{"article":{"id":96609,"heading":"US troops are worse than scabs","author":"peon in the US","created":"2003-12-07 23:34:28","modified":"2003-12-12 04:41:43","last_modified":"Fri, 12 Dec 2003 11:41:43","article":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p>Scabs cross picket lines during strikes. They bust unions and take workers jobs, causing economic hardship for the union workers and their families. They say they do it because they need jobs and that they don&rsquo;t realize the harm they do. What could be worse than scabs? <br><br> US troops: <br>  <br> 1) Cross international borders and slaughter workers and their family members.  <br>  <br> 2) Take women and children as hostages.  <br>  <br> 3) Torture and murder prisoners.  <br>  <br> 4) Assassinate labor leaders so as to undermine the labor movements in third world countries.  <br>  <br> 5) Seize public land, resources and assets and turn it over to foreign investors.   <br>  <br> 6) Poison the environment with toxic substances like depleted uranium.  <br>  <br> 7) Bomb homes, schools, hospitals, water treatment facilities, food storage facilities and TV stations.  <br>  <br> 8) Shoot journalists, ambulances with the wounded and civilians trying to flee.  <br><br> Many anti-war activists in the US have adopted the &lsquo;Support Our Troops&rsquo; slogan - the same slogan the imperialists war mongers use. How can peace activists support murderous imperialist troops in an illegal invasion and occupation?  <br><br> They say US troops are members of the working class who joined the military because they needed jobs. They say young people who join the US military don&rsquo;t realize the harm they&rsquo;re doing. Does this sound familiar? These are exactly the same excuses the scabs use! In other words, their argument for supporting US troops is a scab argument.  <br><br> The irony of it is that these same anti-war activists claim they support the labor movement!  <br><br> Who would ever think of carrying a placard that reads &lsquo;Support Our Scabs&rsquo; during a strike? What strike was ever won by employing such a strategy? Workers have nothing but disdain for scabs. Workers remind scabs that what they are doing is shameful, dishonorable and cowardly. Scabs are not our working class brothers and sisters, rather they are collaborators, traitors to the working class. <br><br> Why should we treat US troops, who do the dirty work for the imperialist bosses and who are far worse than scabs, any different? Their conduct in Iraq up to this point in time does not merit our support, i.e., they are not collectively organizing a mutiny and\/or disobeying orders like the US troops did in Vietnam. They are, for the most part, following orders and doing their job, i.e., murdering, torturing, kidnapping and raping Iraqis.     <br><br> The \"scabniks\" need to be flushed-out so we can build a real anti-war movement here in the US, one that&rsquo;ll attract all sectors of the population, not just middle and upper class whites - one that doesn&rsquo;t cling to imperialist patriotism and its rotten slogans. In short we need an anti-imperialist peace movement in the US.  <br>  <br> <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"A working class perspective on the US anti-war movement's adaptation of the slogan &quot;Support Our Troops&quot;","numcomment":21,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2003\/12\/96609.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":96620,"heading":"TREASON","article":"I feel very, very sorry for our troops......they are in a life threatening hell, put their by our cowardly, lying &quot;leaders&quot;.\r\nAs far as I'm concerned, these are our children:  our young men and women, who are over there for what?\r\nfor Israel?, for weapons of mass destruction? for cheap oil prices? Whatever you think, it's a crime......and in my book, this crime is called  TREASON! \r\nTime to have an investigation as to which groups lobbied for this war.  