Raymond
2012-09-22 01:34:57 UTC
Racism and US War
The enemy is people we know well and people we can identify - The real
enemy is here
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_waronterror29.htm#Video
by Michael Prysner
December 26, 2009
from MichaelMoore Website
Mike Prysner is from IVAW, Iraq Veterans Against the War.
This speech was from Winter Soldier in March 22, 2008. You can view
his entire testimony below, which spells out the role of racism, and
how, under a veneer of anti-racism, the army and and civilian society
are now pushing an onslaught of racism which is both homicidal and
suicidal...
When I first joined the army, we were told that racism no longer
existed in the military.
A legacy of inequality and discrimination was suddenly washed away by
something called "Equal Opportunity." We would sit through mandatory
classes, assuring us that racism had been eliminated from the ranks,
and every unit had its own EO representative to ensure no elements of
racism could resurface. The Army seemed firmly dedicated to smashing
any hint of racism.
And then Sept. 11 happened. I began to hear new words like "towel
head," "camel jockey" and - the most disturbing - "sand nigger." These
words did not initially come from my fellow soldiers, but from my
superiors - my platoon sergeant, my company first sergeant, my
battalion commander. All the way up the chain of command, viciously
racist terms were suddenly acceptable.
I noticed that the most overt racism came from veterans of the first
Gulf War. Those were the words they used when they were incinerating
civilian convoys. Those were the words they used when this government
deliberately targeted the civilian infrastructure, bombing water
supplies knowing that it would kill hundreds of thousands of children.
Those were the words the American people used when they allowed this
government to sanction Iraq - and this is something many people
forget.
We’ve just learned that we’ve killed over 1 million Iraqis since the
invasion; we had already killed a million Iraqis before the invasion
throughout the 90s through bombings and sanctions.
‘Haji’ was the enemy
When I got to Iraq in 2003, I learned a new word - "Haji."
Haji was the enemy. Haji was every Iraqi. He was not a person, or a
father, or a teacher, or a worker. But where does this word come from?
Every Muslim strives to take a pilgrimage to Mecca, called a Haj. A
Muslim who has completed that pilgrimage is a Haji. It is something
that, in traditional Islam, is the highest calling in the religion -
essentially, the best thing for a Muslim made into the worst thing.
But history did not start with us. Since the creation of this country,
racism has been used to justify expansion and oppression. The Native
Americans were called savages. The Africans were called all sorts of
things to excuse slavery. A multitude of names were used during
Vietnam to justify that imperialist war.
So Haji was the word we used on this mission. We’ve heard a lot about
raids during Winter Soldier, kicking down people’s doors and
ransacking their homes. But this mission was a different kind of raid.
We never got any explanation for these orders, we were only told that
this group of five or six houses were now property of the U.S.
military. We had to go in and make those people leave those houses.
So we went to these houses and told the people that their homes were
no longer their homes. We provided them no alternative, no place to
go, no compensation. They were very confused and scared, and would not
leave - so we had to remove them from their houses.
There was one family in particular that stands out: a woman with two
young daughters, an elderly man who was bed-ridden and two middle-aged
men. We dragged them from their houses and threw them onto the street.
We arrested the men for not leaving and sent them to prison with the
Iraqi police.
At that time I didn’t know what happened to Iraqis when we put a
sandbag over their head and tied their hands behind their back;
unfortunately, a couple months later, I had to find out.
Our unit was short interrogators, so I was tasked to assist with
interrogations.
A detainee’s ordeal
First, I’d like to point out that the vast majority of detainees I
encountered had done nothing wrong. They were arrested for things as
simple as being in the area when an IED went off, or living in a
village where a suspected insurgent lived.
I witness and participated in many interrogations; one in particular
I’d like to share. It was a moment for me that helped me realize the
nature of our occupation.
This detainee who I was sent to interrogate was stripped down to his
underwear, hands bound behind his back and a sandbag on his head - and
I never actually saw his face. My job was to take a metal folding
chair, and as he was standing face-first against the wall, I was to
smash the chair next to his head every time he was asked a question. A
fellow soldier would yell the same question over and over, and no
matter what he answered, I would smash the chair next to his head.
