[link|http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2004/06/04/carol_burke/| by Suzy Hansen].

The military's hazing hell
Carol Burke, author of "Camp All-American, Hanoi Jane and the High and Tight," talks to Salon about the military's frat-boy culture, how torture and initiation rites are used to transform civilians into soldiers -- and how Abu Ghraib is just a drop in the bucket.

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By Suzy Hansen

June 4, 2004 | By now, the photos are hard to forget: A hooded and draped Iraqi stands on a box, his limbs attached to electrical wire, like some menacing, anonymous art project. Naked men configured in a macabre version of a cheerleading pyramid. An Iraqi prisoner being forced to simulate oral sex on another man. The recent images of torture at Abu Ghraib prison were stunning not only because of their cruelty, but because of the peculiar, sexualized, almost theatrical manner in which the prisoners suffered. Perhaps most sickening, however, was the fact that all of this misery was accompanied by the grinning, gleeful faces of the American soldiers evidently proud of their work. It's natural to wonder: Where did these servicemen and -women get such sick and twisted ideas?

Carol Burke, author of the new book "Camp All-American, Hanoi Jane, and the High and Tight: Gender, Folklore and Changing Military Culture," wasn't at all surprised to learn that soldiers ritualistically tortured Iraqi prisoners and documented their deeds. Her research, done long before the Abu Ghraib news broke, shows that these types of practices are widespread in military cultures around the globe. Initiation rites often involve elaborate, carnivalesque ceremonies, which can include dressing up, physical pain, and personal and sexual humiliation. And the soldiers nearly always leave behind a trail of photographs and videotapes.

Burke's analysis of militaries as specific cultures, and very nearly cults, provides another way to understand what happened at Abu Ghraib. Her ideas also make the problem much more complicated. Ultimately, according to Burke, to truly eradicate such practices, the military would have to reform not only the fraternity-like initiation at service academies, but also the traditions long used to transform soldiers from civilians into soldiers.

Burke, a professor of English at the University of California at Irvine, spoke to Salon about the military's shocking marching chants, some disturbing examples of military initiation rituals, and why it's not surprising that women committed torture at Abu Ghraib.

How did you become interested in military culture?

In the late '80s and early '90s I was a civilian professor at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. While I was there I was working on a book on women in prison. I found a number of similarities between prisons and the institution I was going back and forth to every day. One experience I had during the first semester I was there was a formative one. I came in really early one morning and this small group of would-be Marines [the Naval Academy recruits Marines too] were doing a running march together. Like a lot of groups in the military they were chanting and as they came by me, I heard: "Rape, maim, kill babies, hooah. Rape, maim, kill babies, hooah," over and over.

Later that day I met my class and I said to my students, "I just heard the most bizarre thing," and told them. My class looked at me and said, "Oh, ma'am, after a couple of weeks, you don't really hear the words that they're saying anymore." And I said to them, "What you just said to me is far more frightening than what I heard this morning."

Next page | Male initation rites -- including simulated sex, infantilization and sleep deprivation -- are still common in the military

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I doubt it.

I expect I was exposed to more military-like rituals than most Muricans - in military schools (not 'Real' with heaped dead bodies, nor the amount of conditioning a lifer would experience. But real enough, in terms of the {imagined} power of the hierarchy - Over You.)

Combine callow youth, mono-gender + the innate massively hypocritical Puritanism of Murica -- and what you get / what I saw was: the wannabe West Point (or other) types attempted to set the standards they hoped later to emulate, including "Sound Off" pre-rap marching rap. It didn't get scabrous in those days .. (hell we Perfected euphemism in-all-things - then as now). Toy sojers, indeed - in the gung-ho ones. The rest of us just stayed out of the way of the True Believers. I had my own oases.. and the academics were good, for those times. I got stripes (for self-defense buffer) over the years; had to give 'em back a couple times - insubordination or whatever. Music saved my ass / and sanity.

But the ignorance of anything whatsoever to do with gender or natural functions guaranteed the virgin/whore simple-minded view of male dominance. Unchanged in many modern Neanderthals, I notice. Some of my cohorts indeed became Ossifers. (I could have gone to W.Point 3 ways; never had the slightest wish to.)

The only thing different I can see today is - any kid by now has had enough Tee Vee and now web-pix to remove any mystery about what's in the pants. This isn't much though, as the decivilizing of all has proceeded apace, the word whore is still flung about with precisely the same dominant/submissive mindset and -

we're all getting dumber, here anyway.

I find nothing at all 'unbelievable' about the performance of those clowns at Abu G. It's Not about 'desensitization' either -- very many whom I notice: have never been 'sensitized' to Anything! -- and feel right at home where there's the least amount of enforced civility.

They're ripe for getting MBAs next, where the mores of the hierarchy are not much different, despite the sl. different uniforms/suits and the pretense of all those fucking meaningless TLAs about Excellence cha cha cha.

Sic Transit and all that.


Ashton

Figures. I couldn't verify from current military experience, of course. But I encountered and in some cases 'knew' many 'official' military types from grunts through Generals.. lots of retired of those around Pacific Beach (S. Diego) in those days. Most all decent, alert - and some damn funny.

Norman Rockwell quite certainly over Charles Manson. Then.

I can only guess with (all) the rest.. how much of a steady diet of violent 'action' plots from cradle to grave (earlier and earlier grave for many in the cities) -?- has contributed to the dehumanize game. R e p e t i t i o n Works.

It's much harder to teach discrimination - usually only by example - than to fill not-particularly-Bright jelloware with slogans of opposites and Good/Bad Us/Them shit of the century-old kind. It needs a truly *decent* educational system, one funded, cared about and overseen by actual Citizens (who vote) - to even think of a "liberal education". What we sorta gots is 'bizness skool'.

We have oozed-down to that very much less; today it's luck + sweat to escape a ed-ja-Kay-shun, the ersatz model. Not many yout want to sweat just to knowstuff, I think.

The stupid fucking *COPS* Tee Vee chase programs show the mindset for recruitment, maybe not just for Cops.. today. Join your doughnut buddies to roust a few more helpless and/or broke ones for a Sat. nite entertainment chase; kill someone who panicked over a bad stoplight rap. Then gloat.

(W.T.F. IS that guy on that series? I've seen maybe 30 minutes over 4-5 tries to 'watch', and it's always that same sanctimonious creep making pious homilies, at the 9 yo level.)

Can the military come from any much different milieu, Post-Ronnie, given that the school, infrastructure money has all been sucked into the Corporate + Corp-military 3%. Should we be surprised?


Ashton