MRFF Demands VA Medical Center Immediately Remove Enormous Bible Placed on POW/MIA Table Where MRFF had Gotten Smaller Bible Removed
Back in August of last year, MRFF had a win on behalf of our veteran clients at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center in Pennsylvania, getting a Gideons “New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs” removed from the facility’s POW/MIA, or “missing man” table.
When that Bible was removed, a top VA official at the facility wrote in an e-mail to Mikey Weinstein: “In the future, if a book of faith is found to be displayed on the table, please notify myself or our Patient Advocate … so we can have it removed.”
Well, it is now the future, and the POW/MIA table once again has a Bible on it, and this time it’s no little Gideons “New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs.” No, now it’s an enormous Bible that’s so big and taking up so much of the table that if a missing man did return they wouldn’t have room to eat!
But, unlike in August, when the Gideons New Testament was removed with little fuss, this time the facility’s Assistant Medical Center Director wants to make a fuss.
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Chris as always brings the receipts.
I have a question about this though:
“But this time, there apparently is going to be a fuss, with Assistant Medical Center Director William Klaips telling Mikey that he needs a whole week to investigate, and the table, which the facility repeatedly referred to in August as “our” table, suddenly becoming the American Legion Auxiliary’s table, somehow making the jumbo symbol of the Jesus juggernaut on it okay.”
So, if the director was able to resolve the issue before, why is the ‘Assistant’ now calling the shots? With the military it’s all about the chain of command so who is really in charge? And why would it take a week to investigate? Is the Assistant (and I know he has an official title, I’m choosing not to use it as I’ve encountered bullies like the Assistant Medical Center Director before. Trust me any respect I pay him is not returned). So, is the Assistant kicking the can down the road so he can bring in ADF or some other Christian nationalist law firm?
I’ll wait to see how this plays out like y’all but if I were a betting human, I’d be betting that the MRFF will prevail.
Ha! The offending book has been removed. Thank you MRFF and the Director who listened to their legal counsel.
I believe the table should have been taken out. For an organization to go after the weakest link of the Federal Government is weak. The VA did this (if true) then it was due to public embarrassment or any media that shows the VA in a bad way. The VA has serious problems and to attack a table that is registered with the Naval History Honor Heritage is disrespectful beyond belief. You can’t go after the Government for all the Religious indicators in our Government buildings or Oaths? You start at the bottom thinking the Federal Government will actually separate from GOD. You wish I wish but you have not enough money or support to do so. Your actions towards Veterans at a VA Hospital is deplorable in your fight for what us right. I have the freedom of my beliefs. I believe in you reason yet I also believe you are Bias in others due to their’s. This is not how Veterans treat Veterans and you seem to help a lot. Vets Helping Vets is the ONLY way we fight for each other. Your Organization should help all Veterans and if my table needs A Quran I can provide just as A Bible can provide. I know both Books do not differ much as so many religions yet no one is talking about the fact they are books of guidance yet taken literally and all Religions and Cultures of our 100’s of thousands of years prove one thing we all have in common: Humans Culturally diverse not of this Planet. Peace and Love to the Human Race and realize it is above the VA this problem yet you attack the weakest man in the DOD.
Harry,
You say actions “against” Veterans, but the removal of a Bible is actually FOR veterans in that it takes away the Christian iconography that claims to represent ALL veterans.
I’m an atheist veteran. Your Bible doesn’t remotely represent my views. In fact, it’s detestable in terms of thinking my service is somehow connected to your magical thinking! It’s like saying in order to collect Social Security you must first profess your Christianity and belief in the Christian God. In other words, my “service” to my country while in the military had no connection to a Christian God, why should my VA benefits be connected to a Christian God? Why should the representation of my service be connected to your God?
Why do Christians feel so compelled to push their religious beliefs on everyone? It must be that you’re insecure in your own beliefs! Your faith in your own tradition relies on your ability to convince others. It’s almost as if you’re unable to convince others, your own belief system will fall apart. You validate your faith through your ability to either, convince others to believe, or to force them to believe, your heavenly dictatorship the foundation of your own insecurities.
You’re obviously not convinced yourself, otherwise you wouldn’t expend so much energy in trying to force it on others! Much the same as prayer in school!
The removal of ANY religious iconography from a missing-man table is a protection of ALL faiths, representative of the military member’s “service” to country rather than his or her religious affiliation.
If you cared about Christianity as much as you claim regarding the representation of military service, you would move to exclude all other religions from military “service!” Quite honestly, I’d be fine with that. Christians start our wars, let them fight them!
In other words, if you’re that hard-over on Christianity with regard to military service, then exclude all non-Christians from serving in the military!
You don’t seem to mind having non-Christians serve in the military.
Don’t honor my Atheist service with your Christian Bible! My service was just as noble as any Christian that served. I’ve deployed six times in military uniform in two wars and spent 18 years living overseas “serving” my country, as an Atheist. So fuck off with your claim to Christianity as representative of my service! I wouldn’t put a star and crescent on your grave. Don’t put a cross on mine!
It’s not about belief. It’s about “service!”
Honoring that service doesn’t require ANY religious symbology. Religious iconography, in fact, denigrates that service.
It makes the implicit claim that the only reason one would serve their country is a belief in a Christian God. I’ve just completely debunked that myth.
The MRFF is NOT “going after” Christians. It’s making sure that ALL military service is honored!
Fucking delusional Christians think they have a monopoly on Patriotism and service to country!
Kiss my big white ass! I’ll put my atheist military service up against any Christian’s, any day!
Harry Knight Stritter is locked in a box of their own making. With one breath they condemn the MRFF for being weak by going after a weak link? Not sure how a religious holy book on a table dedicated to missing service humans which is not supposed to have any books is weak but this is their argument so their logic rules apply (but I, with my mobius logic skills is having a hard time understanding their logic).
So, condemn anyone who agrees with the MRFF with one breath and the very next statement is why can’t we be civil? This isn’t how veterans treat veterans they cry and I just want to laugh at the hypocrisy except for this is why we can’t have nice things. To get respect one must give it, or have the rules changed since I wasn’t so grey?
Here is my point – if one is unable to follow the Constitution and Bill of Rights at the very bottom of the food chain how can We The People expect humans at the top to behave any better?
We all need to follow the rules because in this incredible experiment called the USA all citizens are equal. No one is above or below the law – or at least that was the ideal. Flawed humans means flawed implementation. Now we know better, lets do better. And lets keep the religious stuff off our Missing man/POW tables.