Charles Clymer 🏳️🌈Verified account @cmclymer1/ I have some things to say about the Texas shooting. It’s gonna piss some people off, and that’s too bad. It needs to be said. (thread)
2/ I served in the Army. I was trained as an infantryman. A grunt. That’s about as nuts-and-bolts as it gets in the military.
3/ Infantry training is ongoing. Infantry units train constantly. All the time. It’s always something. To the point of being monotonous.
4/ If we weren’t at the firing range, we were doing hands-on tactical training. If not tactical, then classroom prep. Always. Something.
5/ Thousands of hours of training and learning how to kill other people. I am a trained killer. That’s what an infantryman does. They kill.
6/ Other soldiers will laugh this off. “Okay, killer.” But they know I’m right. Deep down, that’s your purpose as an infantryman: to kill.
7/ It starts early. Basic training is psychological. You’re supposed to get comfortable with killing. You’re prepared to face this reality.
8/ In my barracks at basic training, there was a giant mural of a skull-and-crossbones on the floor. Our official nickname: “Death Dealers”.
9/ We were taught call-and-response chants. Ex: “What makes the grass grow?” “Blood, blood, blood makes the grass grow!”
10/ So many drills have the cry “Kill!” in them. I’m surprised we weren’t required to shout it after eating a meal. Maybe we were. I forget.
11/ And it is what it is. I’m not here to tell you military training is bad. I am not a pacifist. Evil threats exist. Someone has to kill.
12/ And because someone has to kill and the killing falls to the military, psychological training like that makes killing easier.
13/ That’s a cold thought, and many will disagree with it. Not the point. The point: taking accountability of it in the civilian world.
14/ Thousands of hours of learning how to kill other human beings. Day after day, month after month, year after year. Rewiring.
15/ I’m a flaming liberal. I’m a gun owner but don’t collect them. My idea of “fun” is singing karaoke in a tiara, not a day shooting guns.
16/ But there is no doubt in my mind that, if needed, I could kill other human beings efficiently. Tactically. Without hesitation.
17/ I haven’t worn a uniform in almost six years, but it would be like riding a bike. It’s ingrained. I doubt it’ll ever go away.
18/ That’s the point of military training: muscle memory, acting without hesitation, resorting to a part of your brain on autopilot.
19/ In April 2009, Homeland Security released a report warning of the recruitment of veterans by radical groups: https://fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf …
20/ Noted as catalysts for a heightened national security risk were basically what we’ve seen come to fruition eight years later:
21/ Predictably, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano was derided as disrespecting the troops. She was forced to issue several apologies.
22/ Never mind that Napolitano had only ever demonstrated the utmost respect for women and men in uniform.
23/ Never mind that a 2008 FBI report identified 203 military veterans in white supremacist terrorist groups: https://cryptome.org/spy-whites.pdf
24/ Never mind Charlottesville and the mix of military vets among the little boys playing soldier:
25/ Never mind that a Marine killed JFK or that an Army infantryman was behind the Oklahoma City Bombing.
26/ Or the higher rate of violence against women (in this case: IPV) among Active Duty military and veterans versus civilians:
[Edit:Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious, preventable public health problem that affects millions of Americans. The term “intimate partner violence” describes physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse.]
27/ Or that the higher rate of IPV in the military is linked to PTSD and traumatic brain injuries: https://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/esp/partner_violence-REPORT.pdf …
28/ Or—and this is important—the well-established relationship between mass shootings and violence against women.
29/ A great piece on that subject by @rtraister can be found here: https://www.thecut.com/2016/07/mass-killers-terrorism-domestic-violence.html …
30/ Surely, that link between violence against women and subsequent mass shootings must count as evidence of terrorism.
31/ This is how the FBI defines domestic terrorism: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism …
32/ Not sure why a mass shooting inspired by hatred of women doesn’t qualify as terrorism… unless, maybe, we don’t respect women as people?
