Re: [Marxism] The low point of the CNN-YouTube debate

["Joaquin Bustelo" <jbustelo@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sayan wrote: "Many soldiers join the US military because they don't have
other options. Many are from working-class backgrounds. Calling them
'murderous mercenaries' is counter-productive and only makes the left appear
unreal to ordinary blue-collar folks."

The soldier's role in an imperialist army is what it is. That this wasn't
the intention of those individuals, that it isn't what they would have
wanted, does not change reality. And it is a reality with a tremendous
immediacy to anyone in the armed forces who have been to Iraq, Afghanistan,
or countless other places.

Don't take my word for it. See for yourself...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFOF-jv32dA

And especially this one: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFOF-jv32dA

Just a few highlights:

"(Off camera voice) What was the most fun thing?

"(War criminal) The most fun thing? Definitely the women....

"(War criminal) As far as I'm concerned they're all guilty...

"(War criminal) They fucked us and so we're fucking them...

"(War criminal) Anyone with a fucking rag on their head is fair game...

"(War criminal) A girl, probably about 15 years old, she was hot, the body
on that girl, really tight....

"(War criminal) It hadn't been touched yet, she was fucking prime.

"(War criminal) So one of the guys he started pimping her out for 50 bucks a
shot. At the end of the day he made like 500 bucks before she hung herself.

"(off camera voice) She hung herself, hows come she hung herself?

"(War criminal) I don't know, she wasn't happy (laughing)...

"(War criminal) It's really shunned upon if you get raped, I guess she would
have been stoned to death anyways by her people.

"(off camera voice) She was fucked anyways I guess (laughter). In more ways
than one (laughter).

"(off camera voice) You didn't get any shit from the CO did you?

"(War criminal) Not until those pictures came out. Then the biggest rule was
no fucking cameras."

*  *  *

Full disclosure: My thanks to Stan Goff and his feral scholar web site for
highlighting those two videos.

The left is unreal to ordinary blue collar folks not because we rudely point
out American war crimes and other crimes against humanity, but because
"ordinary blue collar folks" are good, Christian, patriarchal, patriotic
Americans, i.e. supporters of imperialism.

And the reason they are supporters of imperialism is that they are, at least
in some senses, its beneficiaries. 

At a time when the "support our troops" loyalty oath is being used to
eviscerate the antiwar movement, we should call things by their right names.

Joaquin


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