of Earth and the relatedness of living things by evolution seems neither wise nor necessary for the believer.
I have found there is a wonderful harmony in the complementary truths of science and faith. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. God can be found in the cathedral or in the laboratory. By investigating God's majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship.
That's absolutely how I feel, and I know many others who feel the same way. Science and Faith go hand in hand. Science is the discovery of the majesty of our world, and revealing the wonder of the universe gives glory to its author.
Have a Blessed Easter, Passover, or whatever you choose to celebrate this weekend!
Posted by: Marianne at April 08, 2007 09:01 PM (vEfFN)
5
I want to thank you for your thoughtful comments here. Having attended the most prestigious institutions for my undergrad and medical school, and having read works of the great current scientists, cosmologists, molecular biologists, quantum physicists, I have concluded everything you have stated. The historic person of Jesus Christ could have performed miracles, could be a visible part of the whole trinity (think the sphere which intersected the plane in Abbott's Flatland - was Christ the circle? Was the Father the part of the sphere above the plane? Was the Holy Spirit the part below the plane?) and, most importantly, have risen from the dead and appear to hundreds of eyewitnesses, could have been there in the beginning, etc. if there are more dimensions than our 3 (4), up to 11 as proposed by Witten's M-theory? Good enough for me. The acceptance of these other dimensions releases us from the need to "see", "touch", or experiment upon God. There are extra-dimensional entities to which our scientific method just can't apply (gasp!), and we have appreciated this fact as we reach the limits of our abilities to explore (think proving the Uncertainty Principle, how a deterministic model of the universe in which entropy is becoming maximal can't explain how in our corner the complexity of life is incredible!). Thanks again, and I look forward to reading other comments!!
Posted by: turbostar at April 08, 2007 10:58 PM (yIj6K)
6
Thank you. Thank you. Caltechgirl, I only wish that I could have written that blog post. Very well put.
And Dr. Collins is 100% spot on about Augustine. One need only read the last several books of Augustine's Confessions, his search for God in the categories of memory, time and eternity, form and matter, and creation.
From a somewhat different angle, Thomas Aquinas also concluded that language regarding creation is analogical language— remember Aquinas and the analogia entis, the analogy of being, which is referential, but neither literal nor figurative nor any combination of literal and figurative.
I take a special interest in these matters, since before I became a Presbyterian minister, I was originally aimed to become a mathematician.
BTW, a belated Happy Easter!
Posted by: Paul Burgess at April 09, 2007 05:54 AM (7EVyU)
7
And in math, most of my friends and colleagues were in math, physics, or engineering. Amazing how many of them, I remember, saw the matter in much the same light as you lay out here.
BTW, I managed to comment this time without acquiring a new blog. You may recall, attempting to comment on one of your posts about faith and science was how I originally (and rather accidentally) acquired a blog of my own, way back when... :-)
Posted by: Paul Burgess at April 09, 2007 06:05 AM (7EVyU)
8
Heck, I'm an atheist, and I've long believed the same thing (about the compatibility of science and belief in God, that is).
(It helps having been raised as a non-believer, I think, rather than the god-hating types who were brought up as believers and then had to go to extremes as a form of rejection.
I have no dog in the fight, so I don't have any emotional investment.)
Posted by: Sigivald at April 09, 2007 03:58 PM (4JnZM)
9
Yeah, personally I'm agnostic, but I never understood the argument that it was either one or the either. It always seemed very apples and oranges to me.
Posted by: silvermine at April 09, 2007 07:10 PM (zqzYV)
10
Excellent post-- reminds me of the einstein quote:
"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spritual; and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity. -Albert Einstein
I've often told my daughters that chemistry is the study of things; biology is the study of life; and physics is the study of God.
Posted by: Tony Iovino at April 10, 2007 05:12 PM (85Zmb)
11
Well, of course Dr. Collins is dead on. He articulates it so much better than I can though. Thanks for posting it, I hadn't seen it.
Posted by: Teresa at April 10, 2007 07:27 PM (gsbs5)
12
I'm still playing catch up on my blog reading...
