#military indoctrination

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“'PROPAGANDA', CLAIM OF STUDENT PAPER,” Toronto Star. February 24, 1933. Page 2.  ---- League Would Like to See Cadets Abolished ---- Strong condemnation of any kind of militaristic propaganda in high school textbooks and hearty sympathy with the movement to abolish cadets is expressed in the second issue of "The Student Voice," published by the High School Students' League. 

"There are in high school composition textbooks," states that paper, "passages which cannot but instill in the students' minds venomous militaristic propaganda. This sort of propaganda is even more dangerous than cadet training." 

In reference to a recent speech made by Hon. W. H. Price, the publication claims that "Mr. Price has a Red complex. Not so long ago he accused Mr. Woodsworth and the C.C.F. of being Reds."

[ash-and-starlight]

The world needs more Yue and Zuko friendship, I squeal just thinking abt the parallels. They deserve a life changing field trip together and if u have abt ideas I’m all ears 👀

Hiii anon this ask fermented in my inbox and in my brain for so long,, so take this??? Post canon yue lives/no war au arts?? Anyway aside from the Parallels and their political position & their duty before hoes grindset I think they could learn a lot from each other. With zuko learning the gift of patience & diplomacy from yue & Yue learning that allowing yourself to feel anger and speaking up can actually be Good.

anyway hypothetical life changing trip outcome: zuko takes an intro gender studies class and yue says fuck

(oh and also must not forget the crush on sokka)

[brighteuphony]

I love Chiyo- and I kind of headcanon her as a Witch of the Woods (Sands???) archetype- a bitter old woman who has sacrificed too much, experienced and committed more atrocities than anyone can imagine, and who knows the truth about what lies in the hearts of men to live among the villages anymore.

In my AU she's got a pretty dark backstory. Back in time when Villages were just getting established, women weren't allowed to be shinobi in the same capacity as men. There was too much warring and death among the clans to risk women, so they were only ever allowed to serve as spies or medics. (Chiyo started off as a medic).

And like any military/fascist dictatorship, serving the state was more important than anything else- so women who were kunoichi were given missions to steal and return with powerful bloodlines. Even before villages, this was a common fear among clans (which is why so many of them have protective measures and inbreed/arrange matches very carefully).

Chiyo was one such woman, who took a X-rated mission in her youth because she was told it would 'serve her nation'. There was a powerful bloodline whose Kekkei Genkai could harden sand to something akin to Steel- something Suna very desperately wanted.

Chiyo succeeded in her mission, but despite the veneer of 'serving your nation', when she returned, she was considered, in her words, "Just another whore."

Then when her son didn't manifest the bloodline- it was worse, but Chiyo was happy because that meant her son was HERS. (This is when she met Enji, and he saved her son's life at great cost- so Chiyo owes him a blood/life debt.)

Then the war came, and they needed women to fight so now serving the nation meant something different, and Chiyo became a full fledged 'shinobi' and turned her healing towards poison and death- especially when she had to fight the Salamander.

Then she sealed Gaara and that was the atrocity straw that broke the camel's back and she dipped out Suna and retired to an oasis. She's still a healer, but adamantly refuses to serve shinobi.

Once again, thank you so much for these asks and all the support for this AU?

@youngpeacearbiter

[high-voltage-rat]

Actually I'm still thinking about it. Another interesting way in which RvB is anti-war is the way that the Director fills the role of a villain and antagonist (especially in the Recollections trilogy, where he's a faceless villain we never see but is responsible for everything that happens).

In his memos to the Chairman, the Director emphasizes his sense of duty and obligation to the military- he becomes irate for the first time when he feels that it's being implied that he was derelict in his duty... or that the work he did out of that duty is being criticized for being against the military's interests. He also talks about Allison's death in a way I find... interesting.

"You see; I never had the chance to serve in battle. Nor did fate provide me the opportunity to sacrifice myself for humanity as it did for so many others in the Great War. Someone extremely dear to me was lost very early in my life. My mind has always plagued me with the question: If the choice had been placed in my hands, could I have saved her? [...] But, given the events of these past few weeks, I feel confident that had I been given the chance, I would have made those sacrifices myself... Had I only the chance."

