This is a laughable attempt at macho jingoism from the Royal Marines. “I will come from the sea”? “Pain is my best friend”? Very impressive, darling.
All that business about dying for his “brothers” is simply a cynical attempt to exploit people’s natural feelings of solidarity towards each other and turn them against a portrayed enemy, who is, naturally, brown-skinned, unwashed and shouting at the sea (no subtitles are provided, obviously, because who cares what a crazy terrist has to say? It’s probably just something about Allah anyway. Go ahead and shoot him already). As Yoshie has written over at the Tomb:
“In other words, the ruling class grasp what is best and noblest in men, their love for one another; mutilate it by excluding the Other — enemy soldiers and civilians and homosexuals in their own ranks, for instance — from men’s love; and exploit it for their profit.”
Filed under: UK, Videos | 20 Comments
Tags: propaganda, Royal Marines, terrarists, Terrorism, War
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Yea! Is it me or is military recruitment propaganda in this country getting more blatant? There’s one current TV ad which shows soldiers kicking their way into someone’s home (presumably in Iraq) and rounding up a family including women and children at gun point. And we’re supposed to think this is something good? What the hell? They’re not even trying to pretend they focus on “humanitarian” work any more.
Yeh, it’s not exactly subtle is it? I haven’t seen the ad you’re talking about, but surely it showed the children tearfully thanking the soldiers for protecting them, and one of soldiers affectionately ruffling their hair in response? And it must have shown the women on their knees kissing the soldiers’ hands with gratitude for liberating them from Saddam and protecting them from the beastly hordes of Islamist terr’ists outside? No?
Amateurs.
Well the thing is: no! That’s what I would expect, but it was pretty much just blatantly “we’re bursting into people’s homes and rounding them up and this is supposed to be a good things”! It is like violence porn. Reminds of the scene in Orwell’s 1984 when they are in the cinema and the films are all just of the enemy dying.
However, it was one of those ones where the story breaks off in a cliffhanger and you are supposed to check their website to see the end. I would guess the ending only proves how justified they were to break into homes and round everyone up (!?)
Well to be honest I think that anyone who would still consider joining the British Army today, after all that’s happened in the last five years, probably just assumes everything ‘our boys’ do is justified without needing any evidence to demonstrate it.
Styling the adverts like this could be a way of filtering out anyone who might have qualms about raiding a family home at 2am and waving their gun around. It’s not, of course, but it could be.
Good point, yes probably true.
The British troops are focusing on afghanistan now Jamie. And if you deny that what is being done in afghan is for the good then I think you’ve been reading too much anti-military propaganda on the internet.
I don’t like some of the adverts myself, well, in fact I don’t like any of them, except this one. I hate the one with the Xbox controller like hes playing a game in a battlefield.
But, you’d be a fool to assume you think you know how every soldier or potential soldier feels, I myself am in the RMR, royal marines reserves, or at least will be, I’m currently in holding troop.
I myself am bloody looking forward to joining the forces, I know I will be doing far more good deeds than most civvies.
That’s right Jamie. How dare you imply that Western armies have bombed Iraq and Afghanistan back to the stone age. Fucking civies.
Heh – yeh, of course you have to actually go to Iraq and Afghanistan and kill a few people before you’re allowed to have an opinion about it. Bloody “civvies” and their “anti-military propaganda” – I’m sure Neil learnt all about us in Military School (which is, of course, a propaganda-free haven).
Actually, I’m ex-army of 7 years. So I do know what I’m talking about. Its ashame you came back thinking you did fuck all, but I know that by the second tour I did there things have improved.
What regiment are/were you with JamieSW and joe?
Neil, what are you blathering on about? Neither I nor (I strongly suspect) joe are/have been in the Army. Of course personal involvement in the armed forces does give one knowledge about some things that others do not have – for example, about the experience of being a soldier – but it does not give you a monopoly of knowledge on how the war is going or whether we should be fighting it in the first place, and given the horrific, perhaps genocidal, destruction ‘our boys’ have inflicted on the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, it certainly gives you no right to scorn “civvies” as naive victims of “anti-military propaganda”.
So you accuse all soldiers ( even from different bloody countries ) as detainee abusing tools?
At the end of the day mate, have you done anything to help these countries first-hand? because if you haven’t then to be frankly honest with you I’m not really that interested in your narrow-minded views on this subject.
I’m clearly not accusing “all” soldiers of anything, although it’s worth noting that the torture was described as “routine”. As for helping the countries first-hand – yeah, I’ve done a tiny bit by marching to oppose the occupations that are destroying them. Which is, by the sound of it, a fair bit more than you. In any case, this is getting mighty tedious, so I’m going to leave it here.
Neil, ignore this fool. He’s one of a monority. The majority of our country support our troops. You will always have a minority that will try and stand out against the crowd and say things and have opinions that go against the majority as theyve never fitted into the majority.
