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Supporting Materials for Sir! No Sir!
Where We Stand
Okay, so here you are, like it or not you're part of a great military-industrial complex that grows on racism, fascism, and imperialism. And you say, “hey man, what are you talking about?”. We'll tell you what we mean. Racist in that most white people are afraid of the black man. Afraid because it has been drummed into us that the black man represents the “bad guy”. Can't you see that by creating this feeling of uneasiness amongst whites and blacks that “the Nam” has the advantage? We're tearing each other apart and not the system that has caused us to feel this way about our brothers. Besides it is the black people who are leading the struggle for human rights.
Another kind of oppression that we must relate to is male supremacy. Men have consistently viewed women only as sexual objects--not as equal human beings. The military perpetuates false ideas of what it means to be a man, or a woman. Women have been playing a secondary role in any type of movement that has evolved until now. Our sisters are standing up in the fight and it is right because it is their fight too. And we need them!
TIMES ARE CHANGIN' stands together with the people of the world who are fighting U.S. Imperialism. The U.S. has shown its imperialism openly throughout the world, especially in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Vietnam is part of it. We are: clearly stealing natural resources, labor, and human lives to increase the profits of the rich in this country. We take a firm stand against these policies we, as servicemen and women are in effect enforcing.
On base there are many different hassles that servicemen and women are subject to. TIMES ARE CHANGIN' will fight for the human and civil rights of men and women in the service. We will expose the oppression we face in the Navy and publicize the struggles against it.
We believe that the solution of these problems that confront society as a whole and the serviceman's society too, is to create solidarity among those in the fight for social change. The idea behind this paper is to start to bring ourselves together so we can protect ourselves and participate in the creation of a better world based on justice and freedom. Are you willing to stand up and protect your rights as thousands of brothers and sisters have already done? Or are you a tiny gear helping to drive the machine?
Navy Times Are Changin' , no. 1