Before You Enlist Video - http://beforeyouenlist.org
Researching Pop Culture and Militarism - https://nnomy.org/popcultureandmilitarism/
If you have been Harassed by a Military Recruiter -https://centeronconscience.org/abused-by-recruiters/
Back-to-School Kit for Counter-recruitment and School Demilitarization Organizing is focused on student privacy
WHAT IS IN THIS KIT? - https://nnomy.org/backtoschoolkit/
Click through to find out
Religion and militarism - https://nnomy.org/religionandmilitarism/
‘A Poison in the System’: Military Sexual Assault - New York Times
Change your Mind?
Talk to a Counselor at the GI Rights Hotline
Ask that your child's information is denied to Military Recruiters
And monitor that this request is honored.
Military Recruiters and Programs Target marginalized communities for recruits...
..and the high schools in those same communities
  2. Home

 Militarization of our Schools

The Pentagon is taking over our poorer public schools. This is the reality for disadvantaged youth.

 

What we can do

Corporate/conservative alliances threaten Democracy . Progressives have an important role to play.

 Why does NNOMY matter?

Most are blind or indifferent to the problem.
A few strive to protect our democracy.

The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY)

Articles

Pacifist Organizations that Promoted Counter-recruitment

Super User

10/08/2024 / NNOMY.ORG - Internationally, pacifist groups have fostered activism through education or direct action against war and advocated for peace. Some of these groups have participated actively or tangentially in counter-recruitment activism with youth in their communities either inside religious, community,  or school settings.

Below is a survey of pacifist groups that were asked if they had any involvement with counter-recruitment activism in their outreach.

Though the search is “first world and English-Centric,” there are few exceptions and this list in not conclusive of all the type of counter-recruitment activism that has gone on in this world.

The information below was sourced utilizing MSN Copilot AI asking “What have been the organizations name counter-recruitment efforts? The listings below indicate whether the organization was  “Not directly” or “Actively involved”  in counter-recruitment activism.

Featured

Researching Pop Culture and Militarism: If we oppose militarism and militarization, what should our relationship with pop culture be?

