2026-09-20 04:53 UTC
And the answer will be "fine" as long as "the military" is thought of as a block that is treated as an enemy of the left. In the Russian case, leftists intentionally joined the military to radicalize units. In the German case, conscription meant that leftists ended up in the military radicalizing people.
The US is different, intentionally. Vietnam changed a lot. While some people resisted the draft, others rolled hand grenades into their officers' tents. Fragging commanders was a huge problem. After the end of the war, the US military adapted by ending the draft.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragging
The US military works hard to brain wash recruits, yes. There are *a lot* of controls in place to minimize the probability of the type of revolt that has been part of other revolutions. One of those is "merit based" promotion. But, as we know from the Vietnam War, evrn that breaks down.
And it's easy to forget, or ignore, but the military *does* sometimes radicalize people or people radicalize themselves in response to their experiences in service. Smedley Butler is perhaps one of the more interesting examples, but there have been plenty. Aaron Bushnell should be at the top of your mind, as should Chelsea Manning (and perhaps others like Reality Winner).
Lots of people join the military for reasons other than patriotism, and some of those who join because of patriotism see what the US really is as part of their service. Support our vet comrades. Support those doing the work of trying to radicalize service members. Keep an open mind when talking to folks in the military today. Welcome comrades who are still in the military and have come to realize what's happened. And, most importantly, listen to those who have served to understand other things you can do to support service members who are in the process of rejecting their indoctrination.
Replies (1)
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@Hex@kolektiva.social 2026-09-20 04:59
And maybe it's time to really think about Sean Swain's proposal for a Fragger Support Fund (which, by the way, is now only in the way back machine): https://web.archive.org/web/20260910070413/https://seanswain.noblogs.org/2017/04/proposal-for-a-fragger-support-fund/