The Military and White Supremacy
Though it may sound absurd, those who join the american military are white supremacists - whether they are white, Black, Latino, Asian or Indigenous. To understand how this can be, we must first examine the nature of the american system of government in terms of it's treatment of non-white peoples.
America has always been, since day one, a brutally racist regime. There would be no america if West African people were not stolen from their home lands in chains to live as slaves in North America and the Caribbean. There would be no "america," if settlers had not slaughtered 90% of the 500 indigenous nations that once lived peacefully upon this land. America would be significantly smaller if the government had not gone to war and stolen a large chunk of land from the Mexican people.
But, then, some will say: "but we have gone so far since then...."
And this is true, depending on your definition of "so far."
How advanced is it that 45% of Black youth live at or below the poverty line? How advanced is it that one out of every three young Black men is either in prison or on probation? How advanced is america when police brutality is at epidemic levels within the Black community? How advanced is it that native people living on reservations are the poorest in america? Is it an achievement that many nations have lost their language forever, and that all of them face extinction if their traditions and religion continue to be stolen and exploited by white america?
Let's face reality - the american government is quite satisfied with keeping all non-white people oppressed. During the 1960's and 70's, the government showed it's 'true colors' when it took illegal, violent measures to stop the freedom struggles of Black, indigenous and Puerto Rican peoples. The government has released papers, explaining exactly how they would "neutralize," freedom-fighters. The program was called COINTELPRO.
Here's how it works (quoted from the Senate Intelligence report on the subject): "To prevent groups and leaders from gaining 'respectability' by discrediting them to the 'responsible,' Negro community, to the white community, and to Negro radicals; and.... to prevent the long range growth of these organizations, especially among youth."
Later it explains: "Although the claimed purpose of the bureau's COINTELPRO tactics was to prevent violence, some of the FBI's tactics against the BPP [Black Panther Party] were clearly intended to foster violence, and many others could reasonably been expected to cause violence....."
In 1969, Chicago Black Panther, Fred Hampton was filled with bullets in his sleep by FBI agents. In 1970, the FBI arrested Oakland Panther Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, for a crime, that just months ago, they themselves admitted he was 400 miles away from possibly committing. The evidence that forced the FBI to release the innocent man they had imprisoned for 27 years was tapes gained through illegal government wire-tapping. Numerous other panthers were shot by authorities, and many remain, to this day in maximum security prisons - locked in their cells for 23 and a half hours a day.
In 1975, the government waged war against the native people at wounded knee; they sent over 150 FBI agents, u.$ marshals and military renegades to attack the organization AIM (American Indian Movement). In the shoot-out, one FBI agent was killed; Leonard Peltier was imprisoned for his death. Freedom of Information act revealed four years later that Leonard was innocent, yet he remains imprisoned.
In 1978, the city of Philadelphia bulldozed the house of the MOVE organization (a black revolutionary family), and brutalized the fleeing MOVE members. Seven years later, when MOVE found a new home, the city dropped a bomb on their house, killing 13 people, numerous dogs, and leveling an entire city block.
So, what does this all have to do with the military? The american military has begun heavily recruiting Black, Latino, Asian and First Nation peoples - calling it "equal opportunity," employment.
The military will tell you all about how much money you'll make and all that.
What the military doesn't tell kids, is that, if they join, they will be the most powerful defense of the most brutally racist system in the world.
Here's how ordinary, underprivileged, non-white people become 'foot-soldiers for white-supremacy.' The system we live under in america is known as a "state."
A state is an organized body of people that seeks to protect the rich from the 'rest of us.'
States exist through the use of violent, coercive groups such as the military, the police forces, prisons and so on.
Whenever, historically, the people have waged revolutionary war against a dictatorship, the winner has been decided largely based on which side the military forces fight for.
As it now stands, the military protects everything which is american.
If freedom-fighters rise up and attempt to destroy the american state, eventually it will be the military that will be sent to stop the revolution.
That will a sad sight to see.
Black people, sucked into the dream of the GI bill, killing their brothers and sisters who's only crime was refusing to live under the boot of white supremacy.
To an extent, this has already come up.
When america was in Vietnam, the Vietnamese nationalists, supposedly 'our' enemies would write "BLACK MAN GO HOME, WE NEVER CALLED YOU NIGGER," on the walls.
The Vietnamese were right.
Black people in america were putting their lives on the line to end integration, stop the Klan, and gain the ability to vote; while their brothers and sisters were in a far off land killing other non-white people who were merely fighting to be free.
In this society, everybody is engaged in a struggle.
The question is "what are you fighting for, and how?"
What is the more honorable battle?
To live, die and kill for economic security - or for the liberation of all humanity?
The choice is up to you.