We did this until we got tired, then I was told to make sure he stayed
standing facing the wall. By this time he was in an extremely broken
state - he was shaking uncontrollably, he was crying, and he was
covered in his own urine.
I was guarding him, but something was wrong with his leg - he was
injured and kept falling to the ground. My sergeant told me to make
sure he stayed standing, so I would have to pick him up and slam him
against the wall. He kept falling down so I’d have to keep picking him
up and forcefully putting him against the wall.
My sergeant came by, and was upset that he was on the ground again, so
he picked him up and slammed him against the wall several times - and
when the man fell to the ground again I noticed blood pouring down
from under the sandbag.
So I let him sit, and whenever my sergeant starting coming I would
warn the man and tell him to stand. It was then that I realized that I
was supposed to be guarding my unit from this detainee, but what I was
doing was guarding this detainee from my unit.
I tried hard to be proud of my service.
All I could feel was shame.
Face of occupation is laid bare
Racism could no longer mask the reality of the occupation. These were
people. These were human beings.
I have since been plagued by guilt - anytime I see an elderly man,
like the one who couldn’t walk, who we rolled onto a stretcher and
told the Iraqi police to take him away. I feel guilt anytime I see a
mother with her children, like the one who cried hysterically, and
screamed that we were worse than Saddam as we forced her from her
home. I feel guilt anytime I see a young girl, like the one I grabbed
by the arm and dragged into the street.
We were told we were fighting terrorists. The real terrorist was me.
The real terrorism is this occupation.
Racism within the military has long been an important tool to justify
the destruction and occupation of another country. It has long been
used to justify the killing, subjugation, and torture of another
people. Racism is a vital weapon employed by this government. It is a
more important weapon that a rifle, or a tank, or a bomber, or a
battleship. It is more destructive than an artillery shell, or a
bunker buster, or a tomahawk missile.
While all those weapons are created and owned by this government, they
are harmless without people willing to use them. Those who send us to
war do not have to pull a trigger or lob a mortar round; they don’t
have to fight the war, they merely have to sell us the war.
They need a public who is willing to send their soldiers into harm’s
way, and they need soldiers who are willing to kill and be killed,
without question. They can spend millions on a single bomb - but that
bomb only becomes a weapon when the ranks in the military are willing
to follow the orders to use it. They can send every last soldier
anywhere on earth, but there will only be a war if soldiers are
willing to fight.
The ruling class - the billionaires who profit from human suffering,
who care only about expanding their wealth and controlling the world
economy - understand that their power lies only in their ability to
convince us that war, oppression, and exploitation is in our interest.
They understand that their wealth is dependent on their ability to
convince the working class to die to control the market of another
country.
And convincing us to die and kill is based on their ability to make us
think that we are somehow superior.
Soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen have nothing to gain from this
war. The vast majority of people living in the United States have
nothing to gain from this war. In fact, not only do soldiers and
workers gain nothing from this occupation, but we suffer more because
of it. We lose the limbs, endure the trauma and give our lives. Our
families have to watch flag-draped coffins lowered into the earth.
Millions in this country without health care, jobs, or access to
education must watch this government squander over $400 million a day
on this war.
The real enemy is here
Poor and working people in this country are sent to kill poor and
working people in another country, to make the rich richer.
Without racism, soldiers would realize that they have more in common
with the Iraqi people than they do with the billionaires who send us
to war. I threw people onto the street in Iraq, only to come home and
find families here thrown onto the street in this tragic and
unnecessary foreclosure crisis that is already leaving hundreds of
Iraq war veterans homeless.
We need to wake up and realize that our real enemies are not in some
distant land; they’re not people whose names we don’t know and whose
cultures we don’t understand.
The enemy is people we know well and people we can identify - the
enemy is the system that sends us to war when it’s profitable; the
enemies are the CEOs who lay us off from our jobs when its profitable;
they’re the insurance companies who deny us health care when it’s
profitable; they’re the banks that take away our homes when it’s
profitable.
