Is anyone really surprised

[outlier_lynn]

Maybe the young or naive have reason to be surprised by the violent nature of US military forces. Anybody who knows very much about the history of warfare, though, should not have been taken by surprise.

Every army that has ever fought, every police force larger than 10 people, every situation in which strong-man rule was in force, has resulted in abuses by those in power against those not in power.

It is the logical consequence of Dominator Model social structuring.

And we are going to punish (more Dominator Model maintenance) the lowest level possible in the hierarchy with only a passing nod that the issue might be systemic.

I despise the philosophy of punishment, the policy of deterrence and the politics of hate.

There is no way to peace; peace is the way.
There is no violence that will end violence.
There is no morality that will end immorality.

There is only love or a cry for love.

I am getting a lot of email from activist organizations giving me the latest details from military trials of the abuses in Iraq. The details are not the point. I do not need to know what a young soldier did to know what a young soldier is capable of doing.

I don't need to know where the line has been drawn to know that training a young man or woman to hate an enemy will lead to abusing another human being. As night follows day, brainwashing young people to kill with pride will result in young people abusing others without shame.

It is NOT a failing of the young people.

I am disgusted by the Bush administration spokespeople who insist that this is isolated and not condoned. It is the very life blood of the US military. I know damn well what the military is capable of doing. If the Secretary of Defense isn't aware, he should resign! Hell, he should resign anyway. To remain in office IS to condone that behavior. And the righteous asshole knows it.

Americans who are interested in peace might consider voting the violence-loving, punishment-minded, right-wingers out of office. There is no "God's Will" in our killing each other. I don't care what you religion is.

I am feeling a need to teach a little love. I going to present a free workshop for my friends and their friends on Sunday, June 13, 2004, from 11am - 5 pm. I will cancel it if fewer than 20 people register. You may register here.

Love, gentleness and peace.

Comments

abuses in war

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

i mostly agree with your assessment, though i'd be real curious how you'd handle it if you were in a position of power, since you think punishment is not a valid option.

however, i disagree with It is NOT a failing of the young people. yes, it is, IMO. there are lots of people who don't commit abuses even under pressure, even under orders. it trivializes their character to claim that those who gleefully dance around abused prisoners somehow haven't failed.

Re: abuses in war

[crazed-lynn.livejournal.com]

Let's assume that human behavior fits a bell curve to some degree. There will be folks with a very high sense of personal responsibility. These people will not compormise their principles under any circumstance over any length of time.

The majority will swing and sway in the winds. They will be more or less easily lead to any desired conclusion. During times of war, leaders spend a lot of time daemonizing the enemy as a whole and as individuals. Most people will buy into this enough to make it mostly easy to kill.

But a non trivial group will take on the propaganda as gospel. With the right amount of levening, these folks will commit horribly brutal acts in the name of righteousness.

I do not think it is a failing of character that causes this. It is part of being human that some people are more suseptable than others to hate.

I do think that any system that insists that violence is an acceptable tactic in some situations will have trouble finding a solid line in the sand.

Military leaders KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that some number of the troops are prone to "excessive" violence. It is a complete breakdown in supervision that these abuses happened in the prisons (and the other one's we don't know about on the battle fields).

It is not a failing for human beings to be violient under circumstances. It is part of being primates. What is the failing? The failing is that of a system that believes every individual will be in the top 20 percent of the "integrity" curve. It is the failure of leadership to be responsible for what happens on their watch right down to the 18 year old who slaps a prisoner around.

The punishment model, though, cannot change the pattern. People will hide what they think will be punished. Mid managers that are hiding things from superiors are setting up their subborninates for exactly the the kind of abuses and counter abuses we are seeing.

If I were in George W. Bushes shoes, I would fire the Secretary of Defense and the entire chain of command from the lowest PFC to the most senior General involved with those prisons. I would make all information about the abuses public. I would make a public apology to the Iraqis involved and Iraq as a whole. I would then apologize to the American people and the world community. Then I would resign.

That action MIGHT have some impact on America and its horrible foreign and domestic policies.

But then, the American voting public would never vote me into office. :)