Militarism at the Heart of US Gun Violence

[Aletheia4u]

From February 2018:

Militarism at the heart of a violent culture

"AS THE president continued smearing millions of immigrants as violent gang members to justify racist deportations and a border wall, it happened again. A young white man entered a school, not far from where I graduated, and unloaded a legally purchased weapon of war, killing 17 innocent people in three minutes...."

"WE NOW need to expand the demand beyond gun control, and connect the issue of mass murder at home to state-sanctioned mass murder abroad.

"At age 19, shooter Nikolas Cruz has not lived a year of his life when the U.S. was not actively bombing or occupying other countries, and exporting war through lucrative weapons contracts.

"A teen who can't yet legally buy beer or rent a car was able to purchase a weapon made for tactical combat--but then again, the same legislators who allow the AR-15 to be sold more easily than a Bud Light have supported every U.S. war and every bloated military budget presented to them.

"The U.S.-manufactured ammunition that kills abroad kills just the same in Parkland, Florida.

"The crisis we have before us is not about rap music or video games, as has been charged in previous mass shootings.

"It is a capitalist crisis."

A crisis groomed since 1945 during which the Exceptional US has exterminated millions of innocent human beings from Korea to Kandahar.

Only someone as dense as Trump would be surprised when these chickens come home to roost.

 

[georgephillip]

From February 2018:

Militarism at the heart of a violent culture

"AS THE president continued smearing millions of immigrants as violent gang members to justify racist deportations and a border wall, it happened again. A young white man entered a school, not far from where I graduated, and unloaded a legally purchased weapon of war, killing 17 innocent people in three minutes...."

"WE NOW need to expand the demand beyond gun control, and connect the issue of mass murder at home to state-sanctioned mass murder abroad.

"At age 19, shooter Nikolas Cruz has not lived a year of his life when the U.S. was not actively bombing or occupying other countries, and exporting war through lucrative weapons contracts.

"A teen who can't yet legally buy beer or rent a car was able to purchase a weapon made for tactical combat--but then again, the same legislators who allow the AR-15 to be sold more easily than a Bud Light have supported every U.S. war and every bloated military budget presented to them.

"The U.S.-manufactured ammunition that kills abroad kills just the same in Parkland, Florida.

"The crisis we have before us is not about rap music or video games, as has been charged in previous mass shootings.

"It is a capitalist crisis."

A crisis groomed since 1945 during which the Exceptional US has exterminated millions of innocent human beings from Korea to Kandahar.

Only someone as dense as Trump would be surprised when these chickens come home to roost.

Go to Chicago and get the guns from those militaristic thugs.

Go to Chicago and get the guns from those militaristic thugs.

Too many greedy capitalists in the way

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Lol
Buy more guns and ammo... It doesn’t get any more American than that.
And someone else’s firearm ownership is none of your fucking business you spineless motherfucker.

Lol
Buy more guns and ammo... It doesn’t get any more American than that.
And someone else’s firearm ownership is none of your fucking business you spineless motherfucker.

Watch out for bone spurs, Spanky.

 

[badger2]

It takes stones to start a mo fo-'in thread like this one. The pathologies are real and global.

'Christian Fundamentalists, Christian Fascists.
Now, right away, the question may arise: "Why do you call these right-wing Christians Fascists?" Well, th3e simple and basic reason is that they are Christian, (and [italics]) are (fascists [it.]) [Laughter]. They are the present-day American version of the Nazis in Germany, headed by HItler, in the period before and during World War 2. They want to impose a fascist (theocracy [it.]) on society -- an openly repressive form of reactionary rule, in the interests of the capitalist class and the capitalist-imperialist system of exploitation, in which the law and the exercise of political power will be based on and justified on the basis of Christian scripture and "Biblical law" -- as interpreted by authoritative figures recognized as legitimate by these Christian Fascists.

One of the things that is very striking is that when these Christian Fascists are confronted with the kinds of horrors that I've mentioned, many of which are based in the Old Testament of the Bible, they will say: "Oh, that was Old Testament which God had with the ancient nation of Israel. That's the old covenant. Now we have a new covenant, a New Testament, based on the life and teachings, and the death and resurrection, of Jesus."

Well, as a matter of fact, the New Testament upholds such things as slavery and the subjugation of women, Paul's letters throughout the New Testament, for example, do this rather emphatically. Paul insists repeatedly that slaves should be loyal to and obey their masters (see for example, Colossians 3:22-24). The New Testament, in the person of Paul -- who, as I will return to later, really is the most influential figure in the New Testament -- tells people to obey earthly authority, without regard to how oppressive that earthly authority may be, because as Paul puts it, such earthly authority is ordained by God (see Romans 13:1-7). The New Testament insists, in the words of Jesus himself (as in John 14:6 and John 15:6), that if you do not follow him and accept what he teaches, you will not be able to get into heaven and instead will be damned to horrible suffering in hell for all eternity. So, if you believe in and insist on taking the Bible literally, as the inerrant and unchallengeable word of God, you have to believe that everybody who follows another religion -- and even children who die at an early age, without knowing anything about religion, one way or the other -- must be condemned to eternal damnation because they haven't accepted Jesus as their personal savior.'
(Avakian B, Away With All Gods!, pp. 17-18)

 

[badger2]

In #298, the caption might read, "Snap out of it, m---er--cker, we've got fighting to do!"

