Re: [sixties-l] Re: war and bonding and human nature

From: Jerry West (record@island.net)
Date: Sat Jul 01 2000 - 01:19:25 CUT

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    Jeffrey Blankfort wrote:

    As it now stands, however, the presence of black or brown soldiers in
    our military does not appear to have had any humanizing effect.

    JW reply:

    Why should it? And what do you mean by humanizing effect?

    Ethnic background or gender have little to do with it, it is
    intelligence, knowledge and social upbringing.

    JB wrote:

    Soldiers are given orders by their superior officers and learn to obey
    these orders without questioning them....

    JW reply:

    So the theory goes, but the closer you get to the ground the more input
    individual soldiers have on immediate decisions. Been there and done
    that and from my experience most soldiers are not dehumanized machines.
    Orders are often modified as they pass down the chain, and in some
    instances they get modified out of existance. Discipline is important,
    but it is not unquestioning, at least not in any of the units in which I
    served.

    -- 
    Jerry West
    Editor/publisher/janitor
    ----------------------------------------------------
    THE RECORD
    On line news from Nootka Sound & Canada's West Coast
    An independent, progressive regional publication
    http://www.island.net/~record/
    



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