Comments on Obiter Dictum: And Let's Not Forget: The Troops Are Also Racists!...

millard is from New York, Geoff Millard joined the...

2008-07-07T10:33:00.000-04:00

millard is from New York, Geoff Millard joined the NY Army National guard in1998 at the age of 17. He served for 9 years including tours of duty at ground zero after 9-11 and for 13 months in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He has not necessarilly been dehumanized, Millard will testify on endemic racism during his tour of Iraq, including among high-ranking Army officers.

Cheers,
Chrissy
______________________________
wsi marketing

Hey Dennis- Not sure if this is what it purports t...

2008-06-09T16:02:00.000-04:00

Hey Dennis- Not sure if this is what it purports to be, but certainly sounds like Jason Hurd using the N word. Maybe he and Millard could sit down and discuss at some point?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5hKIApcd8J0

Thought you'd be interested: IVAW is testifying be...

2008-05-09T12:17:00.000-04:00

Thought you'd be interested: IVAW is testifying before Congress RE: Winter Soldier. Don't know if it'll be on C-SPAN or what.

Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is ver...

2008-04-21T18:05:00.000-04:00

Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Celulite, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://eliminando-a-celulite.blogspot.com. A hug.

Couldn't find it Galmaran. What's the link?

2008-04-21T10:32:00.000-04:00

Couldn't find it Galmaran. What's the link?

See Please Here

2008-04-17T18:37:00.000-04:00

See Please Here

So I'm guessing Denis is either on vacation, has n...

2008-04-17T15:13:00.000-04:00

So I'm guessing Denis is either on vacation, has not seen my last blog post, is ignoring it, or is doing some research to back up his pending rebuttal. Anyone else care to take a shot at it while we're waiting?

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2359698087928768667&postID=3162267543429170855

army sergant said:"I'm not saying everyone agrees ...

2008-04-16T23:01:00.000-04:00

army sergant said:

"I'm not saying everyone agrees with me. I'm saying not everyone agrees with you either. I think it's presumptuous for anyone to claim to know what everyone thinks."

Sarge?? Am I reading double speak into this portion of your reply??

Exactly how do you know not everyone agrees with just a descurion?

You got some kind of an inside line on this one or what?

Denis, I was hoping you'd reply back to my last po...

2008-04-14T12:51:00.000-04:00

Denis,

I was hoping you'd reply back to my last post when you get the chance.

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2359698087928768667&postID=3162267543429170855

Cheers,

DP

"Mighty white of you." I didn't know that it was r...

2008-04-14T09:33:00.000-04:00

"Mighty white of you." I didn't know that it was racist until about ten years later."

There is some question as to whether this is indeed a racist statement, as "white" also meant unblemished or honorable, completely aside for racial origins.

I disagree with you basic premise to begin with, but so it goes. At this point I doubt AS and I could agree on the humidity of water.

Just a Decurion:I'm not saying everyone agrees wit...

2008-04-13T17:31:00.000-04:00

Just a Decurion:

I'm not saying everyone agrees with me. I'm saying not everyone agrees with you either. I think it's presumptuous for anyone to claim to know what everyone thinks.

Most of the infantry I know regret causing death. In fact, some of the most peaceful men I now know were some of the most personally involved in the grit of war. Hart Viges, for example, exemplifies being a Christian far better than I ever could. Not everyone is you.

Denis: I still don't think it's a good thing.

For example: I grew up using a term my father had used. "Mighty white of you." I didn't know that it was racist until about ten years later. Once I found out, though, you can be sure that I stopped using it. My ignorance explained why I had continued using it until then, but it did not excuse it.

hey Denis. got my blog started...go here: http://s...

2008-04-10T22:24:00.000-04:00

hey Denis. got my blog started...go here: http://streetsweeperchronicles.blogspot.com/

INterestingly enough, get which IVAW guy was lurki...

2008-04-09T09:09:00.000-04:00

INterestingly enough, get which IVAW guy was lurking off to the right hand side of the stage (well, looking out, since I was on stage) and wearing sun glasses at the VFF rally.

Sorry you ran away Geoff, was looking forward to talking to you.

"That may be your experience, but I don't think th...

2008-04-07T20:07:00.000-04:00

"That may be your experience, but I don't think that the infantry on a whole always agrees with you. I know many fine infantry soldiers and marines who regret the deaths they have caused."

