Monday, June 15, 2009
White supremacists in the army
4 comments
There is an interesting, albeit disturbing, piece on Salon by Matt Kennard, entitled "Neo-Nazis Are in the Army Now." Though army regulations are designed to keep out white supremacists, many of them are getting in anyway. Seems to me that the government doesn't care why a soldier is shooting at the enemy, just as long as s/he can shoot. It's utterly nerve wracking that powerful weapons (both literally and figuratively) are being placed in the hands of those who believe in whitewashing the world's population. Kennard, who interviewed an Iraq war veteran and Nazi, writes:Army regulations prohibit soldiers from participating in racist groups, and recruiters are instructed to keep an eye out for suspicious tattoos. Before signing on the dotted line, enlistees are required to explain any tattoos. At a Tampa recruitment office, though, Fogarty sailed right through the signup process. "They just told me to write an explanation of each tattoo, and I made up some stuff, and that was that," he says. Soon he was posted to Fort Stewart in Georgia, where he became part of the 3rd Infantry Division.
Fogarty's ex-girlfriend, intent on destroying his new military career, sent a dossier of photographs to Fort Stewart. The photos showed Fogarty attending white supremacist rallies and performing with his band, Attack. "They hauled me before some sort of committee and showed me the pictures," Fogarty says. "I just denied them and said my girlfriend was a spiteful bitch." He adds: "They knew what I was about. But they let it go because I'm a great soldier."
I wonder if the army would be so forgiving if someone tried to enlist with tattoos of rainbow flags and two male symbols intertwined, or if a soldier's ex-lover sent in pictures of him or her engaging in same-sex kissing. My guess is that they wouldn't. The U.S. government is more comfortable giving guns to white supremacists than to queer people. That sends a shiver down my spine.
Posts
June 15, 2009 at 6:30 PM
As far as I'm concerned, the U.S. military is all about white supremacy anyway. They may pretend that they don't want those people in there, but they do. I mean, the kind of people that like violence, killing, and war tend to be conservative hill-billies, who tend to be pretty racist. We are fighting a war based on wanting to steal natural resources, wanting to eliminate non-Christian religions, and wanting to eliminate brown people. That's what this war is about, not "terrorism" (as we all know terrorism is okay if it's a white Christian doing it *ahem* Dr. Tiller's murder *ahem*). Anywho, I guess I'm just saying most people in the military, at least the higher-ups who have the power, are in general all white supremacists.
June 16, 2009 at 2:17 AM
gang members in the armed forces is not new (all gangs; bloods/ms-13/Aryan nation...). Since the 80's the Army has found that several of there boot camp graduates go back to their previous gang life and teach new skill to other gang members. It actually poses a huge problem for local law enforcement. I wouldn't solely blame the armed forces for this problem though. Most people think a military career is only for people with their GED or severe social problems. Similar to the way people view a job at McDonnalds. Until people start viewing a military career as a respectable form of employment only the dredges of society will sign up and be taught how to kill people. This obviously poses a societal problem when they leave the military
September 7, 2009 at 3:27 PM
I don't understand why they would allow a Neo-nazi in the army. They believe in what Hitler believed in, and I know a lot of people whose family died in World War II wouldn't be happy with this.
I can also see this as another way to express their hatred by killing people who isn't white. Then when they leave the army, they have the knowledge of the violence they learned in the army to use on the streets as extremist.
September 8, 2009 at 2:49 AM
He pretty much explains why. Because he's a good soldier. Who's gonna fight in his place, should he be fired? Amy? Jen? You, Anonymous? lol