Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Aimee Allison, the Army & the Tribune
Aimee Allison is the Green Party candidate for Oakland City Council in the District 2 special election. In covering this event, an Oakland Tribune columnist referred to Aimee Allison in a way that I feel was slighting and unfair; so I wrote a letter to the editor about a week ago. Unfortunately, the newspaper hasn't published it. So I'm posting it here.
LETTER TO THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE
In her otherwise informative column on Oakland's special election, Peggy Stinnett writes that city council candidate Aimee Allison "dropped out" of the Army. That is a poor choice of words. Nobody just "drops out" of the military. Not even officers (except for Bush) can just walk out when they feel like it. For us "peons," as we enlisted men used to call ourselves in the Marine Corps, about the only way out was to apply for Conscientious Objector status. But by doing so you might incur the wrath of your commanding officer--who has the power to make your life very, very unpleasant.
Filing for CO status takes skill and perseverance as well as courage. Aimee Allison eventually received an honorable discharge, which shows that she was able to win the respect of people who probably didn't share her views. These are qualities that can make her an effective city council person. I'm voting for Aimee Allison.
Daniel Borgstrom
Oakland, District 2
US Marine Corps (1959-63)
*******************************************
*******************************************
WEBSITE ARTICLES ON AIMEE ALLISON:
"Aimee Allison: Antiwar, Progressive & Green"
http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/04/1734516.php
"Aimee Allison: Interview with a Gulf War Resister":
http://www.objector.org/articles/allison.html
League of Women Voters Website
http://www.smartvoter.org/2005/05/17/ca/alm/vote/allison_a/philosophy.html
In her otherwise informative column on Oakland's special election, Peggy Stinnett writes that city council candidate Aimee Allison "dropped out" of the Army. That is a poor choice of words. Nobody just "drops out" of the military. Not even officers (except for Bush) can just walk out when they feel like it. For us "peons," as we enlisted men used to call ourselves in the Marine Corps, about the only way out was to apply for Conscientious Objector status. But by doing so you might incur the wrath of your commanding officer--who has the power to make your life very, very unpleasant.
Filing for CO status takes skill and perseverance as well as courage. Aimee Allison eventually received an honorable discharge, which shows that she was able to win the respect of people who probably didn't share her views. These are qualities that can make her an effective city council person. I'm voting for Aimee Allison.
Daniel Borgstrom
Oakland, District 2
US Marine Corps (1959-63)
*******************************************
*******************************************
WEBSITE ARTICLES ON AIMEE ALLISON:
"Aimee Allison: Antiwar, Progressive & Green"
http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/04/1734516.php
"Aimee Allison: Interview with a Gulf War Resister":
http://www.objector.org/articles/allison.html
League of Women Voters Website
http://www.smartvoter.org/2005/05/17/ca/alm/vote/allison_a/philosophy.html
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
After nearly a week had passed, I concluded that the Tribune would not publish the above letter. But as it turned out, while I was posting it on Indymedia, the Tribune was typesetting it for the next morning's paper (of May 4th).
I'm glad you got those important points published in the tribune. Their coverage of this special election has been abysmal. The Berkeley Daily Planet and Oakland Post have had far better coverage of the issues, such as local schools. I voted for Aimee in part because she was endorsed by the Oakland Teacher's Union (OEA) and Aimee has vowed to fight to get back local democratic control of our schools.
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$230.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network