Redcar9 (Christina)

What’s the big deal? 7, 14, 21…

Ok I guess I don’t get it, cause I didnt think that was the best thing ever created and the most invigorating television experience of my life. It was a documentary. It dodnt significantly touch me in either way.  I thought it was cute how the kids were little and did or said cute things. I thought it was interesting how they changed growing up or didn’t, but I dont know it I want want to watch 7 people grow up, and buy DVDs watching this. Honestly if I had to choice to watch this, or Three and Half Men (a class favorite lol) I would choose Three and Half Men. That says a lot! the third sequence when they are 21 was boring to me. I related to a few of the people, but overall I was like who the hell cares if she gets married and lives in housing projects and was poor growing up… I dont know, there is always one, and I guess thats me, and I just don’t get it…

Flashbacks from the dark side- the true story of my military torture.

This movie perfectly depicts what goes on in the military. I know first hand because it happened to me. For anyone in the class that have been reading my blogs, they know that I can sometimes be very personal. This is another one of those times. The following is true, and I would be fine talking to someone in person about this, but only in a respectful manor as it is still hard to verbalize. 

I can perfectly relate to this film 100% percent as it has happened to me. You might think I was the one torturing prisoners, but I was the on being tortured for a crime I did not commit. Just like the innocent men in the documentary, I was beaten almost to death multiple times. I have been beaten with a baseball bat, my own walking cane I was using after my ankle was shattered, by various men and women, and a 5 pound bar bell that left me un-conscience for 2 hours resulting in a permanent brain injury. My hip now constantly dislocates, my spine is permanently misaligned, and my left foot no longer has full movement and has a constant turn to the left resulting in walking trouble and chronic pain. I am now legally 80% disabled. That was just from the beatings.

Like I said my ankle was shattered, the second time it broke, and that was from being pushed down a flight of stairs. The first time I broke it in the army was from walking blinded at 2am in the middle of no where. I fell, no medical attention was given both times, just an ace bandage and a Tylenol after complaining of pain for 3 months. I was unable to walk, on crutches for a while then a cane to use for the few times I was allowed to leave my room. For 2 months I was banned to my room allowed to leave 3 set times a day to use the latrine, and once to eat. Durning that time I only recieved one meal a day, the minimun requirment the Army has to give you. I lost over 40 pounds durning that time.

When I was allowed to leave my room, I was on extra duty working 20 hour days starting at 4am ending around 2300 (11pm) and had to do a 2-4 hour shifts of CQ.  That is sitting at a desk making sure the building doesnt burn down basically, the only time of the day I was allowed to sit. This is ironic because I was under strict orders at that time by my TBI (traumatic brain injury) doctor to only work from 0900 to 1700 daily and could only stand for 5 minutes at a time and rest as much as needed to have the brain injury stabilize and to heal my foot. Dr appointments that I had to fight to get after almost being killed from lack of medical attention after the first beating. Every hour on the hour when I was permitted to sleep I had to go to the CQ desk and check in with them to make sure they didnt need any work done.

My extra duty consisted of stripping wax and relaying it on floors which is super hard when you can hardly move without pain, and buffing them until you could see your reflection. Watering and acre of grass by hand with a bucket. Picking up leaves by hand (no rakes). Sometimes if I did not complete it in enough time I would have to stand with my arms extended with books in them. I could only do that for about 2 minutes and when I failed I had to just stand there. The longest i ever stood consecutively was 17 hours, with a shattered ankle and dislocated hip mind you. 

The Sergeants that were in charge of me allowed people to come into my room at night and beat me, stab, and rape me multiple times. They were fully aware this was happening, heard my cries for help, and turned away pretending nothing was happening. When they were questioned about this, the denied hearing or seeing anything. One of the sergeants who assaulted me in fact denied even knowing me.

I officially went AWOL (absent without leave- basically running away) for 10 days. During that time I was hiring lawyers, and trying to get my story heard for help. I left the military base I was at and went to one 10 hours away by bus. I was very ill severely injured and weak, and went to the ER for medical attention. I was arrested and put in a holding cell. When I got out 72 hours later, I was admitted to the Psych ward because they thought I was delusional. They contacted my current military base and they were told I was making everything up. I was admitted for attempted suicide (they thought the stab wounds were from me, not the crazy woman trying to kill me), hallucinating, general anxiety disorder. After the 5 days of begging to speak to someone the transported me to a different area of the base. Like the prisoners in the movie, I was wearing goggles, and ear plugs. The method behind that is that they did not want me to know the layout of the military base, or how to get out of the psych ward.

I was brought to a JAG office (Judge advocate general), aka the military lawyers after 7 days or protesting- i refused to eat. I walked into a generals (two star General Stafford) office sat in a chair across from his desk, wrapped my arms and legs around the chair and refused to leave until he helped me. Needless to say, I got arrested again. This general eventually helped me (kind of) but giving UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) Articles to the Drill sergeants who neglected and assaulted me. Some were demoted and others transfered, the ones who stayed made my life hell. 

They flew me back to my military base that I was officially stationed at handcuffed, and with 2 military police offices on a military chartered plane. That was actually cool being one of 5 (2 pilots) on my own plane minus the cuffs. Cost a lot of money too im sure, but I was high risk and delusional apparently. Not Jet Blue material I guess.  

