Militarisation

Militarisation (social control,  violence,  Civil_unrest/Preparation)
A US police cruiser
Interest of	• Shinzō Abe • Amnesty International USA
The mentality, methods and tools of the military are increasingly being applied across society

Militarisation is the process whereby the tactics, tools and mentality of the military come to apply more generally to other areas of society, i.g. surveillance.

Schools

Full article: School

After the introduction of police into US schools, various acts of violence have been committed by adults with weapons against unarmed, and sometimes disabled children.

"War on Terror"

Full article: “War on Terror”

The coverpage of UK's Daily Express from 23 July, 2005, the day after de Menezes was killed by the Metropolitan Police. The Express labelled him a "terrorist".

The "War on Terror" official narrative has seen a huge militarisation of civil society globally, but particularly in the US. Surplus military equipment has been passed on to schools and other institutions where previously no such need was perceived.

Terrorism/Extremism

Full articles: Terrorism, Extremism

The labels "terrorist" and "extremist" are increasingly applied to dissenters, even those who are avowedly non-violent. The 2011 Dallas occupy plot, for example, planned to use snipers to assassinate leaders of the Occupy movement, although they were acknowledged as peaceful protesters.

Increasing violence by governments

An increase in the use of (sometimes fatal) violence by government agencies such as the police. In the early 2010s, the US Department of Homeland Security ordered billions of rounds of hollow point ammunition, claiming that this was an effort to economise.

SWAT teams

Full article: SWAT

SWAT teams were first created in the US in the 1960s, to handle riot control or violent confrontations with criminals, the number and usage of SWAT teams increased in the 1980s and 1990s during the "War on Drugs". A watershed moment was the 1997 North Hollywood shootout, after which was decided that police would require stronger armament when they were outgunned by two bank robbers with homemade body armor and illegally-modified, fully-automatic weapons.

Mass shootings

Full article: Mass shooting

Mass shootings have become an increasingly common is US, almost always my men or boys. Perpetrators are often users of drugs such as SSRIs.

In the USA, churches have been arming and training members of their congregations in response to mass shootings.

 

Related Quotations

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Hypocricy	“At the same time that the US is equipping nearly half the world with deadly weapons, profiting to the tune of $36.2 billion, its leaders have also been lecturing American citizens on the dangers of gun violence and working to enact measures that would make it more difficult for Americans to acquire certain weapons.”	John W. Whitehead	12 August 2019
Tim Sweijs	“The Russian aggression in Crimea has deeper roots. The Russian forces are being transformed from a big group of army conscripts to smaller, agile modern units. Underneath that is also the militarization of society. There are TV-channels that don't broadcast 'The Voice', but competition between tank-divisions on some trail.”	Tim Sweijs	11 June 2015
US/Deep state	“I join with those who assess the decay of the so-called Pax Americana into ever widening arms build-ups and military violence, in the light of the very similar decay a century ago of the so-called Pax Brittanica. We need to rescind policies that are as visibly detrimental to America and the world today as they were to Britain then. The problem is that Amnerican institutions are again in the grip of collective mania, as they were in the Palmer raids of 1919 and the McCarthy persecutions of the early 1950s. People outside government must work for a redirection of the U.S. government away from mania and illegality, like the awakening that ends the McCarthy era. But to regain control of politics, Americans must learn to understand and cope with the dark forces of the deep state. America, I try to suggest at the end [of The American Deep State] has like Britain far more to contribute to the world than violent power.”	Peter Dale Scott	2015
US/Deep state	“When Eisenhower warned against the military-industrial complex, the values, institutions, and resources that comprised it were still subordinate elements in American society. Today it not only dominates both parties, but it is also financing threats to both of these parties from even further to the right.”	Peter Dale Scott	2015

 

Related Documents

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:The Challenge of Brexit to the UK	strategy document	2 January 2018	Chris Donnelly	"So, if we consider what qualities and characteristics we need in those whom we select for leadership today, in a period of rapid and profound change, in all sorts of institutions – government departments, big companies, the NHS - the conclusion is that we need to look for people who have abilities that suit a wartime environment"... Leadership understands that in a period of tumultuous change you cannot control, you have to command..."
Document:War and Peace - The Lost Principles of Science and Value	article	17 June 2015	John McMurtry	A wide-ranging critique of the techniques of globalisation and the way in which apparently otherwise well-meaning western NGOs frame the worlds problems in US war propaganda terms

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.