60 Percent Of National Guard Women Are Sexually Harassed Or Assaulted.
A new study done by the Department of Veterans Affairs has found that 6 in 10 women who have served in the National Guard and Reserves said there were sexually harassed or assaulted. The study says that less than a quarter of those sexually harassed or assaulted reported the charge, and many of those who did were encouraged to drop the complaint. Additionally, the study says that half of those we responded said the sexual assaults happened while on duty.
posted by Alva Goldbook at 12:11 AM
5 Comments:
With numbers like that it isn't hard to see why these thugs go along with the torture and outright murder policies of the Bush regime.
Support the troops, someone tell me one reason (a real reason) why I should.
Kevin Benmderman, Mejea and other war resisters, that's who I support.
g.Jackson,
there's a saying among some of us in the peace movement. "Don't confuse the war with the warrior." Although I would also say don't confuse the reprehensible behavior of some with the many.
I have never been on a battlefield, and I hope I never will be. But when you send good people onto a battlefield to face hell, unprepared, with no support, without even a modicum of protection, all for a lie, people tend over time to react irrationally, and put their anger, fears, and frustrations on others. That’s what happening here.
How many times have you come home from a horrible day at work and ended up yelling at someone you care about? The same thing is happening here, except these young kids aren’t having horrible days at work, they’re dodging bombs and bullets, hoping they don’t end up dead or dismembered, day in and day out, and in an environment like that good people unfortunately do screwed up things.
That’s why supporting the peace movement and bringing our troops home is the best why to support both the troops and good people like Medea Benjimin, the rest of the wonderful Code Pink crew, and the rest of the many many groups who are working to bring peace to this world.
We should all remember that the troops are what we are fighting for. They’re our neighbors, our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends, and they have been air dropped into the desert by an unelected squatter in the White House who could care less if they live or die.
If I were drafted to go fight an imperialist war for fatcat capitalists, which consisted of murdering children, old people and parents, I'd resist.
I judge others by how I know I would act, if that's harsh sorry.
Why fight for empire against people just like us?
Everyone has a choice, everyone is responsible for that choice. If you choose to murder for empire, you are a murderer. If you are truly brave and resist a better person you are.
g.jackson,
I completely agree. that's why I didn't join the Marines, although they pushed me like hell to join. I said, if I do this I won't ever be able to look myself in the mirror again.
You and I know this. I don't think many of those who signed up thought that was case, and they really weren't aware of the consequences. the sad fact is that most of them are just poor americans looking to get college money.
the reality of the war is there now, and I'm sure that a very large number of the troops fighting in Iraq would not be there if they had anything to say about it. unfortunately once there, choices are limited.
today, no one has any illusions that Bush is using the troops for his meglomanic dreams of empire...and if they do, it's only because they're putting a lot of effort into being propagandized. but I don't blame those who were poor and just looking to get ahead by joining the military, and simply didn't know better.
this is why we should have solidarity with them. we should understand what they are going through, and attempt to protect them by bringing them home, not just because the American global empire is immoral..which it is, but because Americans forced to live in poverty should not then be forced to kill other people just to make a meager wage.
My Father was Air Force, a pilot and a flight instructer. My older Brother joined the Army. When faced with the prospect of killing for Imperialist greed, he applied for Conscientious Objecter status. It took about a year, but was granted.
You might think that our Father would have been opposed to this, but he was actually completely supportive, and helped in every way he could. Though a proud military man through and through, his personal ideology about empire building tied to warfare was that it was wrong, evil and used young people as cannon fodder for greed.
This war is illegal. Anyone who is old enough to make personal choices, then chooses to go ahead and commit illegal acts, for any reason, is a criminal. Rich, poor, or anywhere in between, they make their own choices, and those choices reflect who they are on the inside. In March of '03, most didn't know the real reasons for going to war with Iraq. Those days are long past now.
I'm with g.jackson on this. I have my Father and my Brother, both military, to thank for my understanding of when to fight, and when to say "NO". Conscience should dictate our actions. These people are not children. Many of them are middle aged and older. If the majority would lay down their arms and say "this war is wrong, and I'm not fighting innocent people", the war would end in a heartbeat. If we don't listen to our own conscience, it's because we choose not to.
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