Super User

9/10/2024 / Copilot and NNOMY -  Opposing militarism and militarization while engaging with pop culture can be a nuanced endeavor. Here are some considerations for navigating this relationship: 1. Critical Consumption Analyze Content: Be mindful of how military themes are portrayed in movies, TV shows, video games, and music. Look for underlying messages and question their impact on societal norms and values. Seek Alternatives: Support and promote media that offer alternative narratives to militarism, such as stories of peace, diplomacy, and conflict resolution. 2. Promote Anti-Militarism Create and Share: Engage in creating or sharing content that challenges militaristic narratives. This can include art, music, literature, and social media posts that promote peace and non-violence. Support Artists: Back artists and creators who actively resist militaristic themes and advocate for peace through their work. 3. Educate and Advocate Raise Awareness: Use pop culture as a tool to educate others about the impacts of militarism and the importance of peace. Host discussions, screenings, or workshops that critically examine popular media. Advocate for Change: Encourage media producers to consider the social impact of their work and to create content that fosters a culture of peace. 4. Engage in Dialogue Community Discussions: Participate in or organize community discussions about the influence of militarism in pop culture. These conversations can help build a collective understanding and resistance. Online Platforms: Use online platforms to engage in dialogue with others who share similar views. This can help amplify anti-militaristic voices and create a supportive network. 5. Support Anti-Militarism Movements Join Movements: Get involved with organizations and movements that oppose militarism and advocate for peace. Your participation can help strengthen these efforts. Collaborate: Work with other activists, educators, and artists to create a unified front against the normalization of militarism in pop culture. By critically engaging with pop culture and actively promoting anti-militaristic values, you can help shift societal norms towards a more peaceful and just world. 🌍✌️ If you have any specific examples or areas you’d like to explore further, feel free to let me know!Opposing militarism and militarization while engaging with pop culture can be a nuanced endeavor. Here are some considerations for navigating this relationship: 1. Critical Consumption Analyze Content: Be mindful of how military themes are portrayed in movies, TV shows, video games, and music. Look for underlying messages and question their impact on societal norms and values. Seek Alternatives: Support and promote media that offer alternative narratives to militarism, such as stories of peace, diplomacy, and conflict resolution. 2. Promote Anti-Militarism Create and Share: Engage in creating or sharing content that challenges militaristic narratives. This can include art, music, literature, and social media posts that promote peace and non-violence. Support Artists: Back artists and creators who actively resist militaristic themes and advocate for peace through their work. 3. Educate and Advocate Raise Awareness: Use pop culture as a tool to educate others about the impacts of militarism and the importance of peace. Host discussions, screenings, or workshops that critically examine popular media. Advocate for Change: Encourage media producers to consider the social impact of their work and to create content that fosters a culture of peace. 4. Engage in Dialogue Community Discussions: Participate in or organize community discussions about the influence of militarism in pop culture. These conversations can help build a collective understanding and resistance. Online Platforms: Use online platforms to engage in dialogue with others who share similar views. This can help amplify anti-militaristic voices and create a supportive network. 5. Support Anti-Militarism Movements Join Movements: Get involved with organizations and movements that oppose militarism and advocate for peace. Your participation can help strengthen these efforts. Collaborate: Work with other activists, educators, and artists to create a unified front against the normalization of militarism in pop culture. By critically engaging with pop culture and actively promoting anti-militaristic values, you can help shift societal norms towards a more peaceful and just world. 🌍✌️ If you have any specific examples or areas you’d like to explore further, feel free to let me know!Opposing militarism and militarization while engaging with pop culture can be a nuanced endeavor. Here are some considerations for navigating this relationship: 1. Critical Consumption Analyze Content: Be mindful of how military themes are portrayed in movies, TV shows, video games, and music. Look for underlying messages and question their impact on societal norms and values. Seek Alternatives: Support and promote media that offer alternative narratives to militarism, such as stories of peace, diplomacy, and conflict resolution. 2. Promote Anti-Militarism Create and Share: Engage in creating or sharing content that challenges militaristic narratives. This can include art, music, literature, and social media posts that promote peace and non-violence. Support Artists: Back artists and creators who actively resist militaristic themes and advocate for peace through their work. 3. Educate and Advocate Raise Awareness: Use pop culture as a tool to educate others about the impacts of militarism and the importance of peace. Host discussions, screenings, or workshops that critically examine popular media. Advocate for Change: Encourage media producers to consider the social impact of their work and to create content that fosters a culture of peace. 4. Engage in Dialogue Community Discussions: Participate in or organize community discussions about the influence of militarism in pop culture. These conversations can help build a collective understanding and resistance. Online Platforms: Use online platforms to engage in dialogue with others who share similar views. This can help amplify anti-militaristic voices and create a supportive network. 5. Support Anti-Militarism Movements Join Movements: Get involved with organizations and movements that oppose militarism and advocate for peace. Your participation can help strengthen these efforts. Collaborate: Work with other activists, educators, and artists to create a unified front against the normalization of militarism in pop culture. By critically engaging with pop culture and actively promoting anti-militaristic values, you can help shift societal norms towards a more peaceful and just world. 🌍✌️ If you have any specific examples or areas you’d like to explore further, feel free to let me know!

Part 1: If we oppose militarism and militarization, what should our relationship with pop culture be?

Opposing militarism and militarization while engaging with pop culture can be a nuanced endeavor. Here are some considerations for navigating this relationship:

1. Critical Consumption
 Analyze Content: Be mindful of how military themes are portrayed in movies, TV shows, video games, and music. Look for underlying messages and question their impact on societal norms and values.
 Seek Alternatives: Support and promote media that offer alternative narratives to militarism, such as stories of peace, diplomacy, and conflict resolution.

 


 2. Promote Anti-Militarism
 Create and Share: Engage in creating or sharing content that challenges militaristic narratives. This can include art, music, literature, and social media posts that promote peace and non-violence.
 Support Artists: Back artists and creators who actively resist militaristic themes and advocate for peace through their work.

Featured

America isn’t ready for another war — because it doesn’t have the troops

Super User

The US military’s recruiting crisis, explained.

US Army recruits in training. The American military is struggling to find enough new troops to fill its ranks. Scott OlsonSep 1, 2024 / Gil Barndollar and Matthew C. Mai / Vox - Coverage of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza is mostly dominated by talk of weapons. Reporters and analysts focus on suicide drones, on shell deficits, on targeting algorithms. But for all the attention devoted to modern weapons and munitions, both conflicts are proving that modern war still comes down to people.

In Ukraine, battlefield deaths on both sides were estimated to number more than 200,000 by the fall of 2023. Though US weapons and munitions have been critical to Kyiv’s war effort, it was territorial militias and hastily trained citizen-soldiers who helped save Ukraine from total conquest in 2022.

At the same time, it was a partial mobilization of more than 300,000 troops that stabilized Russia’s lines and prevented a potential collapse in late 2022. Today, the war has settled into an attritional slugfest, with both sides desperate to keep the flow of new recruits going, to the point where ranks have opened to older men, women, and convicts.