I LOVE this post and will have my husband, the atheist, read it. For some reason he sees a disparity between science and faith. Not being a person of science, I've never had that particular problem.
Thank you for posting this!!
13
I've always felt like you but couldn't have expressed it the way you did. Thank you!
(Faith and reason are like a pair of shoes...you can get a lot further with both than with just one or the other.)
Posted by: Mrs. Who at April 11, 2007 03:22 PM (9FXen)
14
You have no idea how long I've wanted to write this post myself.
Of course, there are those who believe in a literal interpretation of the bible. They're nearly unreachable, of course. I've tried to question these types on the editorial process.
It seems to me that unless a bible turns up, written in flaming letters, it was written by a human. There's bound to be interpretation in there somewhere.
Posted by: Aaron at April 13, 2007 08:59 PM (SbW5B)
It's Tartan Day 2007!
It's Tartan Day once again, a day to celebrate all things Scottish.
Remember, if it's not Scottish, it's crap!
For more on Tartan Day, see Ith's post, or check out the Tartan blogroll (near the bottom of the left sidebar on this page)
Last year's post recognizing my own Scots ancestry is here.
One of my favorite Scottish things is the music. There are TON of great bands from Scotland, both in traditional and popular music. Check out this list of Scotland's favorites. You might even know some of them.
Here are some Scottish bands that are DEFINITELY NOT crap:
(LOTS of YouTube vids below the Jump!)
more...
1
I'm of Scottish descent. My surname is rooted near Edinburgh, and I have MacDougall and McKinnon as well. You wanna make me cry, play Amazing Grace performed by one of those large piper bands; the one that starts with one piper, followed by the rest, followed by the strings. Wow.
Small wonder the English considered the bagpipes a weapon and outlawed them back in the day.
Posted by: PaleoMedic at April 06, 2007 02:42 PM (xirX/)
2
I love "So I married an Axe Murderer". My wife hates the fact that I like that movie.
Posted by: Contagion at April 06, 2007 04:50 PM (T4WRc)
3
HAHAHAHAHA! I finally got to watch the whole "if it's not Scottish, it's crap" video. I nearly died when I saw the dartboard in the bathroom!
This gives a WHOLE NEW MEANING to the "troll under the bridge"
Let's put it this way, if I was the mama Billy Goat Gruff, I wouldn't go near this bridge myself, let alone the little BGG....
Paroled sex offenders living under Miami highway bridge
MIAMI -- Several paroled sex offenders are living under a noisy highway bridge and fending off rats each night, because they cannot find housing in compliance with strict county ordinances for violators, state officials and one of the men said Thursday.
At least three men are making their home under the Julia Tuttle Causeway, which connects Miami with neighboring Miami Beach, said Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the Florida Corrections Department. One of the men under the bridge said he was among five.
The state decided they could live under the bridge because the men were unable to find housing they could afford and that did not violate Miami-Dade county rules, which say sex offenders must live at least 2,500 feet from places children gather.
They must stay there between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. because a parole officer checks on them nearly every night, Plessinger said.
"This is not an ideal situation for anybody, but at this point we don't have any other options," Plessinger said. "We're still looking, the offenders are still actively searching for residences."
[...]
"This is an injustice," said the man who wouldn't give his name. "I completed my sentence."
The man refused to discuss the crime that landed him under the bridge, but state records show a host of offenses for the men who live there: sexual battery, molestation, abuse, grand theft. Many of the crimes are against children.
"Public safety is our main focus and we feel like public safety is being achieved in these individuals," Plessinger said. "But this is a problem that is going to have to be addressed. If we drive these offenders so far underground or we can't supervise them because they become so transient it's not making us safer."
Most homeless shelters won't take the men, Plessinger said, because they're sex offenders. One that would is within the prohibited range of a school or daycare center. She said one of the men, for example, found dozens of residences he was happy to live in, but parole officers vetoed all of them because they violated county rules.
Plessinger said she believed the state first authorized sex offenders to live under a bridge last June. Before the causeway, some of the men lived under a bridge in downtown Miami. They were forced to leave, Plessinger said, when it was determined they were within range of a daycare center.
The man under the causeway on Thursday said he had been there for about six weeks. He said he fears for his life.
