Some highlights:
Known as "the atheist guy," Hall has been called immoral, a devil worshipper and -- just as severe to some soldiers -- gay, none of which, he says, is true. Hall even drove fellow soldiers to church in Iraq and paused while they prayed before meals.
It is so typical of believers to hate and harass someone because of their non-belief. It doesn't even have to be religious believers, have you ever tried to have a conversation with a UFO nut or other conspiracy theorist? This guy has done nothing to these soldiers.
It eventually came out in Iraq in 2007, when he was in a firefight. Hall was a gunner on a Humvee, which took several bullets in its protective shield. Afterward, his commander asked whether he believed in God, Hall said.
"I said, 'No, but I believe in Plexiglas,' " Hall said. "I've never believed I was going to a happy place. You get one life. When I die, I'm worm food."
The issue came to a head when, according to Hall, a superior officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, threatened to bring charges against him for trying to hold a meeting of atheists in Iraq. Welborn has denied Hall's allegations.
I love the line "I believe in plexiglass"! Awesome!
More on the Welborn thing from the NYTimes:
When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.
But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. “People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!” Major Welborn said, according to the statement.
I'm really tired of the misconception that the founders were Christians. Really, seriously, seventh season of Survivor tired of it.
From CBS:
"I just don't have any belief in supernatural, any forces - deities, luck, fate, destiny - that's about it really. It's very simple."
And he says atheism has cost him. After he refused to join in a prayer, he says he was ostracized and passed over for promotion. He sued the Army for discrimination. Then he was threatened when word got out that he had filed a lawsuit.
"They had found out who I was," Hall said. "And I had about six to eight guys following me around in Qatar. And they were saying stuff like, 'atheist ass pirate,' 'faggot,' 'I'm gonna beat your ass.'"
Things got so bad the Army assigned him a full-time bodyguard.
Atheist ass pirate? Beat your ass? It would seem these religious soldiers have an ass fetish. I wonder why that is.
"I will take care of my soldiers. Nowhere does it say I have to pray with my soldiers, but I do have to make sure my soldiers' religious needs are met," he said.
"Religion brings comfort to a lot of people," he said. "Personally, I don't want it or need it. But I'm not going to get down on anybody else for it."
Hall leaves the Army in April 2009. He would like to find work with the National Park Service or Environmental Protection Agency, anything outdoors.
Hall is frighteningly reasonable about the whole thing, too bad the other side can't be as well.
I'm glad he's getting out. If I had any outdoor jobs to offer him (or any job at all for that matter), I certainly would.
