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this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2024
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Or because it's probably just 1 person who published this and organized "concerned us military service members" don't exist.
An open letter like this is supposed to be signed by a bunch of organizations so that individuals can't be punished. If the "letter" is addressed to nobody and is signed by nobody, then it's not a letter. It's just an anonymous twitter post.
The whole purpose of an open letter is having powerful people behind the message of the letter. Big organizations, famous individuals, etc. Otherwise it just looks fake.
I agree that it lacks political teeth without being signed, but if it is real and it continues to circulate among conscientious service members, they could come out later when their numbers are great enough to be politically significant.
No one is more skeptical than I am, but if Aaron Bushnell was willing to set himself on fire in protest, a protest that likely hit much harder to like minded military personnel, then other members are probably willing to write or sign a letter like this.
No one on the side of imperialism would fabricate a letter like this.
I talked with a former marine friend of mine and he says it's possibly a kind of limited hangout to save face, like "yeah we're TOTALLY not loving this genocide," most of all because there's nothing substantial behind it.
So yes, it makes sense for someone on the side of imperialism to fabricate the letter.
Possible, but the risk associated with faking a document that compels isolated alienated service members actually taking up political action against the will of their own government would be reckless beyond measure. This system works in part because it depoliticizes the individual. It would be like handing an unloaded gun to someone who wants to kill you and saying its harmless because it doesn't have any bullets; because if they can get some bullets, you're fucked, and you just saved your enemies a step by supplying the instrument of your undoing
Faking a document where individual military personnel engage in collective action is a real strange way to continue the centuries long concerted effort to prevent and destroy even the idea of collective political action.
True, but they go to great lengths to keep up the depolitization in the letter anyway. It's really more like recognizing someone is bound to come beat you up so you give them a
, feels threatening and dangerous but it's toothless.
I see your point, but since it characterizes the author(s) as loyal, disciplined, committed service members and not weird and unrelatable radicals, I'm gonna have to agree to disagree wrt the authenticity.
Now whether something real will come out of it is a larger, much more complicated, and uncertain prospect. The odds of soldiers forming a united, cohesive, coherent left-wing political organization within the time frame of this conflict is desperately slim. Not much I, a civilian, can do either way unless I get a chance to do some educating.