Just remember, go and shake the hand of the war protesters and wink at his girlfriend, because she knows shes going out with a pu*sy!
Funny, In Germany just over half a century ago there were a minority who stood up against the atrocities that were happening there (they were often killed so had to go underground). What Rik has said is probably similar to the type of thing which the Gestapo would have said. I think the adds are disgusting. They dress up the war to make it seem like a huge game. On the whole, it is made to appeal to young, uneducated men who feel the need to be part of a pack – bit like wolves I suppose.
Also funny how both soldiers are so inarticulate that they have to swear, as though it gives their words more power!
And no I have had nothing to do with the war… wouldn’t want to take part in it.
Soldiers don’t make decisions on where they’re sent.
If anyone has a problem with recruiting ads or ‘propaganda’ (which goes both ways) then you need to direct your attention towards the politicians who have never even seen let alone experienced the so-called attrocities that they order.
Do not put blame upon the vast majority of the moralistic members of the armed forces who do what they do (and are sometimes traumatised) all in the name of what they genuinely believe is good and right.
Can you truly criticise soldiers for raiding family homes in war zones when we KNOW that the enemy does not share the same qualms as us about hiding weapons, equipment and explosives under the mattresses of small children? In many regions, the children themselves have been brainwashed to fight.
Would you know how to handle the nightmarish situation of being under fire from children?
This is not a perfect world and without an armed force we would stand defenceless against true evil.
Many people have argued that the fundamentalist religious groups in the middle east would not have attacked the west had we not invaded Iraq. Does that risk mean that we should allow foreign dictators to do whatever they please and all merely look after ourselves? Let us not forget that it was that attitude precisely that allowed Hitler to get as far as he did and we all know where that led.
Instead, be diplomatic in your protests against Britains actions and do not encourage a saddening divide between the military and the very people they fight and die to protect.
Thanks Lewis.
The intent behind this post was to mock the pathetic “hard-man” image the above Royal Marines advert tries desperately to create. It wasn’t trying to make a broader point about the military.
That said, soldiers are people too, and they have moral obligations just like the rest of us. “I was just following orders” doesn’t excuse the commission of crimes or atrocities. So if, for example, an army is busy waging a war of aggression against a defenceless population, I think it would immoral for anyone to take part in that war, soldiers included.
I agree, though, that it doesn’t make much sense to focus one’s criticism on individual soldiers as opposed to the people giving the orders (i.e. politicians and policy makers).
The invasion of Iraq had nothing to do with an aversion to foreign dictators. Indeed, as you’re probably aware, Britain had a very cosy relationship with Saddam throughout his worst atrocities. It’s correct that, as predicted, the Iraq war massively increased the threat of terrorism. This is noteworthy not as part of an argument that terrorists should be given a veto on British foreign policy but to expose claims that the invasion was part of a “war on terror” as nonsense.
If there is a growing divide between the population and military, I don’t see that as anything to be sad about. Only good things can come from British society becoming less militarised, increased skepticism about official war-mongering chief among them.
I agree with Lewis to be honest, i think its a shame that people like janet seem so narrow minded and never take a diplomatic approach to arguments such as these,
for a start she compares the royal marines to the nazis, infact she seems to compare all of society but herself and the minority she seems to adhere to, to the nazis, its a desparate thing to do i think, ”i know il compare them to a realy terrible group of fanatical mass murderers and thatl get my point across clearly and without bias”
I mean thats not very objective is it? Its the old everbody’s marching out of step but me routine and its a little childish in my opinion.
And why do people like janet always end there arguments by mocking their opponents? Im sorry but what does that do? She says that soldiers think that by swearing their words will have more power, but surely shes doing the same thing by bringing that up? As if shes better than them because only she would ever have spotted that little trick! Im not trying to insult anyone by the way i just dont think theres any point in being so narrow minded and hypocritical i mean telling people off for swearing and then comparing everyone who doesnt agree with you to a nazi? erm…ok
fuck off you sad bastards. people join the Royal Marine Commandos for the challenge and to kill people because they are sick to death with spending each and everyday living amongst sad fucking opinionated losers that know fuck all like you. If you join the forces, especially Infantry or Commandos, you are joining with the complete awareness that you will be as good as a Government Hitman. We are not politicians, thank fuck, but that does not suggest a lack of intelligence on our part. A lot of politicians are dumb fools that originate from a long line of dumb fools but that is not to say that all of them are stupid. Some of them do a very good job but there will always be that one wanker in society drinking herbal tea who can never be pleased. I rest my case. You’re all fucking lucky you don’t live in Zimbabwe or Sierra Leone.
Oh and Janet your a dick. I am currently joining the Royal Marines and I have a an Honours degree, 8 A-C grade GCSEs, an AVCE, a City and Guilds and a foundation degree. By the sounds of things you are the uneducated one. You know fuck all! people like you make me sick. Oh and how is the Herbal Tea??
listen only to old men to whom old men would listen when they were young.