Nigger Jim

--A young CPT Jim, 
who thought he'd always have a seat at the table

Here was a free nigger there from Ohio --
a mulatter, most as white as a white man 
--The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 
Mark Twain
 _____________________

Stalag 13, Part Two: Nigger Jim

RAW reader "tw" asked why Ranger would even care to belong to the American Legion (Stalag 13). Simple: because their congressionally-mandated charter assures him a seat at the table. The Executive Committee's rejection of Ranger's petition for membership is denying him his civil liberties.

Following the Legion's refusal of Ranger's application, he asked his attorney if he had any legal recourse; the attorney demurred. Ranger then wondered if his protest was petty, and it was only after discussing the issue with others that he realized his desire to press the issue was entirely appropriate. (The attorney is a good old boy not wanting to upset the apple cart.)

The point of the exercise is that of the 1950's and 60's Freedom Riders. Ranger's petition for membership is equivalent to that of a negro sitting at the lunch counter of a 1963 Birmingham, Alabama soda shop. He is the Little Rock Nine against Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. He is Rosa Parks refusing to sit at the back of the Montgomery bus. He paid for his ticket.

Whether the people who constitute its membership are largely out of step with his beliefs is not the issue. Whether he wants to sit and drink with them is not the issue. He does not have to like them, nor they, he. The point of a Democracy is that all have equal access and opportunity in the municipal realm. Additionally, that is the only way for ideas to evolve and fraternity to have any hope of flowering: by the abutting of conflicting views in a neutral, respectful setting.

The Legion is congressionally-chartered as a fraternal organization which welcomes all who qualify into its meeting halls. There is not a separate American Legion for disgruntled vets who feel their government has shafted them. There is no "American Legion for Embittered, Screwed Up Vietnam Vets," and one for the happy sots. There is only the one, who's strength can only be had in true fellowship and acceptance. There is no room for acceptance based upon murky liturgical guidance; we have the rule of law to ensure equality for all. Not separate but equal, as Plessy v. Ferguson decided. There is no such animal.

If the Legion is not admitting eligible veterans on the basis of their beliefs, then it is operating in contravention of its charter. If it turns away a needy vet with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) who might then find himself hanging, his blood will be on their hands, for while they are not a medical organization the brotherhood and guidance they are tasked with providing could be a lifesaver, but only if the life raft admits all.

The American Legion, like so many groups in The United States, has lost its way by operating in an emotional and irrational manner, contrary to its mission. The Legion, like our government, has subverted the foundations of democratic thought. It adopted the exclusionary motto "For God and Country" in McCarthy's 1950's, in reaction to the feared godless menace of Communism, forgetting the basis of our Democracy is separation of Church and State. That separation ensures both freedom of religion, as well as freedom from it.

The Executive Committee of American Legion Post #13 is behaving like the Comintern. Ranger thinks the majority of the Legion members would be appalled by their exclusionary actions, or at least, he hopes so. He was good enough to offer his mind and body for his country and fellows, but not good enough to sit with them as a civilian.

This is not the end of the story.