By Emma Kaplan
I am in Killeen, TX at Under The Hood Cafe near the Fort Hood military base tonight. I am down here for the protests happening on Sunday being called by the Disobedient.
The Disobedient is made up of Iraq era war vets and others anti- war activists, mainly young people. These protests are going to include visible non-violent resistance to the 3,000 troop surge being headed to Iraq. They are acting to create a situation where the U.S. cannot continue this illegitimate and illegal war – that deployments not only stop but that the military withdraws immediately.
This town is really intense. It is about 100 degrees outside and incredibly humid. There is a whole military culture throughout the town that is shaped by unthinking allegiance to the military, and an obsession with the American flag. I have been told that Christian fundamentalism has a firm hold on most people. It is also very depressing with nothing but strip clubs, bars and fast food chains. The majority of people here are employed by the military. Some local youth told me that they have heard reactionary people say that the name stands for Kill Each And Every N*****.
I spent the day at Under The Hood Cafe, which is a GI coffeehouse run by anti-war Iraq veterans and others. It was a day of debate and discussion, with all of us thinking very deeply about how we can stop these wars and what should our message be to the people of the world? One Iraq veteran spoke about orders he received to break down the doors of families and the internal turmoil he went through when he was told to search an innocent woman’s underwear drawer. He got the word “Human” tattooed on his arm after he got out of the military. I talked to a young woman who is in her early 20’s and did 2 tours of Iraq. She said that one of the first things she did when she got out of the military was to dye her hair pink. I have a hard time picturing her and any of these other people in the military because they have a great deal of humanity. She has a lot of urgency to stop these wars and refreshing refusal to accept the world as it is. She talks about how she wished there was some kind of switch you could turn on in people to make them see the crimes that the military is committing. Many who are here are dealing with pretty heavy PTSD and have trouble sleeping. They talk about how their bodies have been forever changed by being in the military. Those participating in Sunday’s action are filled with a deep desire to tell the truth to people living in this country and people in the military.
While many wonder, "what is it going to take to wake people," they ARE waking people up. In my opinion, the military is petrified of something like this busting out, particularly on the day they are sending a troop surge for this war that they have tried to re-brand as ending.
People protesting tomorrow are acting with great determination and are taking risks to stop these wars much like Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and whoever has been leaking from within the military, as Bradley Manning is accused of doing. There is the sense of being very strategic and serious about these actions. I think it’s true what Assange says, "courage is contagious." It’s contagious when you see it where you get your coffee, it’s contagious when you look at your window and you see millions in the streets, it’s contagious when you decide to be the person who doesn’t look away from the crimes of your government, and it’s contagious when you see veterans resisting for the sake of humanity like this.
Many more people needing to be acting with this kind of resolve to stop these wars. The Obama administration is not ending the Iraq war – they are sending surges of troops to Iraq. They are standing against all who oppose these wars, including the anti-war vets.
Many more people need to hear about what is going on down here, pay attention to what’s going on in the world and support these protests. This will be the first time in history that Iraq veterans will attempt to stop a deployment. I am very anxious to see what happens and I hope you are too. More tomorrow.
I’m a First Cav veteran of OIF II, and I can tell you first hand these wars are fought, in your name, for private interests. It’s the protestors who truly “fight” for freedom. They’re the only people speaking out against the flagrant misuse of our military to fight wars for private interest and national empire.
Imperialism is the modus operandi of our country, and I think it’s great that someone is speaking up.
Suggestion for my fellow Americans and “Troop Supporters”:
Turn off your T.V. and think more critically… ask yourself:
Am I thinking for myself? -or- Is someone doing my thinking for me? It’s easy to remark that:
“our troops fight for freedom”,
but do they really?
Do troops in Afghanistan/Iraq really fight for our freedom? –Or even the freedom of those people?
Are troops the real supporters and defenders of our constitutional rights?
In theory yes, but in practice?
Ask yourself:
How much do I really know about my country’s history? How much do I really know about the “Military Industrial Complex?
I imagine “Army Wife” one and “Too” are both nice and obviously passionate people. Who can fault either of them for such inaccurate remarks… after all, It’s can be very hard to detach from raw-emotion and think logically.
Emma…. Here is a little bit of info about Killeen. I hope that you find educational and you learn your lesson of listening to just anyone!!
\\\”Killeen is on U.S. Highway 190 in western Bell County about forty miles north of Austin. In 1881 the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, planning to extend its tracks through the area, bought 360 acres some 2½ miles southwest of a community known as Palo Alto, which had existed since about 1872. Soon afterward the railroad platted a seventy-block town on its land and named it after Frank P. Killeen, the assistant general manager of the railroad.\\\”
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/KK/hdk1.html
Soldiers: leave the military and fight for real freedom and equality. We are here to support you if you resist.
I am not a capitalist soldier. I am a proletarian revolutionist. I do not belong to the regular army of rite plutocracy, but to the irregular army of the people. I refuse to obey any command to fight for the ruling class… I am opposed to every war but one; I am for that war with heart and soul, and that is the world-wide war of the social revolution. In that war I am prepared to fight in any way the ruling class may make it necessary. -Eugene Debs
No war but the class war.
