Becky
Oberg is a freelance reporter specializing in social justice, religion,
health, and military issues. She graduated from Baylor University
in 2001 with a B.A. in journalism.
Unable to find work, she enlisted in the Army in 2003. She was medically discharged, but able to recover quickly and find steady freelance work.
Becky's passion for social justice stems partly from her Christian faith and partly from her experiences.
"I've eaten in fine restaurants and I've salvaged food from trash cans," she said. "I've lived in a quiet suburb and I've slept on friends' couches because I had nowhere else to go. I've been locked up and watched like a fish in an aquarium. As a result, I'm compassionate and fiercely devoted to truth.
I use words to work for justice."
Becky currently lives and works in Indianapolis. Her journalistic talent and passion for justice have been noted by many.
We are proud to feature her work here on the pages
of duckdaotsu.
f u l l m e t a l s t r a i t j a c k e t
_______________________"Motivated, motivated, downright motivated! Ooh! Aah! I wanna kill somebody. Ooh! Aah! I wanna stab somebody! Hooah!" Why is this cadence so fun to sing?
..."You're not gonna make it, Oberg! You have issues!" I have to survive. I am a 24-year-old kid without options.
--
"Give it back," I say, still clutching the pen. I'm half laughing, half ready to fight. Sawyer is smiling slightly and waiting for me to respond."You're going to hand it over," she says. She starts to count. I clutch the pen tightly, determined to force them to use force. I am getting close to being put in restraints. Sawyer's voice grows firmer with each number. "Six S Seven S"
I hand her the pen. She smiles and dismisses the nurse. "See, now that wasn't so hard," she says. "I'm proud of you."
All I can think of is the pen. Now the Army has taken everything from me.
H O M I C I D E
________________Dec. 4, 2002
Letter from Charles W. Adams, serving a life sentence for murder
A man died here today because a correctional sergeant improperly
made a medical determination and told a nurse "We'll handle this," before he and officers overpowered a convulsing prisoner, handcuffed him behind the back, threw his coat over his head, slung him between them for a 150-yard walk to Seg, and dropped him on the floor there. The young man, Oquendo, begged for medical assistance and he died because it was decided he was faking.
the expatriate
_____________
I'm waiting to meet a deserting soldier near a Safeway grocery store. He'll be a passenger on the Freedom Underground, an underground network dedicated to sneaking deserters out of the country....
March 3
23:20
This fog is straight out of a bad mystery novel. It forces [us] to slow down at times. Then it suddenly dissipates, and we continue down the interstate at an average of 65 mph. We're somewhere in Ohio.
The original plan was to enter Canada through the Detroit-Windsor border; that's changed. Now the plan is to go to Buffalo and cross at Niagara Falls. I've got a video camera; I'm filming part of the journey for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)....
I say little about the war or my opinion of Bush -- I'm a journalist, just along to document the story. It's hard to remain impartial, though. Part of me wants to say "Snap out of it, soldier!"and encourage him to return to his unit; part of me is sympathetic to his situation....