• calliope@retrolemmy.com
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        2 months ago

        This is how the military has been since the 1950s, but no one wants to admit it because it happened far away.

        For some time in Vietnam there was a “My Lai a month” (warning: graphic); they killed many thousands of Vietnamese civilians, often for the simple crimes of trying to farm or running away. (See Kill Anything That Moves: United States War Crimes and Atrocities in Vietnam, 1965–1973 by Nick Turse).

        Then, white power terrorism research shows that racism by soldiers in Vietnam translated directly to white power terrorism in the U.S… White power literature is full of references to being trained to fight “evils” at home and using that training to go after those they deem “communists.”

        If anyone tries to criticize them, they cite generational myths about the spit-upon soldier and their defense of “freedom.”

        • U7826391786239@lemmy.zip
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          2 months ago

          training to go after those they deem “communists.”

          2026: same song, second verse; a little bit louder, and a little bit worse

          except now it looks like “terrorist” is what they’re calling everyone they don’t like, in addition to “communist”