[Peace-discuss] permanently AWOL q27h STAT PRN

["E. Wayne Johnson 朱稳森"]

We visited with one editor of the Carbondale-based Southern Illinoisian 
newspaper about the MW Liberty Fest we had in So. Illinois a few years 
back.  This editor expressed reluctance to write about a anti-war themed 
event because she considered the military to be a major employer of 
young people who could otherwise not easily find jobs...


On 08/20/12 2:25, Carl G. Estabrook wrote:
> President Nixon, who promised to end the draft when he ran as the peace candidate in 1968 (cf. the peace candidate in 2008), finally did so five years later - but largely because the American army of draftees in Vietnam mutinied. Refusing to patrol and in some cases "fragging" their officers, they forced the withdrawal of  US ground troops from Vietnam in 1973.
>
> But real wages in America, which had risen continuously since WWII, stopped rising in that year, and have been flat or declined for most Americans in the 40 years since.  That's a perfect arrangement for an economic draft - a "volunteer" (read mercenary) army made up of those with little chance of better employment elsewhere - and with spill-overs to police, prison guards, "security" firms etc. America's exploding prison population is both cause and effect of this militarization of the poor. Abu Ghraib wasn't an accident but the result of US government policy, in both Republican and Democratic administrations.
>
> I think that an American who fell asleep in 1912 to awake a century later would be astonished at the militarization of our society. --CGE
>
> On Aug 19, 2012, at 9:53 AM, "E. Wayne Johnson"<ewj at pigsqq.org>  wrote:
>
>    
>> When the killing machine meets the enemy in a self-referential way the outcome is as predicted.
>>
>> The desire to Kill, or Be Killed seems intrinsic to joining the Amerikan Death Team, a.k.a the Armed Forces.
>>
>> The death rate due to suicide among all US persons aged 25-34 years is about 12 per 100,000.
>>
>> The death rate among Army personnel is about 24 per 100,000, about double, and is increasing.
>> http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/08/military-army-faces-highest-monthly-total-of-suicides-081612/
>>
>> Presently it's one suicide every 27 hours.
>>
>> "I like working for Uncle Sam
>> Let's me know just who I am".
>>
>> *
>>
>> One could argue successfully that if you join the Army in the first place,
>> there is a high probability that you are some kind of Nucking Fut-job.
>> I would say it's an absolute guarantee, but that is a subjective assessment based
>> upon my personal impression.
>>
>> *
>>
>>
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>
>