requiem for the man

he speaks often of the soldier as warrior and seldom of the soldier as war criminal, despite his opposition to the wars the soldiers fight. when he speaks of the brutalities committed by americans troops, somehow they become the victims, though they enlisted in the murderous endeavors. he tells us they were ignorant, and thought they were doing good. but didn't german, south african, salvadoran, and chilean soldiers feel the same? and many of them were forced to fight. they had no choice. nuremberg tells us that "i was just following orders" or "i was just doing my job" are not justifiable explanations for war crimes. and enough with this shit about how most soldiers are poor and need money for college and the sad tales about how there are no jobs. most drug dealers and street criminals are poor too, but no one seems to rush to their defense, even though their actions are far less criminal than invading and bombing other countries. if one can not turn to street crime as a response to difficult economic times, than why is turning to imperial plunder a viable career choice?

the man also rants about "draft dodgers." funny, but i prefer the term "war resisters." yes, several of our modern war criminals did refuse to fight in vietnam, but their modern foreign policy decisions would have been no better if they had fought in vietnam. in fact, not fighting in vietnam is probably the best thing that clinton, bush, etc, have ever done.

fuck the warrior. fuck the poor soldier who enlisted to learn a skill or because their were no jobs or because he was bored or because he needed money for college. who doesn't need a job? who does have money for college? who isn't bored?

to repeat, the modern american soldier chooses to enlist. no one forces him to go. there are plenty of books, info on the internet, magazines, and documentaries that clearly explain the brutality of american foreign policy. and yet, these fuck heads continue to join. ok, that's their choice. so, when they get their heads blown off, why do i need to shed a tear? are they bombing people or being bombed? are they more the oppressor or the oppressed? and this goes for whether they are gay, women, or people of color. dropping a bomb is dropping a bomb. it doesn't get better if dropped by a homosexual or an immigrant.

enough with the warrior shit. the warriors are those who resist u.s. imperialism, not those who do its bidding. if we are going to glorify the warrior, where are the films on the nlf? should we mourn the shot down b52 pilot, or celebrate the vietnamese peasant who fired the shot? of course, we can do a bit of both, but what should we do more of? especially if we are going to rant about warriors. yes, it is sad that young americans often join the military with no idea of what they are getting into, and yes, many of them do show courage. but, german soldiers showed courage too. should we watch films on their plight? should we glorify them as warriors? what of the death squads of latin america?

i guess i think a little differently now.

heroes change.