The idea of sacrifice is central to the way he talks about his wife's loss, to the way he talks about the war in general. He talks of sacrifice with a sense of veneration- that it's something he aspires to do, that he longs for. There's a few ways we can interpret "I would have made those sacrifices myself"...

-That in Allison's place, he thinks he would have laid down his life too.

-That if given the chance, he would have given his life to save hers.

But most interestingly...

-That he would have sacrificed Allison's life for the continued survival of humanity, if that was what duty called for.

...And personally, I think all 3 are true.

In most war media, the Director's perspective on sacrifice is very common. Sacrifice is glorious and heroic- to die in battle is an honour- and it's the only way to ensure the group you serve survives. This is a tool of propaganda- nobody wants to go to war just for the sake of it, you have to give them a reason that the risk of dying or being permanently disabled isn't just acceptable, but desirable. Beyond that, most people don't want to do things they think are immoral- you have to convince them it's important, a necessary lesser evil. You teach them to sacrifice their morals, too.

The way they train soldiers to follow orders and to kill, is to convince them that they, and the people around them, and the people they care about, will all die if they don't. It's drilled into your head from day one. It's the way they ensure their commanding officers won't shy away from sending their men off to die. The message is constant- sacrifice is your duty, and duty ensures your people's survival.

In the Director's eyes, the damage Project Freelancer caused was his sacrifice. He never got the opportunity to sacrifice himself during the war- so he sacrificed others, as military brass do. The Freelancers- including his daughter. The countless sim troopers. Any people he considered "collateral damage" on missions. And when the opportunity to do so presented itself, he sacrificed a copy of himself- Alpha- and he sacrificed a copy of Allison- Tex.

The very thing that derailed his life- the loss of his wife- he made it happen again. He put her copy in dangerous situations, let her exist in the position of constant repeated failure, created the circumstances that would eventually lead to her death. He put their daughter in deadly situations that nearly killed her repeatedly, provided her with impossible expectations leading to self-destructive behaviours in the name of duty, implanted her with two AI knowing they could cause her permanent harm. He was confident he "would have made those sacrifices himself" because he did.

The Director is the embodiment of the military war machine. As an antagonist, he is a warning against buying into the glorification of sacrifice. He's a condemnation of the idea that one should be willing to do anything to win a war- that duty to the military is the thing that ensures survival... All the messages that are pushed to ensure recruitment and obedience of soldiers.

He's a reminder that swallowing the propaganda leads to you doing terrible things... and in the end, you're a broken man left mourning the losses that you suffered even as you repeated them, convinced that it was all necessary.

[hilacopter]

I want so badly to talk about how much the right and even center here sucks how bad the military indoctrination is all the rampant bigotry but I just know fuckheads will see it and go "SEE THIS IS WHY ISRAELIS ARE EVILLLL BURN TEL AVIV TO THE GROUND" and yeah no that's a really stupid idea actually

[church-of-crayak]

got really into the idea of miku being an andalite text-to-thoughtspeak software mascot!! here is a deeply y2k andalite hatsune miku

[innocentartery]

green lantern (1960) #30/#150

[tenleaguesbeneath]

I feel like ME3 kinda leaves the revelation on Chronos Station hanging when EDI is like “oh yeah Cerberus is Indoctrinating civilians and augmenting them with Reaper cybernetics, that’s why they treat their soldiers’ lives so cheaply”

It comes really late in the game, after Shepard’s walked over a pile of Cerberus bodies. Maybe part of that is that by the time she has a chance to rest after having it confirmed, she’s done fighting Cerberus for good. But then, it’s pretty heavily foreshadowed. Grissom has datapads saying they plan to make Phantoms out of the biotic students if they can take them. Eden Prime has a thing where they’re pretending to the civilians they’re occupying that the people they’re kidnapping are being taken away for forced labor and hiding that they’ll never be seen again. fucking Mars has you see their Reaper-cybernetic-altered faces, though you don’t find out about them not being willing volunteers until later. Liara seems to be aware of this given her convo with Aethyta.

I’m not sure if it’s my copy of ME:Legendary or something else but sometimes when I throw them they get stuck ragdolled in a corner with hit points remaining but they’re not getting up, and finishing them always feels kinda grim.

The version of Shepard they portray who has no comment on either doing that or finding out that she’s been doing that to people who were taken from their families against their will and mind controlled is, like...

it says disturbing things about how inured she is to violence. the entire squad, really.