Here's the creepy part:
Ironically, putting the men here hasn't kept them out of reach of children. On Thursday afternoon, down the concrete slope from the men's makeshift home, a family with young children played in the bay next to their boat, oblivious to the sex offenders who call a place under a bridge their home. (emphasis mine, --Ed.)
Personally,I could give a crap that they can't find a place to live. Shoulda thought of that BEFORE you raped or molested, asshole. Living with rats is HIGHLY appropriate for this kind of vermin.
At least the state isn't putting them up at taxpayers' expense. Out of prison, off the taxpayers' dole and still living in shit. Nice Job.
Posted by: Amanda at April 06, 2007 07:44 AM (Yc9Qw)
2
Good...keep them where we can find them, and don't let them be living a better life than their victims. They don't deserve the rights of others.
Posted by: Mrs. Who at April 07, 2007 01:55 PM (9FXen)
3
I disagree.
Not that I like sex offenders, or think they shouldn't be punished.
But they weren't sentenced to this.
Want the death penalty for sex offenders? Fine - lobby for it. Petition for a ballot measure. Maybe the Supreme Court will decide it's not "cruel and unusual" punishment and let it stand - though I doubt they'd let this stand if it was a "punishment".
(Heck, if it's for aggravated rape, I'll sign the petition and vote for it myself.)
But the state passing laws to prohibit a general class of people living, in effect, anywhere? And having this be a pseudo-punishment for crime, but not under the control of the courts?
Serious justice, due-process, and rule-of-law issue with doing it like that.
I'm all in favor of harsh punishments for real sex offenders (see caveat below), but I want them done properly, up front, under proper judicial supervision, NOT as a "screw them, they're bad, who cares?" thing.
Because once that starts, it tends to spread to places one doesn't want it. I'm hesitant to bring up the abused words of Rev. Niemuller, but they seem apt. Even scum deserve the protection of the law - if only because if they don't have it, it erodes for everyone else. (I don't think the slippery slope is very steep, but I do think it's there.)
In short: As part of sentencing, sure, as an option if the judge thinks it needful. For an entire class of offenders, automatically and without appeal? No.
(And none of this brings up the other issue with "sex offense" laws, which is that in some states, you can become a "sex offender" by peeing behind a bar - it's "indecent exposure".
Shall every one of those people be denied the ability to live anywhere, or be killed? I'm sure Beth doesn't think so, but that's the problem with "sex offender" - it doesn't mean, legally, the same as "rapist" or "child molester", which is what people interpret it as.)
Full disclosure: I'm speaking only about rule of law and legal issues; I have no personal connection to anything involved in any way.
Posted by: Sigivald at April 09, 2007 04:12 PM (4JnZM)
The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.
The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.
Posted by: Contagion at March 29, 2007 04:04 PM (T4WRc)
3
Oh drama: I drew the Death card. Not that it's really a bad thing, but it's never boring. I could use a change, and change is what it's really supposed to be about.
Posted by: Dave J at March 29, 2007 07:05 PM (PEbS4)
4
I got-
You are The Devil.
Which apparently isn't as bad as it first sounds.
Posted by: forged rite at April 01, 2007 11:18 PM (IE6Rf)
You scored as Passion. You are very passionate whether that passion is good or evil has yet to be determined. You have great power over others and they seem to flock to your service. You are very competative almost to a fault. Perhaps you should let someone else win for a change?
1
You scored as Eyes full of Pain. People tend to overlook you, which makes you feel less worthy of their attentions. You sometimes wish you could just disapear from the world around you. You have been hurt very badly in the past and you just wish that someone would understand you, and what their cruelty is doing to you.
More Quizzy
In honor of International Eat an Animal for Peta day, have some quizzes which have nothing to do with it, except that in the bible they killed an awful lot of animals.... mostly for food. Funny that.
Similar to the EU and 50 states quizzes posted below.
Hint: In the OT game, add a space to the end of 3 letter words, and in BOTH games, 1st and 2nd books are denoted I and II (that's the letter i) at the FRONT of the name. Good luck!
1
oh my goodness. Shame on me.