And in the meantime, to get our children HOME NOW!!!","author":"jj","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-08 00:07:47","modified":"2003-12-08 00:07:47","fileurl":""},{"id":96649,"heading":"Those who would have others do the fighting and Dying","article":"How the fuck would you know, you're not there!, (just like everyone else who wanted this war) ","author":"jj","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-08 03:08:03","modified":"2003-12-08 03:08:03","fileurl":""},{"id":96651,"heading":"&quot;and in my book, this crime is called TREASON!&quot;","article":"Hey, jj!  You know your book only sold about 20 copies, right?\r\n\r\nYou, my misguided friend, are so tremendously in the minority.\r\n\r\nPoor fellah.  How does it feel to have such insignificant politics?\r\n\r\nI can't speak for the rest of the military; only myself.  But me, personally, I don't need whatever kind of weenie support you're offering.  I signed on to do a job.  I'm doing it, with or without your support or gratitude.  My service is not predicated on how popular what I do is.  I feel I owe something to this country, and at least 20 years of hard work and sacrifice ought to make it even.\r\n\r\nSo, thanks, but no thanks.  Your brand of support, that wants to see my military cowardly and emasculated, is really not appreciated.\r\n\r\nSave it for the other so-called &quot;peace lovers&quot; who wanted Saddam to continue killing people.","author":"nonanarchist2153","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-08 03:11:53","modified":"2003-12-08 03:11:53","fileurl":""},{"id":96653,"heading":"More for jj, the lucky guy.","article":"Guess again, Skippy.\r\n\r\nI fully supported the war.  The only beef I had with it was it was too long in coming, but unlike others, I know the limits of my knowledge and will not second-guess the administration.\r\n\r\nI haven't been over there...yet.  But it's ceratinly possible I could be sent.  And I would go, willingly, ready to do my part.  I have friends and co-workers who have been over there, and that are there now.\r\n\r\n(Man, I would have LOVED to be there at Baghdad International when the first US C-130 landed there!  Air Power, baby!)\r\n\r\njj, you criticize those who seem to be supporting the effort at no personal cost.\r\n\r\nWhat about you?  What are you doing?\r\n\r\nHere's a hint:  Singing, chanting, and waving ridiculous signs around are NOT great personal sacrifices.\r\n\r\nIf you support our troops so wholeheartedly, you could volunteer with the USO or the Red Cross.  I know the RC has folks over there; perhaps you could sign up for a tour, huh?\r\n\r\nOr, if you're like the ususal imc'er, you could join the Ba'athist holdouts and plant IED's along the roadside, hiding amongst a group of women and children while killing coalition troops.\r\n\r\nEither way, you could put your money where your mouth is.\r\n\r\nOr else you're just another whining hypocrite.\r\n\r\nWhat's it gonna be, jj?","author":"nonanarchist2207","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-08 03:22:54","modified":"2003-12-08 03:22:54","fileurl":""},{"id":96656,"heading":"And now it's peed-on's turn.","article":"Can anyone think of anything more totally useless than a Marxist?\r\n\r\nPeed-on, you have parroted perfectly your masters' anti-American, anti-military propaganda.  You're quite the Little Red Robot, aren't you?  You hide behind the Constitution while seeking its dissolution, you cowardly little hypocrite.\r\n\r\nBut there's hope for you yet.  Once you grow up, you'll see what an idiot you were for believing this murderous, hate-filled claptrap.  You have to start thinking for yourself.  I know, your masters don't encourage that sort of thing; there's no such thing as a thinking Communist.  Once they get the neurons jump-started, they're no longer equipped to be Communists.  \r\n\r\nCome on, peed-on!  Walk towards the light!","author":"nonanarchist2218","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-08 03:35:42","modified":"2003-12-08 03:35:42","fileurl":""},{"id":96662,"heading":"Those that would have others do the fighting and dying for them","article":"Still talking to yourself? \r\n\r\nMe a hypocrite? I don't believe in this war, not at all! That's why I'm not fighting!\r\n\r\n.......what's your excuse, again?  \r\n\r\nYou're on these boards all the time; you passionately believe in this war.........but like all your pro-war buddies,  you don't fight it yourself, now do you? You, expect others to do the fighting & dying for you, while you wrap yourself up in the American flag.\r\nYou, and the people like you, are the lowest of the low....pure slime.","author":"jj","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-08 04:52:27","modified":"2003-12-08 04:52:27","fileurl":""},{"id":96685,"heading":"Yes, you are a hypocrite, jj.","article":"What great personal sacrifices have YOU made in support of your beliefs?\r\n\r\nYeah...that's what I thought.  None.\r\n\r\nNo, I'm not fighting the war...yet.  You see, the difference between us is that I can be called upon to sacrifice for my beliefs.  A friend of mine just got back from 4 months at Baghdad International.  His biggest complaints?  The food and the mortar fire.\r\n\r\nHow 'bout you, jj?  Are you anxiously waiting the call to go stand in the street and hold a sign, where the greatest personal danger you'd face would be an allergic reaction to the fake blood you spattered on yourself?  Maybe take a chance on getting a nasty splinter from the &quot;No Blood for Oil!&quot; sign handle?  Or the dreaded sore throat from yelling &quot;BUSH IS HITLER!!&quot;\r\n\r\nThere is a quote form John Stuart Mill that sums you up perfectly, jj:\r\n\r\n&quot;War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.&quot;\r\n\r\nMill nailed you, jj.  Decayed and degraded, kept free by the exertions of men better than yourself.","author":"nonanarchist 1109","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-08 16:27:58","modified":"2003-12-08 16:27:58","fileurl":""},{"id":96741,"heading":"warriors don't wait for the draft","article":"&quot;Called up?&quot;  Nobody gets called up anymore.  There aren't enough military jobs or budget to go around, so they use temps.\r\n\r\nGo enlist.\r\n\r\nGo help your country create the conditions that create terrorism.  Go shoot an Iraqi for the Empire, or just to watch him or her die.\r\n\r\nGo look for the WMDs that aren't there.\r\n\r\nGo take one for the team.\r\n\r\nGo hunt down Saddam, so the old military there lose some hope, and people feel free to rise up, and America can leave Iraq.\r\n\r\nThe Iraqis never asked Americans to liberate them from Saddam.  They asked Clinton to lift the sanctions.  We didn't liberate Iraq.  We conquered Iraq.\r\n\r\n-- I've held some anti-war signs, but none of them said &quot;support our troops&quot;.  The troops aren't there to question, just to do or die.  They aren't &quot;our&quot; troops.  They &quot;belong&quot; to the generals who conduct the war.  Just like a store worker &quot;belongs&quot; to the store.  When the soldiers or workers rise up and act as individuals, that's when I support them. --\r\n","author":"more rational","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-09 10:26:37","modified":"2003-12-09 10:26:37","fileurl":""},{"id":96747,"heading":"not as rational as he thinks","article":"Dude, you have some totally whacked-out ideas about the military.  Not to mention politics, the Middle East, and life in general.\r\n\r\nYou're been programmed well by your America-hating masters.\r\n\r\nYou've held some anti-war signs?  Congratulations.  The personal sacrigfices you're made for your beliefs are simply astounding.  I'm sure your name is in Stockholm, on the &quot;Give this guy a Peace Prize&quot; list.\r\n\r\nNow look around and see exactly what you accomplished.  \r\n\r\nHere's a hint:  Nothing.","author":"nonanarchist0650","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-09 12:03:47","modified":"2003-12-09 12:03:47","fileurl":""},{"id":96755,"heading":"&quot;Go enlist.&quot;","article":"Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.\r\n\r\nThat's what gets me about these loony IMC &quot;radicals&quot;.  They sit around and gripe about &quot;Blood for oil&quot; and other such nonesense, but the farthest they're willing to go for their beliefs is down to the local street corner to chant, anathemize,  and grizzle.\r\n\r\nThen, they tell those of us who disagree with them to go join up with the military, wishing ill-will upon us, and hoping we will get killed for their freedom to  chant, anathemize,  and grizzle.