 

[georgephillip]

Having already mentioned Zizek's Army and Church in this thread, as well as capitalist monetary coercion in the world market, an expose by Avakian plumbs the depths of the pathology:

Militarism: Egoism of the Rescuer-Persecutor Syndrome

'It is also worthwhile looking at Jesus' parable of the Ten Pounds, in which a nobleman gives ten pounds of ten to his slaves and then, after a time, rewards or punishes them according to how they used this money -- whether they wisely invested it for foolishly squandered it. At the end of this parable -- which is supposed to be about the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven and what will happen to the righteous and to the evil ones when that time comes -- the nobleman in the parable says: "But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them -- bring them here and slaughter them in my presence." (See Luke 19:1-27 -- what is quoted here is verse 27.) And not without reason, Christian Fascists in the U.S., including in the U.S. military, interpret that this parable, and in particular its concluding verse (Luke 19:27), as a declaration that those who do not recognize Jesus as Lord and savior will face merciless destruction when the Kingdom of Heaven arrives. In an interview with Tikkun magazine, Mickey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation describes the outlook of the Christian fundamentalists in the U.S. military: "They often quote Luke 19:27 when I speak to them. That's the Parable of the Pounds in which Jesus says: 'go out among the people, and bring back to me those who refuse to accept me as King over them, and slaughter them.' "
(Avakian B, Away With All Gods!, p. 17)

And not without reason, Christian Fascists in the U.S., including in the U.S. military, interpret that this parable, and in particular its concluding verse (Luke 19:27), as a declaration that those who do not recognize Jesus as Lord and savior will face merciless destruction when the Kingdom of Heaven arrives

Speaking of Trump...

The Trump effect is inspiring radical Christians in the U.S. military

"Donald Trump's election has led to such a steep rise in fundamentalist Christian evangelizing and religious bigotry in the U.S. armed forces that the matter is reaching the level of a 'national security threat,' according to information shared exclusively with Newsweek by an organization that represents and advocates for secular and minority religious views in the military."

Trump's coat and tie version of white supremacy translates well with radical Christians in the US military; maybe it's a good thing he dodged his fight in Vietnam?

Ohhhhhh…..scary!!

Ohhhhhh…..scary!!

The Trump effect is inspiring radical Christians in the U.S. military

"The number of complaints from servicemen and -women in the Army, Air Force, Marines and other service branches to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) has doubled in number since November 2016, according to lawyer Michael 'Mikey' Weinstein, a former Air Force officer who founded the organization.

"Many of the recent charges are coming from members of minority religions, including Roman Catholics, Jews and Muslims, and from atheists.

"Among the complaints: military family and marital therapy programs are being infused with Protestant Christianity, which would violate the U.S. Constitution; open anti-Semitism; anti-LGBT statements, posters, symbols and bullying; openly anti-Muslim teachers and Islamophobic attacks; a rise in on-base evangelizing; and increased pressure on recruits or lower-level personnel and service members to convert to fundamentalist Christianity."

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Having already mentioned Zizek's Army and Church in this thread, as well as capitalist monetary coercion in the world market, an expose by Avakian plumbs the depths of the pathology:

Militarism: Egoism of the Rescuer-Persecutor Syndrome

'It is also worthwhile looking at Jesus' parable of the Ten Pounds, in which a nobleman gives ten pounds of ten to his slaves and then, after a time, rewards or punishes them according to how they used this money -- whether they wisely invested it for foolishly squandered it. At the end of this parable -- which is supposed to be about the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven and what will happen to the righteous and to the evil ones when that time comes -- the nobleman in the parable says: "But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them -- bring them here and slaughter them in my presence." (See Luke 19:1-27 -- what is quoted here is verse 27.) And not without reason, Christian Fascists in the U.S., including in the U.S. military, interpret that this parable, and in particular its concluding verse (Luke 19:27), as a declaration that those who do not recognize Jesus as Lord and savior will face merciless destruction when the Kingdom of Heaven arrives. In an interview with Tikkun magazine, Mickey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation describes the outlook of the Christian fundamentalists in the U.S. military: "They often quote Luke 19:27 when I speak to them. That's the Parable of the Pounds in which Jesus says: 'go out among the people, and bring back to me those who refuse to accept me as King over them, and slaughter them.' "
(Avakian B, Away With All Gods!, p. 17)

And not without reason, Christian Fascists in the U.S., including in the U.S. military, interpret that this parable, and in particular its concluding verse (Luke 19:27), as a declaration that those who do not recognize Jesus as Lord and savior will face merciless destruction when the Kingdom of Heaven arrives

Speaking of Trump...

