Brandon Toy: US Wars, Dehumanization, and Me
This is an awesome read, a glimpse inside the head of whistleblower Brandon Toy
...so bookmark as needed, as it is a longish article.
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US Wars, Dehumanization, and Me
Thursday, August 8, 2013 * Common Dreams * Brandon Toy
An Iraq veteran and five-year employee at private defense contracting corporation General Dynamics publicly resigned from the private defense contractor in late July in protest of the company's arming of US-led wars, declaring: "I have always believed that if every foot soldier threw down his rifle war would end. I hereby throw mine down."
Brandon Toy sent his resignation letter in an email to his immediate supervisors, coworkers, and the corporate chain of command, as well as to Common Dreams, who published the statement. The letter has since gone viral, racketing tens of thousands of views on social media sites. In his own words, Toy shares the story of his personal transformation, first as a veteran and then as an employee of a private defense contractor.
The Dehumanization of War
I arrived in Baghdad believing that Iraqis were simple people in need of having civilization thrust upon them, and that we were the enlightened civil ones who would show them the right way to live. To me, they were less than human.
One pivotal night three years ago, I bragged to my wife and cousins about a family I had terrified by pointing my rifle at them to get them to stop in traffic. I laughed about the way the father and mother had frantically waved their arms at me, begging not to be shot.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/08/08-7