I am wanting to compile a list of the most devastating and evil violent crimes committed by the U.S. government. It could be something to share with statists who believe the U.S. is only militant for reasons of self-defense, or through strong moral inclination. I would prefer emphasis on unprovoked attacks, against people who can hardly be considered evil.
If anyone here would like to help by listing examples, it would be greatly appreciated!
The slaughter of the Cheroke comes to mind. Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki pale in comparison.
The Civil War comes to mind. In spite of what your teacher may have told you, it wasn’t done for slavery, but for economic power. It directly violated the implicit agreement that states could secede from the union.
When you say US Government, I am tempted to add taxation (confiscating most of everyone’s wealth, if they are not part of the government), coercive monopolization/cartelization, indian massacres, etc. There are many examples on this site, the problem is that many people would classify this as self-defense or strong moral inclination, or find another excuse.
Otherwise, they will admit that government is bad, but quote the saying that democracy, while bad, is better than anything else.
The firebombing of Tokyo
The napalming of Vietnam
The rape of the Philippines through torture and mass killing
Repressing the Hawaiian rebellion for big business interests.
Really you have to give a time period or this list will keep going.
All the Indian Wars / Trail Of Tears
-Bombing of Dresden
-USS Liberty coverup
-Gulf of Tonkin incident
-Overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh/about 20 other regimes
I think he was looking for crimes of the US.
Dresden was fire bombed by the British while the US focused on Hamburg and Cologne. (We did re-bomb Dresden a couple of days later though just for good measure).
The USS Liberty was bombed by the Israeli’s.
The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a fabrication.
Mohammed Mossadegh was overthrown by his own people. The CIA encouraged and supported one of the opposition factions, but the Iranians themselves actually did the deed.
Yeah, Dresden was the British, but I’m assuming it would apply just as well to the people he’s trying to convince, as US war crimes would.
That’s why I said the USS Libery cover up, not the bombing itself.
A fabrication created by the US to justify 50 000 American deaths and countless more Vietnamese deaths.
When the CIA funds and distributes false propaganda, as well as engaging in terrorist action to blame on an enemy…I consider that a war crime.
The US NEVER fought a single defensive war. Draw your own conclusions.
In this case the propaganda wasn’t false. Mossadegh really was cozying up to the Soviets and planning to nationalize the oil fields. The CIA didn’t engage in any terrorist activities during that operation either that I know of. Though they were heavily involved in training the Shah’s secret police for years after the coup.
Please be more specific. Do you mean single act, abhorrent even by warfare standards, or “big scale crimes”?
Single acts are way too numerous to mention: My Lai is the first that springs to mind together with Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Fallujah etc but just because they are recent news. God only know how many single atrocities were silently approved or downright ordered during the Indian Wars, the War with Mexico, the occupation of Cuba etc.
But large scale crimes… there’s one I cannot condone and it’s the belief that you have an higher authority to cram “democracy” or whatever other high sounding value down other people’s throats. And this mass of bamboozled cretins still buy it: we are in Afghanistan to spread democracy, to give children chocolate and to defend women right. That’s the worst crime in my opinion.
The atomic bombs were pretty nasty, but I would say by far it is the 500 million killed by small arms exported around the world by the government.
Selling weapons is not a crime.
The selling of the weapons themselves isn’t the crime. Though obtaining the weapons through extortion and distributing them around the world to serve their own political interests is a crime.
Obtaining them through taxation, yes a crime. Who they send them to, not a crime.
If the government takes through taxation money that I would have spent on food in order to produce weapons are they responsible for the events that take place because of their intervention in the economy?
For instance the FED inflates the money supply causing a massive redistrubution of wealth that sends the economy into a downward spiral. Are they responsible only for the devaluation of the dollar or are they also responsible for the withering economy?
Well it is wrong but no they aren’t violating your rights no more then an odd bank in a private banking system that massively inflates the currency that you utilizes on that peculiar time. Taxation is wrong because it is stealing, I think we both agree on that though.
I do agree that taxation is theft but I would go further and say that inflation is also theft/fraud. Me, you and most other people are forced to uses the dollar to facilitate exchanges we make going about our daily lives. Upon inflating the money supply rather it be a private bank or the FED some of our purchasing power is given to whom ever is receiving the new bills. I didn’t agree to this, nor do other with their purchasing power held in dollars but that doesn’t fractional reserve bankers from inflating the currency thus stealing my money.
Due to legal tender laws.
A wrongful act yet still not rights violation
Ok, I don’t agree with fractional reserve banking either. We simply don’t need to enter into contractual agreements with them after legal tender laws are abolished etc.
So basically you are saying that legal tender laws are a rights violation that is a conduit for wrongful acts to be committed? If that is what you are saying I agree with you but still fail to see how fractional reserve banking isn’t fraudulent and criminal i.e. the taking of my property without my permission.