The Trump effect is inspiring radical Christians in the U.S. military

"Donald Trump's election has led to such a steep rise in fundamentalist Christian evangelizing and religious bigotry in the U.S. armed forces that the matter is reaching the level of a 'national security threat,' according to information shared exclusively with Newsweek by an organization that represents and advocates for secular and minority religious views in the military."

Trump's coat and tie version of white supremacy translates well with radical Christians in the US military; maybe it's a good thing he dodged his fight in Vietnam?

Ohhhhhh…..scary!!

Ohhhhhh…..scary!!

The Trump effect is inspiring radical Christians in the U.S. military

"The number of complaints from servicemen and -women in the Army, Air Force, Marines and other service branches to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) has doubled in number since November 2016, according to lawyer Michael 'Mikey' Weinstein, a former Air Force officer who founded the organization.

"Many of the recent charges are coming from members of minority religions, including Roman Catholics, Jews and Muslims, and from atheists.

"Among the complaints: military family and marital therapy programs are being infused with Protestant Christianity, which would violate the U.S. Constitution; open anti-Semitism; anti-LGBT statements, posters, symbols and bullying; openly anti-Muslim teachers and Islamophobic attacks; a rise in on-base evangelizing; and increased pressure on recruits or lower-level personnel and service members to convert to fundamentalist Christianity."

Rub some dirt on it....

 

[badger2]

#305: Yes, we quoted Weinstein in post #297, which was from an interview dated 13 Aug 2007.

 

[badger2]

Rather than rub dirt on it, suggested reading is Graziano, Divine Violence: Spectacle, Psychosexuality, and Radical Christianity in the Argentine "Dirty War."

 

[AzogtheDefiler]

From February 2018:

Militarism at the heart of a violent culture

"AS THE president continued smearing millions of immigrants as violent gang members to justify racist deportations and a border wall, it happened again. A young white man entered a school, not far from where I graduated, and unloaded a legally purchased weapon of war, killing 17 innocent people in three minutes...."

"WE NOW need to expand the demand beyond gun control, and connect the issue of mass murder at home to state-sanctioned mass murder abroad.

"At age 19, shooter Nikolas Cruz has not lived a year of his life when the U.S. was not actively bombing or occupying other countries, and exporting war through lucrative weapons contracts.

"A teen who can't yet legally buy beer or rent a car was able to purchase a weapon made for tactical combat--but then again, the same legislators who allow the AR-15 to be sold more easily than a Bud Light have supported every U.S. war and every bloated military budget presented to them.

"The U.S.-manufactured ammunition that kills abroad kills just the same in Parkland, Florida.

"The crisis we have before us is not about rap music or video games, as has been charged in previous mass shootings.

"It is a capitalist crisis."

A crisis groomed since 1945 during which the Exceptional US has exterminated millions of innocent human beings from Korea to Kandahar.

Only someone as dense as Trump would be surprised when these chickens come home to roost.

 

[georgephillip]

 

[badger2]

One reviewer of Pavlich's book (post #301) says, '30 Jun 2019 While one always worries whether an author is being objective, the author provides enough actual evidence to convince me that this was an operation blinded by desire to enact stricter gun laws.'

 

[badger2]

As we analyze shari'a in the religious forum, a militarism snippet arises in a youtube video of 9 years ago:
We have already linked hegira (migration) to sharia.

The Anti-Sharia Deportation Petition

Pointing to the comments by antibsman, 6 years ago: "All I saw in his comment was the standard griping about militarism and debt, which is always welcome." The video itself is shabby and time-consuming, though the links given by the first responder (first comment) are worthy of further investigation.

 

[badger2]

We will reattempt to post the URL precisely as it occurs at youtube:
youtube.com/watch?v=RRYZMoJ_02E

 

[badger2]

youtube.com/watch?v=RRYZMoJ_o2E

 

[badger2]

A correctly transcribed URL at youtube does not work at USMB. The title is "BTW#23 The Anti-Sharia Deportation Petition."

 

[badger2]

As of this writing, the petition itself appears to have been scrubbed.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

Nick cruz shot up his school because his classmates picked on him for being a fucking spergy creep it had literally nothing to do with the war in afghanistan

The Yellow Yell, and Hollow Fools Follow Them

They didn't pick on him enough. Bullying can neutralize creeps and force cowards to man up. The students who were disgusted with Cruz were inhibited from straightening him out the Old School way. The anti-bullying policy is a sneaky, virtue-signaling plot to sissify kids.

 

[Correll]

The Yellow Yell, and Hollow Fools Follow Them

They didn't pick on him enough. Bullying can neutralize creeps and force cowards to man up. The students who were disgusted with Cruz were inhibited from straightening him out the Old School way. The anti-bullying policy is a sneaky, virtue-signaling plot to sissify kids.

That'sa fresh perspective, one I have not heard before.