JP>-> It's also disturbed me that so often in training sessions and such
JP>-> it is suggested and commented that our oath may necessitate the
JP>-> firing on of citizens.  That we may have to defend the
JP>-> constitution from Joe Q public.  That disturbs me.
JP>Sad to say, Nolan, but this is nothing new.  Kent State springs
JP>immediately to mind.  As does the "race riots" in Watts, Detroit,
JP>etc. (65?).  Then there was the suppression of the "Bonus Army"
JP>during the depression. Read the history of the labor movement during
JP>the last century, and you will find that state militias were often
JP>called out to fire on strikers.
I've learned in the past year or two that the guards and other
militaries have been used far more then I ever imagined even possible to
crush and control the citizens of this nation throughout our history.
To make a military able to do this though you need military training
that conditions them to be willing to do this, and conditioning of the
citizens to tolerate this.  For the new(er) troops often aren't willing
to fire on the citizens, until they've been properly conditioned to
follow orders without hesitation or thought.
However, what I find disturbing nowadays is this seemingly clear (at
least to me) trend of testing and conditioning our militaries to an all
out war on the citizens of this country.  Not just squelching riots and
such, but military domination and attack.
This was even covered in the officer training program I was in a year
ago, under the guise of defending the Constitution from domestic
enemies.  And only a few of use were _not_ cheering about it.  Out of a
room of about 200 candidates less then a half dozen of us were looking
around at each other in horror.  Maybe it's my chicken little "the sky
is falling" hysteria, maybe not.  I hope I'm way off base and wrong on
this stuff, but I don't think I am.
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