On what grounds do you presume to know the opinions of "the infantry as a whole"? I mean, are you an infantryman? How many times have you gone on patrol with infantrymen? What percentage of your last deployment was spent on a craptastic COP with a company or less of infantrymen, away from news cameras?

Not that I give a damp fart for the Baby-Blue Mafia, I bleed scarlet and white. 21B, and that's all I'll ever be.

But at any rate, the only thing you should feel when killing an arhabi is recoil.

NM:"What everyone here also does is accept the dam...

2008-04-07T18:59:00.000-04:00

NM:

"What everyone here also does is accept the damn premise Millard poses. I do not accept that what he reports ever happened in the first place."

I dunno about everyone else, but I don't exactly accept whatever premise you might be referring to. I was reacting to what AS had to offer.

It's kind of important to acknowledge that some put PC crap ahead of reality, I think?

"What everyone here also does is accept the damn p...

2008-04-07T18:31:00.000-04:00

"What everyone here also does is accept the damn premise Millard poses. I do not accept that what he reports ever happened in the first place."

Not quite, Namedic! I'm reacting to Millard's story as told as nonsense, as it is nonsense and crap, whether the events happened as described or not!

There is the debating method of "for the sake of argument". I am not at all accepting that what Millard claims happened as he tells it! But one also doesn't have to show that they didn't happen or question whether they so happened to none-the-less demonstrate what a self serving and illogical moron Millard is!

"I know many fine soldiers who use the word 'hajji...

2008-04-07T18:22:00.000-04:00

"I know many fine soldiers who use the word 'hajji' simply because it is in common use, and meaning no ill intention."

Exactly! Words come into use in every language among every people for a variety of reasons!

Tell that to Millard, will you?

And those deeply honored mushahids also have derog...

2008-04-07T17:50:00.000-04:00

And those deeply honored mushahids also have derogatory and depersonalizing terms for us as well - Infidel, heathen, dhimmi, etc. Probably a lot worse terms exist, but my Arabic is very rusty. And The Deeply Honored Mr. Millard [/sarc], since he majors in Afro-American Studies, might want to learn the meaning and inplications of the term "zanj". Hint it refers to Black Africans and leads into an exploration that despite their theoretical belief in the "equality of all believers", Muslims can be as deeply racist as anyone else - see the story of the Zanj revolt of the late 9th Century - doubly relevant since it happened around Basra.
But then, is the lynching and burning of Blackwater agents less or more depersonalizing? Oh wait, we're talking about the same people who believe that pulling a pair of panties over someone's head is worse that cutting off of that head.

Narcissists like Millard, know self-love only superficially. On a deeper level, they are filled with self-hate which they project onto others. Millard obviously felt all that before he ever was called to active duty. A White guy seeking a major in African-American Studies is usually somebody filled with self-loathing and seeking a new identity. And he'll make up his new identity and his facts as he goes along.

Zero: Great essay. I agree with about 98 percent o...

2008-04-07T17:34:00.000-04:00

Zero: Great essay. I agree with about 98 percent of it.

I think warriors do in fact kill people and break things, but I don't think they should take pleasure in that.

Just a Decurion:

That may be your experience, but I don't think that the infantry on a whole always agrees with you. I know many fine infantry soldiers and marines who regret the deaths they have caused.

I'm not suggesting anyone "angst" about it. I'm saying a moment of regret that a human life is gone is not improper. And having seen what happens when people deny that for too long, I would encourage everyone for their own health to take a long, hard look and think about these things.

I find most of this discussion stupid. I'm sure AS...

2008-04-07T17:17:00.000-04:00

I find most of this discussion stupid.

I'm sure AS would like combat soldiers to sit around being all philosophical and conflicted about what they have to do. If the time ever comes when they do that, it is all over for us as a nation.

Many days when I read threads like this discussion, I think that day has already arrived.

What everyone here also does is accept the damn premise Millard poses. I do not accept that what he reports ever happened in the first place.

As I wrote elsewhere to DK - you simply can't trust someone like Millard who is obviously suffering from PTRD - Post Traumatic Remark Disorder.

" I think that you should only kill when necess...

2008-04-07T15:57:00.000-04:00

" I think that you should only kill when necessity compels it, and regret each life that you have taken, even when it was necessary."

I never regretted a single time I pulled the trigger. Not once. If Mr. Hajj wants to play the game, he announces it by driving through my kill line, or picking up an RPG, or shooting at me. If I knew a better term, I would use it, but generally I was too busy to ask whether they were Former Regime Elements, or Al-Qaeda, or JAM, or whatever. That's a concern for intel weenies (ooops, I'm dehumanizing our valiant Intelligence Community!) not trigger-pullers.