33/ Not exactly the most comfortable truth in the national discourse, particularly in a sea of “as a father of daughters” statements.
34/ The other side of that coin is white maleness. A political system and media dominated by white men isn’t eager to be self-reflective.
35/ Why would I examine a system of white supremacy that gives me unearned benefits and being forced to recognize they’re unearned?
36/ Why would I admit, despite all evidence, that my white maleness protects me from all sorts of threats and accountability? Scary stuff.
37/ A brown “Muslim” man killing several with a vehicle is terrorism, but a white male killing 27 w/ a gun out of sexist rage? “Lone wolf.”
38/ All these are connected: white male entitlement, mental illness, racism, sexism, violence against women, terrorism. Rinse, repeat.
39/ White men see a loss of power, feel victimized, have that entitlement radicalized through propaganda, and commit acts of terrorism.
40/ But because they’re white and not shouting “Allahu Akbar”, they’re dismissed as "nuts", or more charitably: “nice guys gone wrong.”
41/ To admit to “terrorism” by ordinary white men would require asking deeper questions of ourselves, especially those of us in power.
42/ To admit to “terrorism” by military veterans would require a vast reworking of our systems of recruitment, training, and mental health.
43/ Instead, we grant an access of powerful weaponry to those most trained to use it and most likely to do so in brutal acts of terrorism.
44/ An irony of all this is that though we fall back solely on the excuse of “mental health” to wave away acts of terrorism by white men…
45/ …we neither 1) attempt to comprehensively address mental health in our country nor 2) effectively restrict access to weapons due to it.
46/ If your takeaway from ANY of this = a hatred of white men, the military or guns, then you’re a moron who lacks critical thinking skills.
47/ And if your takeaway is a bizarre, insecure notion that I’m putting women and folks of color on a pedestal, that also makes you a moron.
48/ I'm a white male, and I have no reason to hate that about myself. I love my country. I'm proud of my military service. I'm a gun owner.
49/ And even I can see there are deep, deep issues here we’re ignoring. And they’re not going away. This will happen again and again.
50/ We need to stop pretending that military service is the grand seal of moral rightness. It’s not. We can be grateful w/o being stupid.
51/ We need to stop allowing patriotism to be co-opted by white supremacists preaching a nationalist agenda driven by fear and hatred.
52/ We need to call terrorism in this country for what it is and recognize how white men are often radicalized.
53/ We need to recognize the link between misogynist power structures, violence against women, and white male terrorism.
54/ We need to respect the 2nd Amendment by restricting access to guns from those who don’t (or can’t) respect gun ownership.
55/ Legally owning and using a gun in this country should be harder than legally owning and using a car. Why is it the exact opposite?
56/ Why am I bio-scanned every time I fly, but it’s totally fine in many states if I waltz down the street open-carrying a powerful firearm?
57/ Why am I more likely to be killed by a white male terrorist with a gun in this country than a brown terrorist who claims to be “Muslim”?
58/ We should all want answers to these questions and elected officials with the courage to address them. We should want that NOW.
59/ I’m tired of the carnage, and I want to believe we’re better than this. Prove to me, prove it to yourself, that we are. /thread
27/ Or that the higher rate of IPV in the military is linked to PTSD and traumatic brain injuries: https://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/esp/partner_violence-REPORT.pdf …
28/ Or—and this is important—the well-established relationship between mass shootings and violence against women.
29/ A great piece on that subject by @rtraister can be found here: https://www.thecut.com/2016/07/mass-killers-terrorism-domestic-violence.html …
30/ Surely, that link between violence against women and subsequent mass shootings must count as evidence of terrorism.
31/ This is how the FBI defines domestic terrorism: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism …
32/ Not sure why a mass shooting inspired by hatred of women doesn’t qualify as terrorism… unless, maybe, we don’t respect women as people?
33/ Not exactly the most comfortable truth in the national discourse, particularly in a sea of “as a father of daughters” statements.