[wandercr]

i still think it's funny that the one fallout (game) writer implied that the sole survivor (nate) committed war crimes and so many people lost their minds

[progressivemillennial]

[thefreethoughtprojectcom]

On our latest podcast, we spoke to Dylan Allman, a conscientious objector who once felt compelled to join the Army. We explored the journey that led him to enlist and the grueling process he endured to break free from the military.

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/guest-dylan-allman-breaking-free-from-military-indoctrination/id1439014279?i=1000665883638

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Knvp6niTbyDFvWEYkH70L

[plaguetenders]

me:"oh yeah I'm fairly sure I'm over my old friend joining the military and completely changing as a person, it was years ago already"

Me, after ranting for 20 minutes abt how hurt I'm still over his behavior around that time:"and ANOTHER THING—"

[gyooza]

i will never understand when people are like "i have a love hate relationship with 9s" it is all love from me baby. 9s has never done anything wrong ever and i will die on that hill

[guarmommy]

The Ghost and the King in lingerie

[battleangel]

Why Do We Wear Hospital Gowns?

For the exact same reason that soldiers are required to wear uniforms in basic training, upon graduating boot camp and when deployed, why Catholic, prepatory and charter schools demand their studenrs wear uniforms, why all prisoners wear the same prison jumpsuit and why corporate America demands that employees "dress professionally".

To dehumanize, to control, to break, to debase, to unnerve, to enervate, to denigrate, to drain, to exhaust, to fatigue, to numb, to deindividualize, to commodify, to homogenize...

Hospitals, K-12 indoctrination centers aka schools, corporate America and prisons all have the following in common:

🧟‍♂️Bland identical drab uniforms/gowns/prison jumpsuits/"business professional"/"business casual"/"dress to impress" designed to dehumanize and strip away all aspects of the individuals personality (Catholic, prep & charter schools).

🧟‍♀️Constant, overly bright fluorescent lights proven to deplete melatonin levels, disrupt our natural circadian rhythyms and cause insomnia and sleep disorders.

🧟‍♂️Blind unquestioning adherence to authority figures. Dissent is suppressed and when it occurs is harshly punished.

🧟‍♀️Forced cheer, spirit days, volunteer days, holidays with visitors and movies shown, pep rallies, bake sales, celebrity visitors to distract, pizza parties, team lunches, annual holiday parties all to obfuscate and distract from how objectively depressing and unnerving these environments are and to keep the inmates from complaining too loudly.

🧟‍♀️Overly matrixed organizational hierachy, execessive bureacracy and red tape so that things are endlessly and hopelessly siloed, creativity and innovation are stifled.

🧟‍♂️Authority figures with god complexes that are overly disciplinarian in nature and are afforded the "Father Knows Best benevolent Santa Claus" benefit of the doubt for no objective reason simply because we put our trust in teachers, principals, coaches and doctors; we fear the prison guards and wardens but we also fear our coaches, school disciplinarian, vice principal, principles, supervisors, +1s, VPs, Officers, ExCo, SLT & CEO and we fear our doctors as well as they are presented as holders of the magical talisman to whether we live or die.

🧟‍♀️At all times, you are an empty vessel to be poured into by your teachers, school counselors, coaches, band directors, school disciplinarian, principals, doctors and prison guards and wardens -- they are there, at least this is the lie, to guide, instruct, teach, coach, mentor, advise, build up, influence, grow, improve, better, transform, correct, discipline, build resiliency grit courage perservarance, give hope, educate, elucidate -- they are there to simply blindly control you.

🧟‍♂️Every room looks identically exactly maddeningly the same -- every cubicles exactly the same and every cubicle row, every classroom and every deck, every locker, every hospital room and every jail cell -- same room dimensions, same size, same prison bars, same sparse mattress, same thin pillow, same desks, same cucible partitions, same cucible walls, same windows, same hospital beds, same curtains, same color walls, same gray carpeting -- as far as the eye can see, everything is identical, same, a carbon copy, endlessly repeating. Its literally designed to be maddening.