"There are a lot of different reasons. But I think we should be able to look and say, "That is a man. He is a human being, like myself, who believes he is doing the right thing." And if you can't kill him while you're saying that, then maybe your reasons aren't so good in the first place."

Fuck that and the horse it rode in on. The folks I killed were scum. They were the sort of dirtbags who set off bombs in market squares full of civilians just to make a political point. They were the kind of people who shoot mortars into soccer fields because the kids on it are from the wrong tribe/ethnic group/religious sect. The world is a better place without them. I don't have any respect for them, and the last time the United States fought someone it was possible to respect in the manner you speak of was 1918. Just because some filthy flea-ridden upright ape thinks his god wants him to kill me doesn't mean I have to respect his beliefs. I don't respect the delusions of the crazy folks we lock up on mental institutions in this country. I damn sure am not going to respect the delusions of the crazy people that run certain foreign countries or organizations.

"but don't celebrate the fact that there are others who are dead."

It may be the fact that I'm Combat Arms, but I was always taught that the reason the United States taxpayers pay my salary was to kill people. If that is in fact the case (and I believe it is) then I view dead bad guys as proof that I am earning my pay, doing my job, and doing it well. It may not be a cause for celebration, but I take a deep personal satisfaction in it.

AS:"I think that you should only kill when necessi...

2008-04-07T15:38:00.000-04:00

AS:

"I think that you should only kill when necessity compels it, and regret each life that you have taken, even when it was necessary.
That is the alternative. The alternative is acceptance of consequences."

Boy are you in the wrong business.

You'd have every warrior from time immemorial hesitate and/or live with the consequences as something to regret?

I doubt The Red Baron landed filled with angst about those he'd just shot down.

Warriors kill people and break things. Or they're not warriors... they're cannon fodder.

There's an essay that says better than I can, I think I referred you to it before.

http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000129.html

Zero,I think that you should only kill when necess...

2008-04-07T14:56:00.000-04:00

Zero,

I think that you should only kill when necessity compels it, and regret each life that you have taken, even when it was necessary.

That is the alternative. The alternative is acceptance of consequences.

You should never be afraid to take consequences. Some actions need to be done. But they shouldn't be made light of. Perhaps people need to die for whatever reason. They may need to die because they are shooting at you, or perhaps because they were going to, or they would. There are a lot of different reasons. But I think we should be able to look and say, "That is a man. He is a human being, like myself, who believes he is doing the right thing." And if you can't kill him while you're saying that, then maybe your reasons aren't so good in the first place.

I think we should be able to say, "He is a human being. I will regret his death, but it is necessary for me to survive." And afterwards, celebrate still being alive, but don't celebrate the fact that there are others who are dead.

AS:I ain't buying it. You can't have one thing wit...

2008-04-07T14:37:00.000-04:00

AS:

I ain't buying it.

You can't have one thing without the other. War is a dehumanizing event by it's very nature.

I wonder if Xerxes had name for The Spartans... do ya think The Immortals went up against The Spartans thinking of them as simply misguided souls.

War ain't PC. Sounds like you're trying to make it so?

"I don't think encouraging that behavior is helpful."

Exactly what would be the alternative??? In detail please.

We don't need derogatory names, is perhaps what I ...

2008-04-07T10:44:00.000-04:00

We don't need derogatory names, is perhaps what I should have said.

There are likely people who use American in a disrespectful manner. But American is not a race. America is a country, and people who live there are called Americans.

Hajji is not a race. Hajji is a term for someone who has made a hajj. That is not how it is being used. It is being used in a manner which is not its definition, in a derogatory manner.

I don't know the individual feelings of that soldier. I know many fine soldiers who use the word 'hajji' simply because it is in common use, and meaning no ill intention. "Hajjimart" "HajjiDVD" or what have you. I respect those soldiers, but I think they're perpetrating something I don't like seeing in my army when they do it, and I always call my soldiers at least out on it.

Do I think that each soldier individually is making an individual choice to dehumanize the enemy? No. Do I think some policymaker somewhere deliberately decided 'Hey, let's dehumanize the Iraqis by calling them hajjis'? No. But I think that commanders and NCOs have the responsibility for not letting that stuff happen in their unit. I don't think encouraging that behavior is helpful.