Anti War Soldier
I wanted to like this book. Honestly, I did. That Jonathan Hutto and other members of the US armed forces are organizing themselves in opposition to the war on Iraq certainly strikes me as very good news, and that they are taking inspiration and receiving practical advice from veterans of the Vietnam conflict, including David Cortright author of Soldiers In Revolt a 1976 book about that earlier conflict that was re-published in 2006, also sounds quite promising and interesting to me. There’s just one problem. Hutto seems to have a huge chip on his shoulder and is not much of a writer.
While I am quite certain that racism continues to be a major issue for black soldiers, Hutto seems unable to distinguish real racism from the petty abuse of new recruits that is a significant part of the army’s culture and which recruits of every color are routinely subjected to. The book also feels very disorganized, making the same points over and over and bizzarely putting the Vietnam history lesson in the final rather than the first chapter. I hope that at some point a member of the military resistance to the war on Iraq will pen a compelling book about this issue. Sad to say, Anti War Soldier is not it. Not Recommended. Buy now only $9.95
You might be right, Tantor, I honestly don’t know Anything about racism or the lack thereof in today’s US military. I certainly see things that lead me to believe that racism is still an issue in the general society, however, so I suppose I assumed this would be the case in the military, as well. In any case, as I pointed out in the review, Huffo comes across as a black man with a chip on his shoulder and ascribes racist motivations to actions which to me appeared just plain military, though again I honestly don’t know. Thanks for adding your perspective.
Your confident assertion that racism remains an issue in the US military is baseless. It’s the most meritocratic and color blind institution we have, a model for the rest of society. What you are reading are bogus accusations by who are unable to convert the success they had in civilian life with making false accusations of racism to the military, where examples of racism are sparse. You might consider the rather extensive complement of black officers, including generals and revise your unfounded prejudice. General Colin Powell was chief of staff of the entire US military, for pete’s sake. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that a black man is head of a military you casually consider a sink of racism?