The Southern Avenger

5 Comments

1. James
   Posted March 6, 2008 at 6:31 am | Permalink

   Jack,

   What sort of response to this video were you hoping for? A video rebuttal might be best. We could splice together news clips from the Palmetto State, indeed the jewel of the south.

   We could feature the gentleman who ran the dogfighting operation on County Line Rd. How about the young man downtown who beat his friend’s puppy with a ball peen hammer a few years back? Foul language and discrimination exists in South Carolina as well. See if the Highway Patrol can get us a clip for that.

   I’m sorry that the person who made this video never made their junior varsity basketball team, and is apparently offended by locker room talk. But face it, the first words that everyone wants to know when learning a new word are the swear words. And if anyone out there expects young soldiers, fresh out of high school, to act like seasoned diplomats, my advice would be “Don’t hold your breath.”

   Try looking a little further on Youtube next time, past the clips of IEDs exploding that people want to see from the safety of their own homes. It doesn’t get covered as much, but I assure you that there’s a lot of good things being done over here.

   I’m sorry, but we don’t live in a perfect world. Iraq or South Carolina, there’s going to be some bad shit out there. But if you think that pulling all the troops out of Iraq will magically solve everything, you’re sorely mistaken.

   I’m not telling you how to vote in November, because I haven’t even decided for myself yet. Vote for whoever you think is best- that’s not only your right as an American but your damned responsibility. But for the love of God, don’t depend on the videos on Youtube for your research. Make an informed decision for yourself.

   Nice to see your blog on the web, by the way. I missed my daily dose of Avenger!

   James

2. jackhunter
   Posted March 6, 2008 at 7:24 am | Permalink

   James,

   I correspond with a number of soldiers currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and have nothing but upmost respect and gratitude for our troops. The point of me posting this video – as I explained in my introductory description – is what war might do to a man’s psyche (a fact acknowledged by a significant, if not a majority, of veterans) in terms of desensitizing, etc. The video portions of soldiers belittling innocent children were more telling, in my eyes, than the ghastly puppy scene (which I wish they would have left out) in terms of how some military personnel must come to view the general population of any country we occupy – precisely because adult and child alike could pose a constant threat.

   As unfortunate as these aspects of combat are, I am afraid they are inherent in any war, particularly war in our modern age (now every war is “total war” – there is no differentiation).

   So the question(s) should always be, A. when subjecting American soldiers to the horrors of war (both in terms of maiming and death, and psyche, which this video arguably illustrates) should not the U.S.’s objectives be clear, genuine and necessary? None of this is true of Iraq and Bush, Cheney and co. should be ashamed for the damage they’ve wrought…

   And B. How can Americans win the “hearts and minds” of an occupied people, when this is the perceived relationship between the Iraqi people and Americans? It only takes a few rotten apples to spoil the bunch – and worse, even soldiers who are good men might become rotten apples due to the negative psychological aspects of war. That this video spliced a Bush speech, where he talked about American prospects in Iraq, together with the awful behavior by American soldiers, illustrated this point.

   It is for these reasons that I posted this. And these are certainly issues worth exploring, as they are high stakes issues with serious consequences for our future.

   Thanks for the compliments.

   Jack

3. Cory
   Posted March 6, 2008 at 7:35 am | Permalink

   James,
   This video is there to prove a point. It does not claim that 100% of the activity over there is immoral, it does however, show an alternative to the things that most Americans think are going on there. How would you feel if there were thousands of foreign troops stationed in your city? What would you do if there were armed foreign troops verbally assaulting your 6 year old son in your neighborhood? Or if foreign troops who have zero respect for your religious views were publicly humiliating you? Why can our people not be more empathetic? I would become a rebel fighter as well if I saw this sort of thing happening on my home soil. This video is showing things that they are seeing! This is why our foreign policy has failed. We are not the world police, and there is no way for us to ever fix the problems of the world. Pulling out now may cause another dictator to take over, but at least we would not be compounding a mistake that we have been making for years. At least we would no longer isolate ourselves from the would. At least our eyes would be opened and we would no longer be hypocrites.
   -cory

4. James
   Posted March 6, 2008 at 1:17 pm | Permalink

   Holy crap! An intelligent discussion of the US involvement in Iraq! Forgive me for continuing to post, guys, but this is a rare find. I’m more accustomed to being caught between some folks shouting for change, and other folks trying to drown them out by waving their flags loudly.

   Jack- Good questions. As far as A, I agree with you. Bush & Co. are trying to build this airplane while it’s in flight. There is no plan. Take into consideration though, that almost all of the Iraqis that I’ve talked to prefer life now to when Saddam was in power.

   As far as B, this video did not represent how Iraqis view Americans. I don’t think that any Iraqis would get upset from seeing this video. The outrage over these old clips is coming from Americans, who are considerably more delicate. Iraqi policemen shoot stray dogs for fun, and the practice is viewed as acceptable. Religion, race and culture are often the topics of jokes. One of my interpreters explained that Iraqis are the “rednecks of the Arab world.” Throwing firecrackers at sheep, teaching kids to curse, and being cruel to animals are done by stupid young kids all over, soldiers or not.

   I’m not trying to gloss over the negative psychological aspects of war-make no mistake, PTSD is a real thing, and life in Iraq is full of stress for everybody. We owe it to our troops to give them the best of care. Just keep in mind that Iraqis have been living with this hardship for much longer than American soldiers. Some have told me that the worst times were during the Clinton-era embargos and sanctions. The situation in Iraq was brewing for much longer than the past five years. What should the US’ responsibilities be here? I guarantee that I don’t know.

   Cory- Empathy is not something that you’re going to get easily from a typical, self-centered American youth. Most soldiers are kids- whether it’s right or wrong, that’s a fact. I’m a little out of the loop about what most Americans think is going on in Iraq, but really, I don’t care. I get my news updates from the internet and it seems like most Americans are more interested in hearing about what or who Britney Spears is doing than the good work we’re doing.

   As far as being occupied by foreign troops, go down to the East Side and watch how kids react to the police. It’s the same concept, on a smaller scale. Different skin tones, different cultures, and a whole lot of potential for unrest. If you’ve got any ideas about developing economic opportunity or promoting education, you might want to think about working over here. You could do a lot of good, and we could sure use you.

   A “quick” pullout (which would take years, by the way) might be the worst thing for Iraq, if another dictator comes to power. However, Iraq would be forced to solve its problems on its own and work with its neighbors, which might be just what this country needs.

   I sure don’t know, and my magic 8-ball says, “Ask again later.” Damn.

5. Dave Welsh
   Posted March 6, 2008 at 2:45 pm | Permalink

   In this war of Israel against the Muslims that we, mostly Americans, are
   fighting, I support the underdog.