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Demonstrations on Armed Forces Day?

anti militarist | 07.06.2012 21:17

the creeping militarisation of Britain through Armed Forces day. a soldier in an illegal and immoral war is not a hero

Few could have failed to notice the creeping miliarisation of British culture, now with its annual Armed Forces Day. Why have the left, the stop the war coalition, the anarchists, everyone, been silent on this, what is after all, a glorification of the role of the British forces worldwide. the Armed Forces day normalise War, and seem to be psychologically preparing us for a state of constant foreign war, afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, possible Syria and Iran coming up, never ending war.
Armed Forces Day is, after all, a family event. it makes it seem cool for young people to join up with the army. Armed forces day is a particularly insidious form of state propaganda, and it is not, as far as I aware, even being taken up by any section of the left. unsurprisingly, the BNP and other fascists are completely supporting Armed Forces Day. are we that stupid to not see what is happening?

is there going to be any left response to this whatsoever? This is a call outside of normal channels to debate what response, if any, the left/anarchists/anyone will make to this creeping militarisation.

anti militarist

Comments

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war is no fun

07.06.2012 23:06

The British military are being used for political purposes, and for oil purposes, so if there is a protest then it will be based on the fact that the British army are being used by Cameron as mercenaries in order to extort oil from other countries, and to be used as repression against Muslims in the Middle East, very similar to the crusades, and almost of a similar nature to Hitler`s attack on Poland. So yes there should be protests against imperialism and war which is mainly based on greed. The British armed forces are no different from Hitler`s soldiers and the Italian Fascists that invaded Albania and Greece.

steve

Get your facts right

07.06.2012 23:38

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_the_War_Coalition#Opposition_to_Armed_Forces_Day

Lase

to above

08.06.2012 00:24

to lase- stand corrected. but is there anything more than just a condemnation that has barely been heard or taken notice of? if there are plans for demos against the armed forces day, that is great, but not many people even activists seem aware of them. is stwc calling for demos against armed forces day? if not, then should it not be doing so? stwc seem to have disappeared from the radar outside of London and a few other places, I am sorry to say.

splottski wasn't always right, y'know.

antimilitarist

sorry to inform you

08.06.2012 09:55

but that means you're brothers friend was tricked into going to war. the 'war' that arrived at home, was set up and organized by the very same people who are fighting 'the war' abroad, to make gullible patriotic young men such as him pick up a gun and go kill people for monetary interest.

Sorry.

feel sorry for all the duped well meaning men

reasons vs reality

08.06.2012 11:04

There are nearly as many reasons to sign up to the armed forces as there are soldiers. I'm sure many join up to 'protect the country', because they consider it an honourable profession, because they want to make a positive difference in the world, because they want to help their fellow man...
In fact I too have heard people say these things. Doesn't mean they're right.

The constant state propaghanda, adverts on TV, press releases in the news, soldiers in our schools, recruitment centres next to youth advice centres coupled with the corporate lies linking current conflicts to past 'glorious' battles... all of this plays a part in creating a culture where joining up is 'good'. Armed forces day is a part of this, propaghanada as bad as any the state 'communist' countries come up with.

Does anyone else find it odd that the Islamist extremists the military operations are protecting us from only attacked Britain AFTER we invaded afghanistan and Iraq? Or that the scary weapons of mass destruction were never found in Iraq, but hey, maybe thats because Iran has them?

Have you considered that part of the geopolitical instablility may be due to the fact that the British Armed Froces have bravely invaded afghanistan four times? Or the fact that since oil was discovered in Iraq 101 years ago the British have been at war with or occupying the country for 51 years?

War breeds more War, and only ever benefits those in privledged positions - who are the people we should really be fighting against.

Ether

but anything on armed forces day in particular?

09.06.2012 17:04

yes, almost everybody who posts or reads indymedia is anti war, we are not divided about that. but on the key question- any demonstrations against armed forces day in our towns and cities?

i assume that there is not going to be anything, probably because at some level we, the radical left, are a bit chicken and cannot tackle these militarist parades and shows with a counter demo the way we might with an anti fascist demo. we are scared of being portrayed alongside Islam4UK etc. what to say? fuck the army!