Iraq or jail...
One soldier is choosing jail, saying that he cannot morally justify killing more Iraqis in a war that serves no purpose in defending America and Americans. 1st Lt. Ehren Watada is going to jail, have no delusions about that -- I doubt he has any delusions, either. Even if he is morally justified, the entire military discipline system would collapse if people could simply refuse to obey orders without repercussion. Then he will have a dishonorable discharge on his record and be barred from life from receiving student aid, getting a government job, and anything else that The Machine can use in their goal of punishing Lt. Watada forever. If Lt. Watada doesn't know this, he's a moron. And from what I've seen of his statement, a moron he ain't.
Yet he is choosing to go to jail rather than kill more Iraqis.
The right wingnuts, of course, are going crazy. "He's a traitor!" they shout. "He's not living up to his commitment!" they shout. Nevermind that he signed up to defend America and Americans, and instead found himself defending Halliburton's profits. He's a traitor because he doesn't want to kill more Iraqi women and children for a war that, if it ever served any useful purpose, no longer does.
Alrighty, then! Guess that makes the cheeto-fingered warbloggers of the 101st Fighting Keyboarders even bigger traitors, since they, too, don't want to kill Iraqi women and children! Of course, they have servants to do that. Servants like Lt. Watada. And God forbid that their servants refuse to serve... those uppity darkies like Lt. Watada ought to know their place!
- Badtux the Snarky Penguin
 | An Iraqi man carries one of those cute little terrorists that the traitor Lt. Watada is refusing to kill. |
You just nailed the warbloggers where they live, BT. Mighty big hop for you in my capacity as a part-time roo. (Mockingbirds simply don't hop all that high.)
ReplyDeleteBit I can't help wondering, what would I do in this situation? I don't want to kill a bunch of civilians who never did a thing to harm me, but I don't want to go to jail, either. I hope I would opt for jail. It seems like the rational choice, but only because I'm not forced to decide. I really don't know what I'd do...
Watada is the smart one. While his brothers are in Iraq defending his freedom of speech, living in extreme conditions, and worrying about whether or not they'll make it through another patrol, he will probably be living in relatively cozy conditions, being fed three meals a day, and not have to worry about walking into an IED on his way to the mess hall. Watada's the smart one.
ReplyDeleteHardly. People with criminal convictions on their record don't have a good life here in the United States. For example, my employer does a criminal backgorund check on new hires. Criminal conviction = no job. Criminal conviction=no student aid. Criminal conviction=no right to vote. Criminal conviction stays with you the rest of your life.
ReplyDeleteDeciding to go through life with a criminal conviction rather than do something you find abhorent is a choice that I'm glad I don't have to make.
-BT