Like most American guys, when I turned 17, I started getting calls from military recruiters; I got the pamphlets, the fliers, the promise of travel to far away lands, and free money for college. My life path took me in a different direction, and having met with a Marine recruiter, I decided that was not the road I was destined to follow.
I held no grudge against the man, nor the Marines. He was doing his job, and I'm damn glad he was. Just because the military was not the option I wanted to pursue, I didn't feel the need to demean the man or other people like me who decided to sign on the dotted line. No harm, no foul.
I never forgot that in this era, we have a military comprised of volunteers. The draft is over, and most likely won't make an appearance anytime soon. People are free to talk to recruiters, and as free to say no as they ever were. Are recruiters intimidating? They can be. Does that make them bad? You tell me.
Then I found this. I'm especially fond of the cartoon of the nerdy white girl and the two urban 'thugz' posturing aggressively and showing off their grasp of 'U.S. Imperialism.' It's got a 'Cool, now I can be badass by bringing down the establishment.' vibe going on.
The Not Your Soldier Project gives youth the tools we need to stop the military invasion of our schools and our communities.
Not Your Soldier Action Camps bring together young people who are heavily targeted by military recruitment. At the camps, youth learn how to take action to fight military recruitment, the poverty draft, and the corporations that profit off of war.
Immediately I smelled the tell-tale odor of pacifism and disaffected youth wafting about. Let's dissect this a bit. So the project 'gives youth the tools we need to stop the military invasion of our schools and communities.' Evidently 'recruiting' equates to 'invasion' in their lingo.
Since we have fairly generous civil rights here, the 'tools' needed to fight this 'invasion' would be a set of balls and a mouth. Just be a man and say 'No, thanks.' Done. End of story. Well, at least it should be.
The true intent of this organization starts to come out in the next paragraph. '...fight military recruitment, the poverty draft, and the corporations that profit off war.'
Now we've got three seperate issues going. Military recruitment; we've already hit on this. Evidently these people feel an overwhelming need to teach people how to aggressively and collectively say no. Ok. Good for them.
Next, the over-used 'poverty draft.' I'm so sick of this term. Anybody who thinks the military is their only, and I do mean ONLY way out of a bad financial situation is too stupid to be anywhere near a weapon in the first place. You could always get a student loan or scholarship, or god forbid a JOB, and actually making something out of yourself rather than whine about how you were duped into joining the 'Corps because there was no other way to go to school/get a house/get a car.
Now we get to the meat of the movement. '...the corporations that profit off war.' Are you getting that nice little socialist tingle yet? You should be. Let's check out the 'Who we are' page to get a feel. Here's a sample: The Ruckus Society. Their home page promotes an animation called 'Punk Ass Crusade, featuring a 'hot new song from The Coup.'
There's also the War Resisters League, an avowed socialist group and following them, the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, who in turn supports the Young Communists's League. This is just a sample, but the point is unmistakable.
I wonder if these people understand how exactly it is that they got and maintain their right to protest? It amazes me how detached some young people feel from society that rather than work internally to change it, they simply ascribe to a belief system that would, if enacted, embody everything they hate.Rebellion is one thing. Informed rebellion is another.
This isn't protest working within the system for change, it's protest working to destroy the system from within. It accomplishes this feat by using the very youth they want so badly to protect, but sadly, that irony appears to be lost on them.
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Soldier, War, Protest, NotYourSoldier, Communism, Socialism, Military, Recruiting, Youth, Schools, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, objector, youth, US
