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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 21039
[Civil]
Date Posted:
8/13/2009
10:36:14 am EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 13,581
RSS: 21,980
Comments: 6
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Peace Activist Can Steer Kids To Non-Military Jobs
Author: Mike Baker, AP Source: Google
Title: PEACE ACTIVIST CAN STEER KIDS TO NON-MILITARY JOBS
  A rural North Carolina school district with a proud military tradition is allowing a Quaker peace activist a chance to compete with military recruiters at steering high school students to careers, attorneys said Wednesday.
For years, Sally Ferrell had been asking permission to warn students about joining the military. The Wilkes County School Board had denied her access, even though military recruiters are typically allowed in school, and school leaders had called her activities unpatriotic.
Superintendent Stephen Laws said the district and the American Civil Liberties Union reached an agreement that bars recruiters from presenting political views or attacking other occupations.
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Community Thoughts: There are 6 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Both Sides Should Have A Say | Aug 14th. at 11:06:04 pm EDT
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Nocturnal Light (Camp Humphreys, Rep. Korea) - Email Me
She has as much of a right to express her views as the recruiter. The military isn't for everyone, and having both sides of the story can help kids make a more balanced decision.
But I do wish that people would stop spouting out the stupid myth that the only people who enlist in the military are high school dropouts who do it just for the money. I graduated high school with very good grades, and could have very easily went to college, but I chose instead to join the Army. I'd very quickly choose an exciting job I can have pride in over a well paying job that I only do for money.
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| And The Point Is...? | Aug 14th. at 3:12:50 pm EDT
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Elistra (Lexington, Kentucky) - Email Me
What does this article have to do with paganism, exactly? Not all pagans are pacifists, nor should they all be.
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| Tough Love | Aug 14th. at 11:02:09 am EDT
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Magickal1 (Elgin, Texas) - Email Me
Most people that enlist after high school do not do it for patriotic reasons, but because the only job they can find is minimal wage
dead end jobs like frying french fries.
Parents should be responsible for their children and raise them with values that will enrich their lives. You don't let your child learn to kill other people or distroy their quality of life, just because your goverment orders you to. All wars since WWII have not endangered this country. We became involed for political not security reasons.
If I could not reason with a child wanting to enlist either for patriotic resons or adventure, I would feel it my duty to prevent that child from ruining their lives. Even if I had to sneak into their room at night, hold them down and cut off their trigger finger with a bolt cutter.
Yes that is violent, and you would probably end up in jail. But you may have saved lives
in other countries where we have no business, as well as your childs.
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| Psych Trauma And Prison & War Crimes A Career Path | Aug 14th. at 9:36:09 am EDT
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Terry (Irvington, Virginia) - Email Me
Following recruiter lies to a life of anguish from mental illness and cyclic prison time is not exactly a functional career path, but is exactly the reality these Quaker activists are trying to reduce. "Nearly anything but that" may not sound like promotion of positive career paths to some bureaucratic craniorectal invert government dole officials, in or out of schools, but it's surely a far more viable and healthy alternative than unpatriotic military thuggery and its consequences whether in Nam, under Bush, or similar abusive regimes. The proliferation of psychiatric near incurables in society as consequences of misguided wars isn't just pathological for the immediate victims, but all of society here or around the world.
From a rather lengthy analysis of related war issues, a few excerpts, and a suggestion that the entire article deserves further attention:
[Web LINK]
That's what happened to McMahon, and though it's still too soon for meaningful statistics about incarceration rates among this new generation of veterans, the anecdotal evidence suggesting a predictive relationship between military experience, PTSD and trouble with the criminal justice system continues to mount .
And this is not a new phenomenon. The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, published in 1990, found that more than a decade after the Vietnam conflict ended, 15 percent of male veterans still suffered from PTSD, and half of them had been arrested or in jail at least once.
Most Vietnam War veterans deployed for exactly one year. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced longer and repeated deployments, and top military psychiatrists acknowledge that veterans of these new wars may have an even harder time coming home.
And instead of improving, the situation is getting worse. In 2008, the Rand Corp. estimated that 300,000 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from post-traumatic stress issues, and 320,000 others will suffer traumatic brain injuries that express many of the same symptoms as PTSD.
And although most of them will not seek treatment, even when they try the VA has made such care extremely difficult to access.
[....]
McMahon's obsession with safety and guns, and his compulsive drinking are both typical of a post-traumatic stress injury, but instead of diagnosis and treatment, he was left to his own compromised resources and promptly landed in jail.
In terms of the bottom line, it's a trifecta for the military when that happens. A damaged soldier is disappeared, the cost of treatment avoided and the evidence that would prove how often veterans find it impossible to readjust when they come home is erased.
Traumatized soldiers are not a military asset. They are unreliable, and can be dangerous to their fellow soldiers and to themselves.
[....]
And prisons aren't the only black holes into which our nation's damaged warriors are disappearing. They also end up in hospitals and mental institutions. They vanish beyond the margins of society when their lives, their marriages, their careers fall apart. They end up in boxes on the street, vilified, forsaken, and self-medicating. Far too many die too soon of disease, accidents, overdoses or suicide.
An honest accounting of their numbers would be ammunition for those who believe that soldiers and veterans are still not receiving the care and support they need.
It would help challenge the myth of the romantic warrior by better educating our children to the real dangers of military service. It would also contribute to a public better informed about the hidden costs of our military ventures, including the ongoing damage to our citizens and our treasury, and to our national character as well.
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Didn't we learn from Nam and before, that wars for colonization or criminal wars for political tampering abroad are far too costly even ignoring their lack of legal or ethical justification, in that the primary long term victim is our own society?
Find More info -- HERE
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| Choice Is Not Unpatriotic... | Aug 13th. at 6:24:59 pm EDT
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
While the military can be for some--an option- there is no reason why other careers can not be considered. I do not consider it unpatriotic to steer kids toward something a bit more peaceful- if there is something out there.
Considering the tactics of some recruiters these days- a good alternative is a necessity.
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| Good For Her. | Aug 13th. at 11:48:51 am EDT
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Avagdu (Independence, Missouri) - Email Me
I'm glad Ms. Ferrell has the opportunity to present her views on the matter. Clearly, the military is not for everyone. One gives up many personal rights when joining. I'm not saying this is bad as for some who need discipline in their lives, the military can be an excellent choice for them. The military can offer a lot of real world training for people to use outside, after their stint in the military is done.
I am pleased Ms. Ferrell is there to give alternative options to kids, who may not have known or considered different options. In some southern states, the military is the only way out or an option to a better life as it appears to be here, my guess.
There are some, however, that are not pleased at Ms. Ferrells action. I don't know what it is about conservativism and pro military. War is viewed as a political option not a solution to everything.
Stick to your "guns" Ms. Ferrell and good luck!
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