When I got back I received 17 UCMJ’s (article 15’s). Some include, disrespect to an officer, disrespect to an non-commissioned officer, possession of contraband (I had a cigarette), AWOL, lying under oath, fabricating stories about NCOs, failure to meet uniform compliance (my bun had a hair sticking out) etc… they got me for everything they could. I could not state my story, or have a trail like I was supposed to. I was not even allowed to have my lawyer present when I was getting read my articles. They only thing my lawyer did was get me an honorable discharge. I was punished tortured everyday, beaten, put to work all of the above for 2 months straight by the few sergeants that still remained in my company as a form of pay back for there co-workers being punished.

I was not left naked, but I was not allowed to wear my ID (dog) tags, a great pride to military personnel, or carry a military ID. I was going to be married that year, I had my wedding dress in my room, they took that and all my civilian items/ clothes, and destroyed them. I was only allowed to have military issued items including bed sheets, underwear, and toothpaste. All horribly nasty things I was given. I was not allowed to act soldierly, such as be in company formations or marches (assuming I could walk normally), eat in the chow hall etc…My official place of duty was under a tree in the middle of the grass patch. My name was officially “The shit bag soldier” at this time. I was placed under a no contact order with everyone in my company prohibiting me from talking, calling, writing, looking or standing within 75 feet of anyone in my company. If I was caught breaking this rule I could go to jail again. 

May other things happened, but I think you can draw a general idea. 

I want everyone to understand this happened to me on American soil, to me, an American soldier, by American soldiers.  The most crazy thing about this is the crime I supposedly committed. I was accused of committing adultery, a rumor started out of jealously after I refused to sleep with a soldier in charge of me. I wasn’t married but the man I supposedly slept with was. He was never punished, only me. I got the sort straw. Like I said I was supposed to be married and my fiance no longer wished that after he was told I had slept with married men. He tried to contact me, but couldn’t because I was not allowed to send mail, or call home.  I had an investigation ongoing for the one of men who sexually assaulted me, he was proven innocent after a 10 month investigation and pleading mental instability. That just ended this last Dec. I constantly have flashbacks of the things that happened to me now, and curse that I must live with…. 

So in reference to the movie. This stuff is real. Some of you might of seen me crying over it after class, this is why. It really happens, and it happened to me. I don’t think its right, but it is going to take a lot to change it. Its highly disturbing also to know that Americans like myself get treated like this by Americans. Change needs to happen, more than I can bring. By telling my story it helps, thats why I do. This is all I have to say for now, but Ill be happy to help talk to you in order for my story to be better told.

-Christina 

Fox is a sack of….

I thought that it was interesting in the movie how the man who created the Fox news alert was outraged how it was now being used. He said that he put so much work into making the music/ sounds and images behind the text to make it so dramatic to introduce breaking news. For the rest of the film, I watched and everything they displayed a slide with text, there was music and images moving behind it. They were sublimity-putting images into our heads to make us think something else. For example they were saying election 2004 on the screen and had pictures of Bush faded into the background being American flags, or shaking kids hands. They never talked about him looking like a good man in the background; they just subconsciously put it in our heads that Bush was a good man. The other opponent was not in the background either. Similarly when they were announcing how many days were left until the elections was over, it was constantly phrased 112 days till Bush is elected, or 376 days until Bush us the new president etc…. Colmes came in after Hanity had said that was like “You already know the results, the election is 3 months away” or something similar to that.

I also have a new random conspiracy theory in my head of how HE got elected. Fox wanted Bush to win and apparently his random first cousin working for Fox news decided he was going to decide who was president. Without knowing the election results officially Fox interrupted the regular TV to bring you “breaking news”, Bush had won. Within seconds, all the other news stations were broadcasting the say information. There was like a 1% percent difference between Bush and Kerry. Crazyness, they wanted him to win so badly that they made up a false story basically. I think it would have been funny if Kerry won ha ha then Fox would look like a giant sack of crap. I think that Fox determined the prez, not the votes lol

Anyways… I loved the movie. I never watch news because the first thing they tell you when you get out of the military not to watch the news. It watched it once, and it made me so mad because it’s so not true. That was the last time I voluntarily watched the news. After watching this movie, I have another good reason to never watch the news, mainly Fox again.

Fairness Doc

I am right in the middle when it comes to the Fairness Doctrine. I think that there should be some regulation in media. I also think that people should have the freedom to choose if they want “fair” or “unfair” media. I’ve been thinking all week how something like this might work and it wont. It has to be on or the other. If there are 2 broadcasting channels on that is fair and the other unfair,I don’t feel like there would be even rating numbers. One would get more ratings than the other, and then the other would eventually be shut down. 

In addition having the government decide what is and isn’t fair, isn’t fair at all. They should leave it up to the population to decide what is or isn’t. This whole concept will turn into a big finger pointing game. Fox would be like oh well CNN got away with it so then they’ll try it, and get away with it, and then nothing will had of changed. This cannot be implemented today. News would change so drastically and the population would not have trouble adjusting to it.