Our enemies are not 5,000 miles away.
They are right here at home, and if we organize and fight with our
sisters and brothers we can stop this war, stop this government, and
create a better world.
Video
by EmpoweredByKnowledge
December 21, 2009
from YouTube Website
Amazing Speech by War Veteran - Asombroso Discurso de Un Veterano de
Guerra
Discurso de MIKE PRYSNER indicando quienes son el enemigo verdadero de
su pais.
Our real enemy is not the ones living in a distant land whose names or
policies we don't understand.
The real enemy is,
a system that wages war when it's profitable
the CEOs who lay us off our jobs when it's profitable
the Insurance Companies who deny us Health care when it's profitable
the Banks who take away our homes when it's profitable
Our enemies are not several hundred thousands away. They are right
here in front of us...
- Mike Prysner
How do the the rulers get away with it? This soldier is clear:
“Racism is a vital weapon employed by this government. It is a more
important weapon than a rifle, a tank, a bomber or a battleship.”
“They need a public who’s willing to send soldiers into harm’s way,
they need soldiers willing to kill and be killed without question.
They can spend millions on a single bomb, but that bomb only becomes a
weapon when the ranks in the military are willing to follow orders to
use it.”
“And the ruling class, the billionaires who profit from human
suffering, who care only about expanding their wealth and controlling
the world economy, understand that their power lies only in their
ability to convince us that war, oppression, and exploitation are in
our interest. They understand that their wealth is dependent on their
ability to convince the working class to die to control the market of
another country. And convincing us to kill and die is based on their
ability to make us think that we are somehow superior.
“Poor and working people in this country are sent to kill poor and
working people in another country, to make the rich richer. Without
racism, soldiers would realize they have more in common with the Iraqi
people than they do with the billionaires that send us to war... Our
enemies are right here at home, and if we organize and fight with our
sisters and brothers we can stop this war, we can stop this
government, and we can create a better world. “
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_waronterror29.htm#Video
The enemy is people we know well and people we can identify - The real
enemy is here
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_waronterror29.htm#Video
by Michael Prysner
December 26, 2009
from MichaelMoore Website
Mike Prysner is from IVAW, Iraq Veterans Against the War.
This speech was from Winter Soldier in March 22, 2008. You can view
his entire testimony below, which spells out the role of racism, and
how, under a veneer of anti-racism, the army and and civilian society
are now pushing an onslaught of racism which is both homicidal and
suicidal...
When I first joined the army, we were told that racism no longer
existed in the military.
A legacy of inequality and discrimination was suddenly washed away by
something called "Equal Opportunity." We would sit through mandatory
classes, assuring us that racism had been eliminated from the ranks,
and every unit had its own EO representative to ensure no elements of
racism could resurface. The Army seemed firmly dedicated to smashing
any hint of racism.
And then Sept. 11 happened. I began to hear new words like "towel
head," "camel jockey" and - the most disturbing - "sand nigger." These
words did not initially come from my fellow soldiers, but from my
superiors - my platoon sergeant, my company first sergeant, my
battalion commander. All the way up the chain of command, viciously
racist terms were suddenly acceptable.
I noticed that the most overt racism came from veterans of the first
Gulf War. Those were the words they used when they were incinerating
civilian convoys. Those were the words they used when this government
deliberately targeted the civilian infrastructure, bombing water
supplies knowing that it would kill hundreds of thousands of children.
Those were the words the American people used when they allowed this
government to sanction Iraq - and this is something many people
forget.
We’ve just learned that we’ve killed over 1 million Iraqis since the
invasion; we had already killed a million Iraqis before the invasion
throughout the 90s through bombings and sanctions.
‘Haji’ was the enemy
When I got to Iraq in 2003, I learned a new word - "Haji."
Haji was the enemy. Haji was every Iraqi. He was not a person, or a
father, or a teacher, or a worker. But where does this word come from?
