Nahed EltantawyDec 18, 2022
Qasim Rashid, Esq.

I spoke to a retired educator about the importance of teaching kids accurate US history. They lamented, "A student told me our military has raped & pillaged people in poor countries. I was horrified he said such misinformation. I sat him down & corrected him."

Y'all—& I say this as the brother of a US Marine—our standard must be justice. Acknowledging that members of the US military committed such atrocity isn't anti-American—but what true Patriotism looks like. Let's demand justice above all.

Dec 17, 2022 at 11:58pmWeb
Show threadSocialistStanDec 18, 2022
@QasimRashid I used to be in the US Army, I consider myself reformed now and have been actively working to make amends for being part of that institution. Patriotism is a 'virtue' for idiots.
Show threadPatricia TaylorDec 18, 2022
@SocialistStan @QasimRashid I’m an army vet and a teacher and I wish we could reframe patriotism as being brave enough to honestly assess the past. Then, hopefully , being resilient enough to plan and create a better future for the next generations. The myths we tell ourselves and others are harmful.
Show threadMirishuliDec 18, 2022
@pmtaylor @SocialistStan @QasimRashid This is well stated and spot on. I’ve been listening to the historians Timothy Snyder and Stephen Kotkin on You Tube lately. Refreshingly, they do not mince words about the myths we tell ourselves. Being honest is the only way to build a better future and a better America.
Show threadSocialistStanDec 18, 2022
@MiriShuli @pmtaylor @QasimRashid Timothy Snyder is a really great source of information, I disagree with some of his solutions, but definitely like his analysis of the issues. I'll have to look up Stephen Kotkin.
Show threadMaisie Pubblechook, Esq.Dec 18, 2022
@QasimRashid I grew up in the 1960s US midwest and was educated in public schools, and I cannot overemphasise how much the history I was taught was sanitized and whitewashed. I've spent a lifetime re-educating myself but I'll never catch up to the truth.
Show threadJohn MastodonDec 18, 2022

@MaisiePubblechookEsq
@SocialistStan
@newtonsommelier
@QasimRashid

It is not just American armed forces
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTSRqTZ0EQQ
If the body politic is doing this, what should we expect.

Where Are the Missing Black Towns? | Every How Did We Get Here (Part 3) | The Amber Ruffin Show

YouTube
Show threadSonuDec 18, 2022
@QasimRashid Question is, is it a few bad apples or is the military leadership encouraging this. I would like to think it's the former.
Show threadJohnDec 18, 2022

@QasimRashid

Reminded me of http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/CIAtimeline.html

A #Timeline of #CIA #Atrocities

I've since come to the conclusion that the US is now the most powerful #empire in the #world, and its #ForeignPolicy is based on keeping its #colonies under control.

A Timeline of CIA Atrocities

A timeline of CIA atrocities.

Show threadScottinSoCal 🇺🇦 🕊 🏳‍🌈Dec 18, 2022
@QasimRashid
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - as true today as it was 100 years ago.
Show threadKinene⭐🐻Dec 18, 2022

@QasimRashid Well...
I didn't get this in history books, but on the nightly news (Huntley & Brinkley Report?):

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%E1%BB%B9_Lai_massacre

So, yes.

"Join the Army; travel to exotic, distant lands; meet exciting, unusual people and kill them."

-from a poster, 1971 (Library of Congress)

Mỹ Lai massacre - Wikipedia

Show threadMichael GurskiDec 18, 2022
@QasimRashid when I first started learning that what I was taught was highly sanitized and whitewashed, I started to suspect there was even worse. So far, I haven't been proven very wrong.
Show threadAnneFromMtkaDec 18, 2022
@QasimRashid My Lai
Show threadRick FuryDec 18, 2022
@QasimRashid glad that "educator" retired.
Show threadDoug Lane 🌈 BLM 🇺🇦Dec 18, 2022
@QasimRashid poor countries? How about the US? Educators can’t stop being students.
Show threadSteveDec 18, 2022
@QasimRashid That kid likely just nodded along and then said "what an asshole" to himself afterwards.
Show threadSailor JohnDec 18, 2022
@QasimRashid I didn’t learn anything of actual American history until I entered High School and can’t imagine being able to learn any of that limited amount if I were in high school now and living in a state like Florida or Texas.
Show threadUltra Verified 🇺🇦 🇬🇱Dec 18, 2022

@QasimRashid

I almost got thrown out of HS a number of times for arguing with the teacher about the My Lai massacre.

We keep visiting the same horrors over and over.