The situation is much the same in the Middle East. On October 7, Israel’s heavily automated Gaza perimeter was breached by well-trained but low-tech Hamas terrorists. The attack was eventually repulsed by conscript soldiers and armed volunteers — even in the “start-up nation” that prides itself on its technological prowess, security depends first and foremost on people. Similar to the Russian mobilization before the invasion of Ukraine, the immediate calling up of 360,000 reservists enabled Israel to conduct its campaign against Hamas and deter other non-state foes in the West Bank and Lebanon.

Featured

Which schools are being datamined for military recruitment?

Super User

9/06/2024 /Copilot & NNOMY - Many schools across the United States are involved in data collection for military recruitment purposes. For example, over 13,000 schools encourage students to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test, with results sent directly to military personnel1. This data helps identify potential recruits.

Additionally, some state education leaders are proposing data-sharing agreements with the Department of Defense to include enlistment and service data in state-specific longitudinal data systems2. This means that more schools could potentially be involved in data collection for military recruitment.

If you’re concerned about this practice, there are resources and organizations, like the National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY), that provide information and support for counter-recruitment efforts3.

Featured

Antimilitarism in American public life

Rachel Waltner Goossen

Review of Breaking the War Habit: The Debate over Militarism in American Education, by Seth Kershner, Scott Harding and Charles Howlett (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2022)


Antimilitarism in American public lifeRachel Waltner Goossen / Issue 2023, vol. 77 / Mennonite Life - Depending on one’s zip code, an American teen may have a high likelihood of attending a public school with Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC), a federally funded program aimed to introduce students to U.S. military culture. At present, some 3,500 public high schools across the United States offer JROTC classes, with clusters especially in Southern states and in large urban districts. According to a 2022 New York Times study, troubling evidence is emerging that more and more high schools are mandating JROTC for large swaths of freshman students, even though by law these military classes are elective, not compulsory. Not surprisingly, some students and parents are pushing back against school officials, asserting – and winning – arguments that they have a right to public education without military-focused requirements.


The new volume Breaking the War Habit, a collaborative effort by a trio of U.S. peace historians, provides fascinating historical context for these present-day conflicts in districts around the country. Dating back to the new nation’s formation, rejecting school militarism has been “part of a long American tradition of opposition to military meddling in civil affairs,” which included James Madison’s and other founders’ concerns for the separation of powers, as well as limits on military authority (16). By the 1830s, as the Massachusetts educator and theorist Horace Mann began working out key principles for American public education, antimilitarist sentiments were widespread. Mann, the most influential of 19th-century U.S. educational reformers, proclaimed that young people must be “educated to that strength of intellect which shall dispel the insane illusions of martial glory” (5).

Featured

The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth Turns 20

Super User

The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) is a vital network that brings together national, regional, and local counter-recruitment and peace groups to resist the increasing influence of the military in young people’s lives. As it celebrates its 20th anniversary, let’s delve into its journey and impact.

NNOMY has been at the forefront of advocating for youth rights and challenging the Pentagon’s encroachment into schools and communities. Counter-recruitment came out of the anti-draft movement from the Vietnam war. (1) The U.S. war in Vietnam triggered the most tenacious anti-war movement in U.S. history, beginning with the start of the bombing of North Vietnam in 1964 and the introduction of combat troops the following year. Over the next decade, hundreds of thousands of young people become radicalized in a largely nonviolent, diverse and sometimes inchoate popular culture of war resistance, employing tactics ranging from comical street theatre to industrial sabotage. Students, government officials, labor unions, church groups and middle class families increasingly opposed the war as it climaxed in 1968, forcing a gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces. Anti-war activities, particularly large-scale resistance to military conscription, forced an end U.S. combat operations in Vietnam and a suspension of the draft by January 1973.(2)

The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) was founded in 2004 after the national counter-recruitment conference “Stopping War Where it Begins” in Philadelphia. It’s a network of peace organizations that opposes the militarization of schools and young people in the USA. Their mission is to stand up against the growing intrusion of the military in young people’s lives, particularly in disadvantaged communities where the Pentagon’s influence is felt most acutely. NNOMY plays a crucial role in advocating for youth empowerment and opposing involuntary JROTC placement in schools, which some argue may violate constitutional rights. If you’re passionate about these issues, NNOMY is a valuable resource for information and activism. (3)

The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) is supported by individual contributions and a grant by the Craigslist Charitable Fund - 2023 Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. NNOMY websites are hosted by The Electric Embers Coop.

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Contact NNOMY

NNOMY

The National Network Opposing
the Militarization of youth
San Diego Peace Campus
3850 Westgate Place
San Diego, California 92105 U.S.A.
admin@nnomy.org  +1 619 798 8335
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Skype: nnomy.demilitarization

The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) is supported by individual contributions and a grant by the Craigslist Charitable Fund 
 
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. |  2024

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