Govt. May Dismiss Hall Lawsuit
Friday July 11, 2008
We've been following the case of Jeremy Hall, the atheist soldier who filed a lawsuit against a superior officer and the Department of Defense a few months ago. It looks like the government is going to dismiss the suit, and their reasons for doing so actually do make sense, in a weird sort of way.
The folks over at the God and Country blog sum it up nicely, but basically the logic is this:
The folks over at the God and Country blog sum it up nicely, but basically the logic is this:
- Hall didn't use the internal chain of command and systems already in place in the military to seek redress
- Hall asks for the institution of solutions which are, according to the memo, already in use by the military
- There's no proof of “pattern and practice” of support of religion -- specifically Christianity -- within the military because the plaintiffs are unable to show how Hall has been "personally injured" by the alleged practice of supporting one religion over another
Comments
Although his intentions were good, Jeremy Hall went about this in a rash way. Simply by not following the protocols and not going thru the proper chain of command to resolve this issue, he has effectivly defeated himself. Even if he did this only to prove a point, he would have been much more effective if he had gone thru the proper procedures, for, now his case will simply be dismissed and any point he was trying to make will be effectivly nullified.
Oh, what a squandered opportunity!
Maybe, just maybe he didnt use the proper protocal because of reasons we dont understand or know about. maybe he was being blocked or threatened. The military can be a very hostile enviroment for anyone who is different or a whistleblower.
I was in the military for 6 years and very openly Pagan. I never did have a problem, sounds lie an excuse to get out too me.
I agree with Hank, mostly… I encountered personal discrimination in my 23-year USAF career by fundamentalist Christians but I never experienced institutionalized discrimination that affected my career. Maybe I was lucky but most people accepted my Pagan faith, even if they didn’t agree with it. I did see a few instances of someone who in a superior position seemed to hold a grudge against me but only after they discovered my religious path
He withdrew his lawsuit but he also filed claims against the death threats and the maj who broke up the atheist meeting. Those are still pending.
The army, navy are indeed very religious even if they claim otherwise. However I have not seen any personal discrimination but lots of more general discrimination in changes of command / other functions.