I keep having to close it after only 4 minutes because I'm at work, but so far I've only come up with 14 countries. And that about maxes out my geographical knowledge.
I imagine if I had a map in front of me, though, that I could probably label the countries correctly.
Eventually I'll have 10 uninterrupted minutes to go take that test. And, no, I won't cheat while I'm waiting! I have work to do. Dammit.
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at March 13, 2007 10:02 AM (+MvHD)
Posted by: caltechgirl at March 13, 2007 10:11 AM (r0kgl)
3
Okay, time just ran out. I missed 8. Of those 8, I have never even heard of 2 of them!
Geography never was my subject.
You forgot:Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at March 13, 2007 10:20 AM (+MvHD)
4
hehehehehe I'm just a Euro-Geek ;-)
05:15
0 states remain
Named so far:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, United Kingdom,
Posted by: V5 at March 13, 2007 04:16 PM (bP+3v)
5
Cyprus and Malta were the tough ones for me to remember. I had about eight minutes left to spend trying to figure out those two.
Of course, when I lived in Brussels they had just added Sweden, Finland and Austria, and not admitted any of the former communist countries yet, but for someone with an actual graduate certificate in EU Legal Practice, I'd still say it's an embarassaing performance on my part.
Posted by: Dave J at March 14, 2007 06:37 PM (PEbS4)
1
5:34 left, and Delaware was the one the eluded me.
Posted by: Contagion at March 12, 2007 02:32 PM (T4WRc)
2
Got 'em all, but I got Nebraska and Kansas in just under the wire.
Posted by: Jim - PRS at March 12, 2007 04:31 PM (a6/Kb)
3
I ran out of time trying to come up with Nebraska. I stared for five minutes trying to come up with Nebraska.
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at March 12, 2007 04:46 PM (0Pi1o)
4
7:43 left. No one said it was a typing test. and Massachusetts stumped me for a little bit in spelling.
I had them in alphabetical order, too.
(It's only because I memorized the order in fifth grade when I figured out my teachers always put the state capitals in order of the states on the tests...)
Who pwn5 whom now?!!!11!!
Posted by: oddybobo at March 13, 2007 05:31 AM (mZfwW)
6
I drew a blank with a little over five minutes left and missed 6. And I kept going over and over the song in my head and just could.not.do.it.
Must be the results of pregnancy brain. =(
Posted by: Amanda at March 13, 2007 07:31 AM (breLv)
7
Song?! What's the song?
I realized just how visual I am... I was stuck on 5 because I didn't visualize them on the map in my head!
Posted by: Marie at March 13, 2007 10:03 AM (ocfI9)
8
The 50 states, sung by Yakko Warner (Animaniacs).
Right?
Posted by: caltechgirl at March 13, 2007 10:12 AM (r0kgl)
9
5:01, and I spent at least a minute trying to remember Nevada. I thought I was missing something in the northeast.
Posted by: Matt at March 13, 2007 10:23 AM (FPM2T)
10
caltechgirl:
There's an older song I learned in the mid-70s when I was in first grade. Unfortunately, It's been so long I don't remember it exactly. Mostly it's the state names in alphabetical order, but I think the song throws a few out of order to match the meter or rhyme at some points.
Oh, and I learned it in Ohio so one of the last lines is "...and OHIO IS THE BESSST!!" or similar. I wonder if it changed from state to state.
Posted by: Patrick Chester at March 13, 2007 02:21 PM (MKaa5)
11
Since you mentioned Iowa upfront I added it first LOL
I can remember at one time when we had to do this in under 5 minutes, alphabetically, for school.
Sadly I needed a little over 9 minutes to remember them all. *SIGH* Getting old I guess. ;-)
Posted by: V5 at March 13, 2007 04:27 PM (bP+3v)
12
Song: there's also this one that I learned in sixth grade:
Fifty Nifty United States
Fifty nifty united states
from thirteen original colonies
Fifty nifty stars in the flag
that billow so beautifully in the breeze.
Each individual state
Contributes a quality that is great
Each individual state
Deserves a bow... Let's salute them now
Fifty nifty united States
from thirteen original colonies
shout 'em scout 'em tell all about 'em
One by one 'til we've given a day to every state
In the USA
In the USA
In the USA...
