| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"johac" |
| Date: |
23 Jun 2005 02:10:29 AM |
| Object: |
Religious Insensitivity Cited at AF Academy |
If it's not a whitewash, perhaps we could call it a graywash. I think
that something more should have happened to those in charge for letting
this nonsense go on during their watch.
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Religious Insensitivity Cited at Academy
By ROBERT WELLER, Associated Press WriterWed Jun 22, 7:32 PM ET
A Pentagon investigation into complaints that evangelical Christians at
the Air Force Academy have bullied Jews and cadets of other faiths found
no overt discrimination, but "certainly insensitivity," military
officials said Wednesday.
"There is a lack of awareness on the part of some faculty and staff, and
perhaps some senior cadets, as to what constitutes appropriate
expressions of faith," said Lt. Gen. Roger Brady, Air Force deputy chief
of staff for personnel.
The investigators' report said academy leaders and the Air Force should
clarify policies on religious expression so religious minorities do not
feel discriminated against or pressured.
Seven incidents were referred up the chain of command for possible
investigation, but Brady did not provide details. He said "there's
certainly insensitivity" at the academy.
The investigators' report came on the same day that a chaplain who spoke
out against religious intolerance at the academy, Capt. MeLinda Morton,
said she had resigned her commission after 13 years in uniform. She has
said that she was fired from her chaplaincy at the school and that a
transfer to Japan was hastened for speaking out about the academy's
religious climate.
School officials said her transfer was routine.
Air Force investigators spent several days at the 4,300-student school
near Colorado Springs earlier this year, looking into complaints that
evangelical Christians wield so much influence at the school that
anti-Semitism and other forms of religious harassment have become
pervasive. About 85 percent of the academy's students identify
themselves as Christian.
There have been complaints at the academy that a Jewish cadet was told
the Holocaust was revenge for the death of Jesus and that another Jew
was called a Christ killer by a fellow cadet. A banner in the football
team's locker room read: "I am a Christian first and last ... I am a
member of Team Jesus Christ."
Also, there have been complaints that cadets were pressured to attend
chapel, that academy staffers put New Testament verses in government
e-mail, and that cadets used the e-mail system to encourage others to
see the Mel Gibson movie "The Passion of the Christ."
Brady said some problems were related to the maturity level of cadets
ages 18 to 22. "Most of them know how to behave," he said. "Some of them
need a little work."
The report did not give details but said that there were religious slurs
and disparaging remarks between cadets, and that faculty and staff with
strong religious beliefs made statements that some cadets found
offensive. It said the situation has improved.
"We've got a long way to go," said the academy's superintendent, Lt.
Gen. John Rosa Jr. "I believe today's report substantiates that we're
heading in the right direction."
Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., contended the report tried to "explain away"
problems with religious intolerance at the school.
"It is not a whitewash, but it does resemble a milquetoast," Israel said
at a Capitol Hill news conference. "There needs to be leadership at the
Air Force Academy."
An attachment to the 100-page report said the school's No. 2 officer,
Brig. Gen. John Weida, a born-again Christian accused of pressuring
students, was cleared of wrongdoing on all but one allegation. The
report did not detail the matter, saying only it was under review.
The Air Force recently announced Weida's pending promotion to major
general, a move the Anti-Defamation League said should be delayed
because of the conduct complaints.
The controversy arose as the school was trying to emerge from a 2003
rape scandal in which dozens of women said their complaints were
ignored. The Air Force ousted several top commanders and overhauled a
number of policies related to assault allegations.
---
http://tinyurl.com/a46hf
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: Religious Insensitivity Cited at AF Academy |
30 Jun 2005 11:53:03 AM |
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On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 00:10:29 -0700, johac <jhachm@ixpres.com> wrote:
If it's not a whitewash, perhaps we could call it a graywash. I think
that something more should have happened to those in charge for letting
this nonsense go on during their watch.
Bluewash. The officers in the command area and faculty/staff members
should have been terminated from service-period. Once again bronze
age superstition is the problem not the solution.
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul
of the people. On some great and glorious day the
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's
desire at last and the White House will be adorned
by a downright moron." --- H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Religion is the original war crime.
-Michelle Malkin (Feb 26, 2005)
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