"How many more friends do I have to bury before people wake up?"
Lamentations of IDF soldiers.
First, a disclaimer: I have virtually no tolerance whatsoever for people, in this year, 2025, who still, despite instant access to countless forms of information, would associate themselves with genocidal entities, be they ideological, political, military, or religious. And, these days, that intolerance of mine is especially focused on people who live in what I call “the death-cult misnompered1 ‘Israel.’” Especially its slaughtering military, the IDF, otherwise known as the IOF (Israeli OFFENSE Forces)
Nevertheless, I’m going to take a cue from a friend and Substack writer, Nana Baakan Agyiriwah, although it’s extremely difficult (close to impossible) for me to feel any compassion for IDF soldiers (whom Mahmood OD calls “IOF,” i.e., “Israeli Offense Force” soldiers). Click anywhere in the following quote to read her full article:
Again, I can’t feel as she feels. I can’t and I probably won’t. I don’t mind sharing different perspectives. And I believe very strongly in the flow of information. But first, here’s the reason that I find it close to impossible to feel sorry for IDF soldiers.
When, as individuals, are we going to stand up and quit making excuses—excuses based on “patriotism?” Excuses based on religion? Excuses based on bullshit notions of “superiority” over others? Whatever might be said about what might be called the “extremes” of the people of my generation, there’s one thing that we did not do: Follow.
And because we did not follow, our work significantly helped to shut down apartheid in South Africa; to help end our country’s, the U.S., participation in the Vietnam War [“Hell no!!! We won’t go!!!”]; to end segregation in the United States. I openly admit that our energy may have taken things a bit too far, and produced people like Phil:
Okay, okay, so things got a little bit out of hand (Oy vey!!) But, you get the idea. We must not just roll over and accept everything our idelogical, political, religious, military, so-called “leaders” tell us to accept. Oh, HELL naw!! Why did it take having to smell the bodies of dead Palestinians before IDF soldiers, some of them, finally woke up? Why did it take contracting PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder), or committing suicide, as did Daniel Edri, a few days ago, on July 5, 2025, when it’s then too late?
I say “misnomered” because Jacob (called Yacoub, in Qur’an), whose name was changed, by God, to Israel, was a righteous Prophet of God. And, as a righteous Prophet of God, he would never have condoned, nor committed, genocide, as is being committed, right now, by the country that Mahmood OD, at his YouTube Channel, has labeled a Death Cult.
After WW 2, wasn't it made international law that soldiers are not obligated to carry out what they deem to be immoral orders? Because wasn't that the excuse of the German soldiers, that they were just following orders? These are supposed to be Jewish soldiers, and in the Torah in says not to follow after a multitude to pervert justice...but maybe that's part of the problem; their religious leaders aren't damning the war, not quoting one verse of scripture against it. The God of Israel says vengeance is His, not man's, and it was He who condemned Amalek, not Saul or Samuel, and it was a one-off not to be done again. Now soldiers are admitting they rarely even see Hamas fighters because they hide in the tunnels that still exist over Gaza and just popup and attack the soldiers then disappear, so they mainly end up shooting civilians. They know it's wrong, but they are too cowardly to take a stand against it...they're not worthy of sympathy.
I hear you, Ron..... but being who I am, I must have compassion for those who have been indoctrinated away from their humanity. I think that their voice needs to be heard, even if it's too late. Aaron Bushnell self-immolated himself in protest. And extreme act of protest to bring this point home. He was in the military and his "no, I won't go" meant taking his own life.
The "order-followers" have been severely indoctrinated. They have been stripped of their identity and given a false one. This has to happen in order for them to kill another human being who did not directly harm them. The militaries around the world are mercenary armies under the guise of "defense" or protection of the homeland. Even the USA changed its department of war to department of defense.
We keep pointing fingers at the war machine but ignore the ones who keep it running. The boots on the ground, so to speak. And when a small minority do wake up and say "no, I won't go" their are ridiculed, dishonorably discharged and called cowards.
A world at war will constantly produce monsters to do the bidding of the warmongers in high places who barely, if ever, set foot in harms way.
Having lived through the Vietnam war and having lived with veterans of the Vietnam war, who to this very day, suffer PTSD, I have first hand knowledge of what war does to the so-called "warriors".
A world at war will always create monsters, therefore, to avoid creating these monsters the global war machine needs to be dismantled. Fat chance that will ever happen at this point, it is completely out of control. The War Machine has become the calling card of who is the greatest, most powerful nation in the world.