Thank you brave veterans and activists! This is just the beginning– a handful of you did that, a handful of activists can start doing the same all around the country. Solidarity!
You know what honest people call those who occupy countries, kill civilians, and then brag about it? Nazis.
You can be proud of your “service” all you want…but who are you serving? You’re not serving the people of this country, and you’re sure as hell not serving the people of the countries where you’re kicking in doors, raping 14year olds, blasting away at civilians from helicopters, and bombing whole cities with white phosphorus.
We got our free speech from fighting AGAINST people like you. We don’t owe you shit other than a dose of reality.
Also see the report:
http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php/home-mainmenu-289/6600-ft-hood-disobeys-please-dont-make-the-same-mistake-we-did-resist-now
“Get a life and please stop messing with ours!!!”
WHO is messing with WHOSE life? Seems to me like the people in Iraq and Afghanistan want to live their lives and not be “messed with.”
Can you pro-empire people seriously justify the mass murder from the sky that we’ve all watched on video now?
http://www.collateralmurder.com/
There is NO WAY that the thousands of people in Afghanistan and the million people in Iraq needed to be killed so that we could stand in the streets to protest here. Wake up and stop repeating the lies! Military people – you are not doing anything in the service of justice.
Thank you Ft. Hood Disobeys for speaking the truth and acting like human beings with real consciences!!
So wait, the military are the ones pretending we’re drawing down troops and coming home? No, no my friend. THE MEDIA are the ones representing false information. Nobody within the military is going to tell you that we’re taking all of our troops out and coming home. This is propaganda to boost ratings and cling to whatever political gain Obama and his leftist nuts can hold on to. You sound exactly like one of those leftist, tree-hugging, lunatic, hippie types.
I don’t like the fact my husband has been to war and will go again however…
PEOPLE NEED TO GET A GRIP! WE ARE AT WAR. IT’S NOT GOING TO STOP. AND YOUR PROTESTS, PEACE BUMPER STICKERS, AND HIPPIE SHIRTS ARE SURE AS HELL NOT GOING TO CHANGE THAT FACT. It just makes you look like a total imbecile.
Aren’t you glad that you are able to stand on a corner and shout in protest to something? Thank a soldier for that.
My husband was in Iraq for 15 months, and is getting ready to deploy again. You better believe that I will stand behind him 110% now, tomorrow and next year!! Anyone that signed up to join the Army knew what they were getting into BEFORE they went to Basic Training!!! I’m so tired of people talking crap online, but not living the lives! If you want our troops home so bad, go stand on Capital Hill and protest! STOP HARASSING OUR SOLDIERS!! You know the ones that defend your rights to act like a$$holes!!
And who cares about this “Some local youth told me that they have heard reactionary people say that the name stands for Kill Each And Every N*****.” NEWS FLASH!!! The name of this post is FT.HOOD!!! Killeen, Copperas Cove, and Harker Heights are surrounding towns. It doesn’t matter how, why and what grounds they were founded out. What matters is that the majority of these towns are ARMY or AIR FORCE.
Get a life and please stop messing with ours!!!
if your so anxious on ending the war why don’t you come over here and take my spot and you can end the war yourself!
You know its interesting how many people don’t complain or bitch when they are in the military, but as soon as they get out they cry like a bunch of babies. i have been shot, still have shrapnel in my chest and im still doing my job. no cryin on my part. still in afghan fightin, yeah it sucks but we have to get the job done reguardless of the situation. yall who are cryin, you signed the dotted line to join, so quit being a bunch of bitches and live with your decisions.
WOW. and I mean it. WOW. What a protest! Not a single person turned up outside Ft Hood. What is the texas heat stronger then your convictions? haha You guys are a damn joke. I guess the world CAN wait. Keep fighting the good fight from the comfort of your computer desk.
Right on Emma. I have to wonder how all those like “military wife” continue to say stuff about how the troops who fight in these imperialist adventures are protecting the right to protest. Vietnam? Haiti? Panama? Lebanon? and on and on. In fact, in times like these, the government has tried to crush protest. These wars are crimes and must be opposed.
Oh wow, what a protest. none of yall came out. No one protested. Yall are just a bunch of talkers on the internet, thats all you are. Big talk with no action. What is it too hot. LOL. I knew yall would not even show up. Its easy to sit in a cafe with the A/C and cold drinks talking and posting crap on the internet, and another thing to do what you say you will do. See yall are full of crap. You dont know what you are talking about.
I think the protestors are a bunch of freaking idiots… they have no idea what the soldiers and families go through every damn day of their lives… and while u guys protest about anti war these soldiers risk their lives so u can freaking protest!!!!! All protestors against the war are so unappreciative and shouldnt even be considered damn americans!!!!!! grow up war is about of our history for centuries and without the sacrifices of soldiers and their families our world would be shit and all this freedom you so love to endure would be NO MORE!!!!!!!!!
What is funny is these veterans knew what they were choosing when they enlisted. Don’t blame you’re changing hair color on the military. Yes war is painful and a hard thing to go through and deal with,but the military has plenty of offerings and solutions for those struggling with ptsd. I bet you these complaining retirees aren’t complaining when they cash the check.
Thank you for protesting. If I was able to be there or lived close I would be there with you. End to all war. Now.