\r\n\r\nBut many of us are either currently in the military, or have previously served. \r\n\r\nSo while they've lived cushy lives of  comfort, getting soft while pretending to be hard, they remain merely dilettantes in the service of our nation.","author":"Max","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-09 15:20:28","modified":"2003-12-09 15:20:28","fileurl":""},{"id":96756,"heading":"&quot;support the troops&quot;","article":"I also like the shift in liberal postures from the Vietnam era to today. Back then the hippies were all like &quot;BABY KILLERS!&quot; when it came to the subject of the troops.\r\n\r\nToday, they're all like &quot;Ummm, we support the troops dude. They're just killing because that's what they are told to do. They can't help it, they're just tools man...&quot;\r\n\r\nWhat a joke. You hippified punks know you can't get away with that &quot;baby killer&quot; schtick nowadays, huh?\r\n\r\nJust sit there on you asses with you mouths shut, okay? Let the real Americans decide what's best for our country, impotent clowns...","author":"Max","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-09 15:29:20","modified":"2003-12-09 15:29:20","fileurl":""},{"id":96796,"heading":"OneEyedMan","article":"Let me tell you a story 'bout Minnie the Moocher...\r\n\r\n...joined the military 'cause no real job would have her...\r\n\r\n...if treasonous talk just makes her wail...\r\n\r\n...it's 'cause she's got a brain as quick as a snail!\r\n\r\n\r\nHiDEE HiDEE HiDEE HO!","author":"KPC","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-09 19:55:44","modified":"2003-12-09 19:55:44","fileurl":""},{"id":96798,"heading":"&quot; ...if treasonous talk just makes her wail...&quot;","article":"Treasonous talk makes some people wail because we're patriots, motherfucker. Some of us won't sit idly by and allow you ingrates to trash talk this wonderful nation without bitch-slapping your sorry asses into next week.\r\n\r\nYou should be getting down on your hands and knees every single day and kissing that American soil beneath your feet, you sorry piece of communist trash...","author":"Max","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-09 20:08:06","modified":"2003-12-09 20:08:06","fileurl":""},{"id":96799,"heading":"OneEyedMan","article":"&quot;...it's 'cause she's got a brain as quick as a snail! &quot;\r\n\r\n...thanks for the proof, Minnie...couldn't have provoked a better demonstration if I wanted to!\r\n\r\nHiDEE HiDEE HiDEE Hi!","author":"KPC","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-09 20:15:10","modified":"2003-12-09 20:15:10","fileurl":""},{"id":96801,"heading":"What are you saying KPC?","article":"That you're not really a traitor? That you love America as much as the rest of us? That you're a patriot?\r\n\r\nI'm listening...","author":"Max","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-09 20:45:39","modified":"2003-12-09 20:45:39","fileurl":""},{"id":96863,"heading":"Such Bravery! Such Patriotism! I Am Impressed!","article":"All these pro-war patriots wrapped up in the American flag, fighting their war at the computer keyboard.\r\nWhile others are doing the real fighting, the real dying the real bleeding. \r\nMy,  What bravery! \r\nWow! Such patriotism!\r\n\r\n\r\n","author":"Cartier","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-10 05:26:20","modified":"2003-12-10 05:26:20","fileurl":""},{"id":96916,"heading":"&quot; others are doing the real fighting&quot;","article":"That's what I say every time I see an &quot;activst&quot; with a pansy posterboard...","author":"Max","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-10 13:36:55","modified":"2003-12-10 13:36:55","fileurl":""},{"id":96993,"heading":"So Cartier","article":"So cartier.\r\n\r\nBy your logic then, it is ALWAYS wrong and somehow shameful to support any troops in combat if that someone is not fighting alongside with them\r\n\r\nYou, my friend are an idiot.\r\n\r\nWhen is it permissable to cheer and support our soldiers. Only when we are at peace?","author":"fresca556y","parent_id":96609,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-12-12 04:41:43","modified":"2003-12-12 04:41:43","fileurl":""}]}