So, when i first joined the army, we were told that racism no longer existed in the military. a legacy of inequality and discrimination was suddenly washed away by something called the “equal opportunity program”. we would sit through mandatory classes and every unit had this eo representative to ensure that no elements of racism could resurface. the army seemed firmly dedicated to smashing any hint of racism. and then september 11th happened and i began to hear new words like “towel head” and “camel jockey” and the most disturbing “sand nigger”. and these words did not initially come from my fellow soldiers but from my superiors: my platoon sergeant, my company first sergeant, battalion commander. all the way up the chain of command these terms, these viciously racist terms were suddenly acceptable.

and i noticed that the most overt racism came from veterans of the first gulf war. and those were the words they used when incenerating civilian convoys. Those were the words they used when this government delivered any targeting of civilian infrastructure. bombing water supplies knowing it would kill hundreds of thousands of children. those are the words the american people used when they allowed this government to sanction iraq. and this is something many people forget. and we can’t forget.