🧟‍♀️Schedules are dictated -- recess, breaks, prison yard, lunch, 15 minute breaks, cafeterias, rush hour, 9 am start time, 5 pm finish time, coffee break, water cooler conversation, lunch trays, carton of milk, apple juice box, gym, school bell, PA sytem -- you arent allowed to get food for an hour at 10 am, or leave three hours early even if you've finished all your work, you cant work in your car all day in the work parking lot, you cant come in at 1 pm and work until 9 pm, you cant spend your lunch hour sitting by your locker silently reading, you cant spend the pep rally alone in the library quietly reading a book, you cant spend your lunch hour in a locked bathroom stall reading your manga, you cant spend the pep rally in your car in the school parking lot reading a comic book, you cant take a 3.5 hour lunch and then make the time up the next day by working an extra 3.5 hours -- at all times, your time is completely controlled by the school/company/hospital/prison yet the mandated schedules and breaks are completely contrived and are not determined to maximize efficiency, it is only meant to totally control you, strip away your individuality, dehumanize you, dim your aura, psychically attack your psyche aura and energy and ensure you never come anywhere close to experiencing your ego death, self-actualizing, self-awakening, ascending and discovering your true self and truly opening your eyes for the first time by opening your third eye.

🧟‍♂️Unreasonable schedules, unrealistic demands to tax you as a person, overwhelm you, depress you, shut you down, unnerve you, drain you, exhaust you, numb you, suppress you, repress you, trigger obsessive/compulsive/neurotic/self sabotaging/harmful/mindless addictions and behaviors to keep you firmly ensconced in their pharmaceutical, psychiatric, oncological (cancer), opiod/"pain management", fast food, fast fashion, big box retail, retail, agricultural, entertainment, gaming, movie, music, television, sports, beverages (soda/juice/coffee/alcohol), tobacco & vaping, sugar, waste management, wheat, consumer electronics, cosmetics, household products, self care industrial complexes.

🧟‍♀️See these systems (hospitals, K-12 schools, corporate America & prisons) for the capitalist structures they are. Capitalism cannot be held up without these four systems underpinning and propping it up.

🧟‍♂️All four systems endlessly feed, create and reinforce the fear of death as they all massively profit from it. Realize that death is a beautiful transformation and while the transition and process of death itself may be challenging, there is even beauty that can be found in that, as you are still transforming while dying in death, from your temporary physical human form which you are shedding like a caterpillar to spread your beautiful butterfly wings and fly as the limitiless eternal energetic being you were prior to temporarily manifesting physically as a human in your "life" in "reality", our current world and universe. You originated from the dreamscape and you are an eternal being that came to our current reality to just learn and remember who you are and that you are a limitless energetic being with a boundless imagination -- which is all the dreamscape is. Its your mind and your imagination so its anything and everything. "Reality" is just a virtual simulation of the dreamscape. So, there is no need to fear death or dying or the "after life", there is no need for endless and often times extremely invasive, harmful, painful, dangerous and traumatizing execessive "medical" interventions like radiation, chemotherapy, hormone treatment, extremely invasive and damaging surgeries leaving you permanently scarred and bruised with phantom pains sometimes never returning to your pre-surgical state, harsh drugs that can shut down and/or suppress your immune system, give you cancer, blood disorders, damage your internal organs and cause organ failure, cause structural muscoloskeltal damage weakening and damaging bones causing serious falls, osteoporosis, lower bone density, broken bones, fatal falls and much much more -- for what when you're going to fucking die anyway? Just live your life every moment to the fullest, live hostically, be in nature, move and express yourself creatively every day, eat fresh vegetables and fruit drink apple cider vinegar and water eat mixed nuts and granola bars eat oatmeal 80% of the time take a break and eat whatever on the weekends just doing this will resolve 90%+ of physical and mental DIS-eases and for anything else you have to die of something see a doctor use discernment use your ancestral Akashic wisdom if the intervention is sensible try it if it is invasive harmful damaging toxic and potentially fatal (most of them) then dont do it have some cbd gummies have some weed brownies light some candles and incense have some edibles have some psychedlics like ayuhasca DMT spend time outside in nature meditate listen to sound bath healing listen to mhz audio stretch do yoga do breathwork create stuff move dance draw paint blow bubbles hula hoop pole dance do headstands and handstands and just enjoy it while it lasts like a rollercoaster cause thats all this very temporary life is...