34/ The other side of that coin is white maleness. A political system and media dominated by white men isn’t eager to be self-reflective.
35/ Why would I examine a system of white supremacy that gives me unearned benefits and being forced to recognize they’re unearned?
36/ Why would I admit, despite all evidence, that my white maleness protects me from all sorts of threats and accountability? Scary stuff.
37/ A brown “Muslim” man killing several with a vehicle is terrorism, but a white male killing 27 w/ a gun out of sexist rage? “Lone wolf.”
38/ All these are connected: white male entitlement, mental illness, racism, sexism, violence against women, terrorism. Rinse, repeat.
39/ White men see a loss of power, feel victimized, have that entitlement radicalized through propaganda, and commit acts of terrorism.
40/ But because they’re white and not shouting “Allahu Akbar”, they’re dismissed as "nuts", or more charitably: “nice guys gone wrong.”
41/ To admit to “terrorism” by ordinary white men would require asking deeper questions of ourselves, especially those of us in power.
42/ To admit to “terrorism” by military veterans would require a vast reworking of our systems of recruitment, training, and mental health.
43/ Instead, we grant an access of powerful weaponry to those most trained to use it and most likely to do so in brutal acts of terrorism.
44/ An irony of all this is that though we fall back solely on the excuse of “mental health” to wave away acts of terrorism by white men…
45/ …we neither 1) attempt to comprehensively address mental health in our country nor 2) effectively restrict access to weapons due to it.
46/ If your takeaway from ANY of this = a hatred of white men, the military or guns, then you’re a moron who lacks critical thinking skills.
47/ And if your takeaway is a bizarre, insecure notion that I’m putting women and folks of color on a pedestal, that also makes you a moron.
48/ I'm a white male, and I have no reason to hate that about myself. I love my country. I'm proud of my military service. I'm a gun owner.
49/ And even I can see there are deep, deep issues here we’re ignoring. And they’re not going away. This will happen again and again.
50/ We need to stop pretending that military service is the grand seal of moral rightness. It’s not. We can be grateful w/o being stupid.
51/ We need to stop allowing patriotism to be co-opted by white supremacists preaching a nationalist agenda driven by fear and hatred.
52/ We need to call terrorism in this country for what it is and recognize how white men are often radicalized.
53/ We need to recognize the link between misogynist power structures, violence against women, and white male terrorism.
54/ We need to respect the 2nd Amendment by restricting access to guns from those who don’t (or can’t) respect gun ownership.
55/ Legally owning and using a gun in this country should be harder than legally owning and using a car. Why is it the exact opposite?
56/ Why am I bio-scanned every time I fly, but it’s totally fine in many states if I waltz down the street open-carrying a powerful firearm?
57/ Why am I more likely to be killed by a white male terrorist with a gun in this country than a brown terrorist who claims to be “Muslim”?
58/ We should all want answers to these questions and elected officials with the courage to address them. We should want that NOW.
59/ I’m tired of the carnage, and I want to believe we’re better than this. Prove to me, prove it to yourself, that we are. /thread
OMG! I was just telling my husband the military boot camps indoctrinate young men (and women) with the notion it is okay to kill. It is right and just. If a young man or woman does not conform to this notion, he or she is usually sent packing with a dishonorable discharge. This you've written is how our conversation went on from there. Thank you so much for this. I will try to share it, because it needs to be heard. It really needs to be heard by our government so they address the problem of the thought processes these young men and women must have when they return to everyday life.
ReplyDeletePlease note this is not my writing. It is a Twitter thread from Charles Clymer whom I only found via my Twitter account. His description of being trained to kill conforms to all I have heard, but not all military training is that intense. For example, I was drafted as a Conscientious Objector and became an Medic. In that case my basic training was more about physical fitness, chain of command and advanced first aid. Hand-to-hand combat and weapons training was offered for those who wanted it, but it was optional.
DeleteYour instinct is correct, though. The military has no meaningful program helping former service people transition back to civilian life.