Every Muslim strives to take a pilgrimage to Mecca, called a Haj. A
Muslim who has completed that pilgrimage is a Haji. It is something
that, in traditional Islam, is the highest calling in the religion -
essentially, the best thing for a Muslim made into the worst thing.
But history did not start with us. Since the creation of this country,
racism has been used to justify expansion and oppression. The Native
Americans were called savages. The Africans were called all sorts of
things to excuse slavery. A multitude of names were used during
Vietnam to justify that imperialist war.
So Haji was the word we used on this mission. We’ve heard a lot about
raids during Winter Soldier, kicking down people’s doors and
ransacking their homes. But this mission was a different kind of raid.
We never got any explanation for these orders, we were only told that
this group of five or six houses were now property of the U.S.
military. We had to go in and make those people leave those houses.
So we went to these houses and told the people that their homes were
no longer their homes. We provided them no alternative, no place to
go, no compensation. They were very confused and scared, and would not
leave - so we had to remove them from their houses.
There was one family in particular that stands out: a woman with two
young daughters, an elderly man who was bed-ridden and two middle-aged
men. We dragged them from their houses and threw them onto the street.
We arrested the men for not leaving and sent them to prison with the
Iraqi police.
At that time I didn’t know what happened to Iraqis when we put a
sandbag over their head and tied their hands behind their back;
unfortunately, a couple months later, I had to find out.
Our unit was short interrogators, so I was tasked to assist with
interrogations.
A detainee’s ordeal
First, I’d like to point out that the vast majority of detainees I
encountered had done nothing wrong. They were arrested for things as
simple as being in the area when an IED went off, or living in a
village where a suspected insurgent lived.
I witness and participated in many interrogations; one in particular
I’d like to share. It was a moment for me that helped me realize the
nature of our occupation.
This detainee who I was sent to interrogate was stripped down to his
underwear, hands bound behind his back and a sandbag on his head - and
I never actually saw his face. My job was to take a metal folding
chair, and as he was standing face-first against the wall, I was to
smash the chair next to his head every time he was asked a question. A
fellow soldier would yell the same question over and over, and no
matter what he answered, I would smash the chair next to his head.
We did this until we got tired, then I was told to make sure he stayed
standing facing the wall. By this time he was in an extremely broken
state - he was shaking uncontrollably, he was crying, and he was
covered in his own urine.
I was guarding him, but something was wrong with his leg - he was
injured and kept falling to the ground. My sergeant told me to make
sure he stayed standing, so I would have to pick him up and slam him
against the wall. He kept falling down so I’d have to keep picking him
up and forcefully putting him against the wall.
My sergeant came by, and was upset that he was on the ground again, so
he picked him up and slammed him against the wall several times - and
when the man fell to the ground again I noticed blood pouring down
from under the sandbag.
So I let him sit, and whenever my sergeant starting coming I would
warn the man and tell him to stand. It was then that I realized that I
was supposed to be guarding my unit from this detainee, but what I was
doing was guarding this detainee from my unit.
I tried hard to be proud of my service.
All I could feel was shame.
Face of occupation is laid bare
Racism could no longer mask the reality of the occupation. These were
people. These were human beings.
I have since been plagued by guilt - anytime I see an elderly man,
like the one who couldn’t walk, who we rolled onto a stretcher and
told the Iraqi police to take him away. I feel guilt anytime I see a
mother with her children, like the one who cried hysterically, and
screamed that we were worse than Saddam as we forced her from her
home. I feel guilt anytime I see a young girl, like the one I grabbed
by the arm and dragged into the street.
We were told we were fighting terrorists. The real terrorist was me.
The real terrorism is this occupation.
Racism within the military has long been an important tool to justify
the destruction and occupation of another country. It has long been
used to justify the killing, subjugation, and torture of another
people. Racism is a vital weapon employed by this government. It is a
more important weapon that a rifle, or a tank, or a bomber, or a
battleship. It is more destructive than an artillery shell, or a
bunker buster, or a tomahawk missile.
