Honestly I’m fine with it. I need people to tell the truth about who they are. Most of the time this is done with sanctimonious grandstanding on one caliber or another. Yesteryear it was crocodile tears for children they never cared about. Now it’s pearl clutching about nationalism for their beloved empire, or at least their understanding of it.
At least I can rest assured that I’m not just paranoid about what is happening in the world. That is an invaluable gift.
there’s a tiny bit of liberal moralism in these comments. we don’t have to debate whether they can be redeemed or not. no one’s asking you to be friends with them. all that matters is whether they can be helpful in the coming revolution. my tentative guess is prolly not
Ok but Greg stoker goes hard tho
“deserve” is a heavy word in that first panel
It always sickened me that Western reactionaries sympathize so much with these veteran enforcers of empire, but don’t care in the slightest about all the victims they murdered and occupied.
There was a post on reddit the other day with someone saying trump wouldn’t let them “protect and serve” the country because they were trans. I wish all veterans would just dome themselves already it’s tiring.
I mean a successful revolution in this country will likely need us to incorporate former veterans to act and inspire as insurgent cadres.
True, but I think that most veterans we can reach are those who didn’t serve that long and weren’t that propagandized
Most likely however there is great opportunity with the growing number of veterans being arrested for protesting ice, not trying to at least float some of our ideas, uncompromisingly, would be foolish. This is all predicated on the assumption that the acceleration toward fascism will be increasing.
Veterans are by and large reactionary as fuck they’re proud of what they did back in Iraq Afghanistan etc we don’t need to appeal to these mass murderers the veterans that join us will probably realize that they fought for the wrong side but they will be few in number
Are you basing this on talking to many veterans (beyond internet interactions)? Or just vibes?
It’s a fact Ive learned by talking to vets, seen online content creators and generally by looking at the community as a whole and also the by looking at the recent ADF report in Afghanistan
Oh, you’re talking about Australian veterans? (That’s what I can find that ADF refers to.) I assumed USian based on the subject of the OP.
Edit: Also, “content creators” is very vague and doesn’t tell much. It’s not as if such people are elected representatives of a given classification of people.
The talking to vets part is the most concrete here.
Edit2: Good thing posting history is a thing. Apparently you’re someone who has lots of anger and bitterness at the status quo (which is understandable), but forgets the “caring about other people” part of why we believe in what we do (which could lead you to reactionary behavior). Communism is a lot more than being angry at what colonialism and imperialism have done to the world and you sure as hell aren’t going to build an alternative world through spite alone.
Theres no difference between adf vets and us vets other than their nationality Ive only mentioned the report because the similarity in how the adf and the us operated in Afghanistan is staggering
Content creators im referring to are YouTubers twitch streamers etc
Why are you so keen on trying to recruit veterans? Unless their specialised they have nothing to offer
A lot of that may be PTSD.
Well whatever it is it’s clearly impacted their politics
No offense but that sounds a bit leftcommy. I believe we need to recognize the material conditions are so deeply against us that in order for a revolution to have any chance of success in this jingoist country we will almost certainly need to make active inroads in splitting the military ideologically and pushing them left utilizing their experience in combat to serve as cadres. I wont disagree that veterans are overwhelmingly reactionary, I’m not even saying I like them, however I cannot think of a single revolution that succeeded without an organized effort deployed to incorporate military experience into the revolution itself. Without that I can’t imagine a revolution progressing further than the Paris Commune.
Forgot to mention you could also read books on insurgencies and train in their tactics being an insurgent is different from a common soldier
This is idealistic and idealist. You can’t learn how to handle the adrenaline given off in the face of imminent death from a book. Sensory experience cannot be invalidated for it serves as memory for future similar stimuli. Furthermore tales of combat heroism are essential to the morale of an army, the CPVF utilized this brilliantly by listening to soldier feedback and creating a newspaper acknowledging accomplishments by and distributed to the CPVF forces on the Korean front soon into their early campaigns.
you’d be surprised to learn how much experience actually matters in combat and how much of what your describing is actually from training not from combat
You could appeal to people serving in the national guard maybe or alternatively you could yourself gain combat experience by joining up with other leftist militias currently in combat
What leftist militias?
Venezuela is currently hiring I think
Who needs revolution when Xi can liberate us imstead
You reminded me of this meme:
I see no meme
Thanks! I’ve certainly thought about it!
I mean there are…some who are on the better side [see: Mike Prysner], but yeah. I think it gets most annoying when the concept of not celebrating it doesn’t even cross their mind. I don’t even know where to start with that mindset
Even before I looked more into the wider alt media network he is a part of, Prysner always made it clear what is at stake is shedding precious American blood on Iraqi soil. This never sat well with me. It is nakedly opportunistic social libertarianism. Did you know he was an interrogator? Not the only former interrogator to become a leftist superstar.
John Kiriakou lied about being present at the torture of Abu Zubaydah in order to frame his “torture-based information is too low-quality for the noble CIA” (missing its many many other uses) narrative. Kiriakou did actually torture people of course. If you line up his service record he worked at places where it happened all the time.
Strange bedfellows? No not really. More on this later.
I don’t really see any diference…
Vietnam war had conscripts. Very big difference.
they could’ve chosen to dodge the draft
Look I ain’t defending them and yes they should have but it is still a difference
All I see is people going half way around the globe to kill children for their own material benefits.
The day that they turn their guns back at their masters will talk.
hey at least they acted ashamed before lol
Did any of these Vietnam veterans Change their tune after the war? Asking out of genuine curiosity
Yes, a good many. This is a puritan follow the rules society. Acting out has mostly still been within certain lines. There’s a difference between individualism and independent thinking, the latter is much more dangerous, socially and literally.
Right!?
