Defending the Truth

This is just somethig I've heard. I can't remember where, but I've heard that a large number of recruits in the Army at the preent time are members of white supremacist organizations. First off, I'm looking for the veracity of the claim, but if it's true then this is pretty screwed up. Put a racist in a country filled with hostile people of what he perceives to be an "inferior" race, and guess what happens. That, and can we really let our country be represented overseas by people like that?!

Please do get back to us on that Anti!

Though I doubt that is all that uncommon anyhow.

A way to get training in the things on their agenda.

...Tim Mc Veigh comes to mind.

OD

Yeah, I hadn't thought of that. I guess that's all the militant supremacists. I suspect a few just want to serve their country, but still, do we want them knowing tactics like those in the Army?

Anti,

When I was a whole lot younger, I was married to a man in the military. And we lived near the base. And in the laundry-mat and at the rec center, guess what kind of reading material was there, laying around for the perusal of whoever?

A sheet called The Spotlight. It was an awful, awful paper. Filled with hatred. It was anti-semitic, anti-African American...all the stuff of white supremacy.

And there were magazines called Soldier of Fortune.

And there was some little publication that was put out by the JohnBirch Society.

There were other papers there too. And I remember all the ads in them that amounted to hiring hit men. And there were how-tos for building land mines, for stockpilers waiting for some kind of apocolypse. For being selfish and greedy. And I don't want to be sensationalist in this, but I think that is where I saw an ad too for how to eat your neighbor!

I am sure that there are many many in the military that are honorable and loving to all people. But this virulent strain of hatred and the exclusion it breeds has been in the minds of many in the military for some time.

But again, if they are now reporting it as noticeable, I would be interested to know how much more it is getting a foothold in the armed forces.

OD

Oh, agreed, there is definitely a particularly bad strain of racism in the military. it's very defined, and it's been that way since the army was desegregated. I think out of all government institutions, the army is no doubt the one that is the most poisined by hatred. I don't think that a majority in the military will take their prejudices to the level of violence (otherwise the Aryan Nations would be the equivalent to a political party), but I do think it's a serious problem. That little anecdote actually sounds like the problem is much worse than what I thought.

It's not specific on white supremacist philosophies, but I found this, which alludes to problems in the armed forces. The essay describes bias in the military as a reflection of racism in society, but what is of interest are the statistics under the "Choice For Youths" section. 75% of minority recruits have experienced some form of discrimination, and 20% have expressed that they have been mistreated by superiors.

Pat Chin, African Americans in the military: the struggle against racism & war

This one offers similar evidence as the first one.
Racism and discrimination in the military, by Brian Deer

This suggests that racism in the military may be spilling over from within the American army to the fight itself, with abuses against prisoners and various atrocities reflecting a growing hatred of Arabs. If not reflecting racism, the evidence presented still reflects horrible acts which shouldn't be tolerated regardless of the cause.
The Black Commentator - New Revelations about Racism in the Military - Issue 133

white supremacist+army recruitment - Google Search

475,000 websites

Thanks for the link, Intangible. This is prob the best article I've found in there, and it does reflect what OhDear and I were worrying about. Neo-Nazis are using the regular army as a training ground for paramilitary activities.

Hate Groups Are Infiltrating the Military, Group Asserts - New York Times

It doesn't seem to be intentional on the Army's part. If a skinhead can conceal his affiliations & rank and if a recruiter is desperate enough, he'll fill quotas with as many nazis as he can.

Don't ask, don't tell.