While all those weapons are created and owned by this government, they
are harmless without people willing to use them. Those who send us to
war do not have to pull a trigger or lob a mortar round; they don’t
have to fight the war, they merely have to sell us the war.
They need a public who is willing to send their soldiers into harm’s
way, and they need soldiers who are willing to kill and be killed,
without question. They can spend millions on a single bomb - but that
bomb only becomes a weapon when the ranks in the military are willing
to follow the orders to use it. They can send every last soldier
anywhere on earth, but there will only be a war if soldiers are
willing to fight.
The ruling class - the billionaires who profit from human suffering,
who care only about expanding their wealth and controlling the world
economy - understand that their power lies only in their ability to
convince us that war, oppression, and exploitation is in our interest.
They understand that their wealth is dependent on their ability to
convince the working class to die to control the market of another
country.
And convincing us to die and kill is based on their ability to make us
think that we are somehow superior.
Soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen have nothing to gain from this
war. The vast majority of people living in the United States have
nothing to gain from this war. In fact, not only do soldiers and
workers gain nothing from this occupation, but we suffer more because
of it. We lose the limbs, endure the trauma and give our lives. Our
families have to watch flag-draped coffins lowered into the earth.
Millions in this country without health care, jobs, or access to
education must watch this government squander over $400 million a day
on this war.
The real enemy is here
Poor and working people in this country are sent to kill poor and
working people in another country, to make the rich richer.
Without racism, soldiers would realize that they have more in common
with the Iraqi people than they do with the billionaires who send us
to war. I threw people onto the street in Iraq, only to come home and
find families here thrown onto the street in this tragic and
unnecessary foreclosure crisis that is already leaving hundreds of
Iraq war veterans homeless.
We need to wake up and realize that our real enemies are not in some
distant land; they’re not people whose names we don’t know and whose
cultures we don’t understand.
The enemy is people we know well and people we can identify - the
enemy is the system that sends us to war when it’s profitable; the
enemies are the CEOs who lay us off from our jobs when its profitable;
they’re the insurance companies who deny us health care when it’s
profitable; they’re the banks that take away our homes when it’s
profitable.
Our enemies are not 5,000 miles away.
They are right here at home, and if we organize and fight with our
sisters and brothers we can stop this war, stop this government, and
create a better world.
Video
by EmpoweredByKnowledge
December 21, 2009
from YouTube Website
Amazing Speech by War Veteran - Asombroso Discurso de Un Veterano de
Guerra
Discurso de MIKE PRYSNER indicando quienes son el enemigo verdadero de
su pais.
Our real enemy is not the ones living in a distant land whose names or
policies we don't understand.
The real enemy is,
a system that wages war when it's profitable
the CEOs who lay us off our jobs when it's profitable
the Insurance Companies who deny us Health care when it's profitable
the Banks who take away our homes when it's profitable
Our enemies are not several hundred thousands away. They are right
here in front of us...
- Mike Prysner
How do the the rulers get away with it? This soldier is clear:
“Racism is a vital weapon employed by this government. It is a more
important weapon than a rifle, a tank, a bomber or a battleship.”
“They need a public who’s willing to send soldiers into harm’s way,
they need soldiers willing to kill and be killed without question.
They can spend millions on a single bomb, but that bomb only becomes a
weapon when the ranks in the military are willing to follow orders to
use it.”
“And the ruling class, the billionaires who profit from human
suffering, who care only about expanding their wealth and controlling
the world economy, understand that their power lies only in their
ability to convince us that war, oppression, and exploitation are in
our interest. They understand that their wealth is dependent on their
ability to convince the working class to die to control the market of
another country. And convincing us to kill and die is based on their
ability to make us think that we are somehow superior.
“Poor and working people in this country are sent to kill poor and
working people in another country, to make the rich richer. Without
racism, soldiers would realize they have more in common with the Iraqi
people than they do with the billionaires that send us to war... Our
enemies are right here at home, and if we organize and fight with our
sisters and brothers we can stop this war, we can stop this
government, and we can create a better world. “
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_waronterror29.htm#Video