Alabama, Alaska Arizona Arkansas, Califo....
you get the idea.
The Walter Reed Fracas
By now if you read any MilBloggers, you probably have heard about the "outpatient mess" at Walter Reed and all of the subsequent blame being shifted around because of it.
Blogger and Walter Reed frequent flyer CPT. Chuck Ziegenfuss has some interesting things to add to the debate:
Look at the charities who help the wounded--whether flying them or their families to hospitals, making Velcro clothes so they can dress themselves, helping to take care of the soldier's kids, getting them a drastically discounted rental vehicle so they can get from hospital to hotel and back, et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam. Every single gap that a charity had to fill equates to a leadership failure--a failure to recognize the unique needs of the soldiers and their families. Please don't misconstrue this as my dislike of charities, the exact opposite is true, they are lifesavers. But when a wounded soldier has to rely on the sympathy and charity of others to simply live day to day, to meet his most basic needs, then the Army, and the government as a whole, has failed them.
As a leader in the Army, who has gone through this system, I SHOULDER PART OF THE BLAME FOR NOT TRYING TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I left my brothers behind, and got myself home. After recovery, I moved on to other things, even though the complaints made today are the same as they were 2 years ago. Families are in the dark, medhold is a ridiculous and poor taste joke and apparent cover-your-ass move by the chain of command. I am an officer. I am a leader. By allowing this to happen, and continue to happen, I am at fault for not getting it fixed earlier or fixing it myself.
Other people who share the blame: The soldiers and family members who didn't use normal channels, like the Inspector General, the Chain of Command, or even letters to congressmen to fix the problem. They ran to the press, and embarrassed the Army. The chain of command, and more to the point, the NCO support channel and "chain of concern." Every Sergeant from the newly-minted Corporal to the Command Sergeant Major is tasked with looking out for the health, safety, and welfare of the soldier, and advising the command on the soldier's needs. As a matter of fact the ONLY role of a Command Sergeant Major is to advise the commander on enlisted matters. Clearly, the ignorance of these issues by the chain of command indicated an extreme dereliction of duty on the part of the Non Commissioned Officer (Hey CSM: maybe if you'd spent more time with the soldiers at the Mologne house, Fisher house, and other places the wounded congregate, instead of chasing me another 25 feet up the hill to the designated smoking area; or making sure that there were plenty of signs in the right areas to tell people they couldn't smoke there.)
Maybe you, hospital commander, and all of your high-ranking staff could move your designated parking spots to the other side of post, forcing yourselves to walk up and down the hill to the Mologne house every day, through winter's ice and snow, spring's rain, and summer's heat, just like the men on prosthetic legs and wheelchairs do. (But hey, thanks bunches for the chain link handrail, it sure does come in handy when trying to pull yourself up the hill.
As a company commander, I made time to walk through my billets, and even in combat I made soldier's living conditions a priority. I agree with Dr. Harvey. The command is to blame for this. I will accept the challenge of fixing it, assuming that I receive the commensurate promotion and pay raise. It'll be fixed in 6-12 months--but I need the authority to hire and fire anyone working on Walter Reed, military and civilian, to move people and organizations as I deem necessary, and the authority top bring in other officers and soldiers who I know will get the job done. (not that it'll happen, but hey, I'd take the job in a heartbeat.
As for getting that job done, Chuck's not alone. There are plenty of folks who would be more than happy to pitch in. Myself included.
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I am doing a fundraiser for Fisher House, one of the charities mentioned in this post. Fisher House is a non-profit organization that helps the families of injured American military men and women. I decided to campaign for Fisher House because I believe the help that we can provide to these injured service members and their families is the least that we can do for them. I also want to show our troops that there is support for them back home.
It is all too easy to say that you support the troops and slap some cheap ribbon shaped magnet on the back of your car. I am going to do a little bit more.
Posted by: Bill Rollins at February 23, 2007 05:31 PM (ef8CK)
I LOVE this post and will have my husband, the atheist, read it. For some reason he sees a disparity between science and faith. Not being a person of science, I've never had that particular problem. 
Thank you for posting this!!
