Cowardice and Courage
I must say I admire and support the incredible courage of the Iraqi people
in their fight against a cowardly enemy. I especially admire their use of
the guerilla tactics the American revolutionaries used more than two
centuries ago to defeat the Redcoats. The fake surrender and hit and run
attacks are right out of the American Revolution playbook.
The pathetic cowardly whining of US officials who are upset with the
guerilla tactics reminds me of the same whining of the Redcoats. What? You
expect your targets to obediently line up, stand still and wait to be
killed?! Is that the scenario these dumbshit cowards "war gamed" against?
What can be said about the sad sacks of hypocritical excrement who are
complaining about the tactics the Iraqis are using (tactics they have every
right to use) to defend their land from invaders? To borrow the
politically-incorrect words of George Carlin to describe the US military,
the US media, its assorted whiny-assed sniveling cowards and pathetic
sycophants: "What a bunch of fucking pussies!"
The US military is engaged in a brutal gang rape (again) and I refuse to be
one of those vile contemptible idiots who "support the troops." What utter
nonsense. We're supposed to rally around and support our troops now that
they are actively engaged in the gang rape and mass murder of a sovereign
country? No way! This is about as absurd as family members, after being
unable to persuade the rape of their daughter from happening, turn around
and dutifully "support the rapists" after the gang rape has commenced. Such
idiotic behavior is cowardly and contemptible, not to mention absolutely
disgusting.
I should also add that they are not my troops and the US military
establishment has never done anything to protect freedom, liberty, democracy
and human rights here or abroad. Some of us actually have a functioning
bullshit detector and don't reflexively believe all the Orwellian lies and
propaganda crap vomited by the self-serving, self-aggrandizing and
sanctimonious establishment mouthpieces. So spare me the bullshit soliloquy
about the US military protecting our democracy and our freedom.
Every fight for labor rights, human rights, women's rights, civil rights,
indigenous rights, immigrant rights, disability rights, etc., was fought by
popular resistance, popular struggle, protest, dissent, and direct action by
regular everyday workers, families, neighbors and communities. Every inch of
gains, every positive development in the quest for liberty, dignity and
freedom, were made by struggle and resistance.
The history of the US is a history of genocide, naked aggression and
oppression against many of these struggles; not liberation, freedom,
democracy or any such nonsense. US history is littered with millions upon
millions of innocent victims at home and abroad from US terrorism, tyranny,
and aggression.
The history of the US military and its increasingly militarized domestic
police forces in their service to power is a history of brutality, savagery
and viciousness in their efforts to crush and kill nearly every struggle by
people around the world and at home to fight for the basic values of
liberty, freedom and dignity in their own lives. I have absolutely no
respect for such dishonorable and contemptible institutions. I spit on them
and I proudly burn the vile American flag precisely for what it represents:
tyranny and oppression.
These odious opportunists flapping their jaws in the media and proclaiming
their support for our troops and their families mysteriously disappear when
it comes time to support them when they return home injured, disabled, with
deep psychological scars and mysterious ailments. George Bush and his
cronies are demanding large cuts in the Veterans Administration budget and
they continue this country's mean-spirited slash and burn tactics of what is
left of the very limited social programs that benefit veterans and their
families. Once the cannon fodder has served the purposes of Empire, they are
discarded and thrown away. They are disposable people.
Strip away the self-serving bullshit rhetoric of "support the troops" and
what do I see? I see the political and business elites enriching their
pockets and making their lives very comfortable on the backs of the cannon
fodder. The thanks the surviving (and often damaged) veterans get for the
cynical exploitation of their service? Humiliation, exploitation, and an
extended middle finger as they are usually told to shut up, stop
complaining, go away and fuck off.
Support our troops by bringing them home NOW. Support our troops by funding
medical and social programs for the military veterans that have been slashed
and eliminated over the years. Support the forgotten and discarded troops
who end up homeless, depressed, disabled, hungry, angry, disappointed, and
broken. Support our troops when they have the courage to refuse orders.
Support our troops when they rebel and mutiny against the US terrorist war
machine. Support our troops when they desert the blood-stained and cowardly
US military. Support our troops when they frag high ranking war criminals
coldly prosecuting this gang rape, illegal occupation, and mass murder.
Allow me a moment of hope for our future. Most importantly, support our
troops if they ever decide to raise their weapons and point them at the real
enemy: the entire US political, military and business establishment. Fire
away.
Tom Trouble is a pissed off citizen who comes from a military family and is
a contributor to Alternative Press Review (www.altpr.org).