Download PDF of this full issue: v1n1.pdf (6.1 MB)

Veterans Liberation

By VVAW

Often the Vietnam Veteran has had all his preconceived notions dashed. Vietnam showed the young GI that everything he ever believed to be right was filled with contradictions and hypocrisy. He believed God was on the side of his "beloved country" only to see horror so morally repugnant even a merciful God wouldn't allow it.

While most Vietnam Veterans return without physical scars sometimes the mental ones are more cruel. Is the Vet to be told that because he feels he was wrong about the war and wrong in every preconceived notion he ever had (that virility and manhood are to be determined by the butt of a rifle) that aside from assaults on his masculinity, and other identity crises, he is to be branded a male chauvinist too? Disillusionment, disbelief, insecurity ? are these to be synonymous terms to be used in connection with Vietnam Vets.

In a sense this problem is not a problem exclusive to Vets but to society in general. Women's Liberation; treating your fellow human being as your equal; is pure and simple basic humanism. Perhaps the returning Vet through his new found reverence for life has become sensitive to this problem and other ethical questions to the point of guilt.

The answer is not to point an accusing finger at the Vet but to guide him through his confusion. Rap sessions (consciousness raising) can help the Vets deal with their collective guilt, and possibly build a firm foundation for mutual respect.

The danger facing V.V.A.W., as a predominantly male organization, is that it might start to emulate the very thing it is fighting against?the arrogant chauvinism of the military, which encourages all the forms of male dominance that exist in society as a whole.

Will V.V.A.W. opt for the easier out (as many other "revolutionaries" have), that although fighting sexism is a "right on" cause, it must for the time being be put aside for the more pressing problem of trying to relieve human oppression. Is not women's liberation an integral part of human liberation and, therefore, male liberation?

Are the Vietnam Vets aware that the problems of sexism/male chauvinism exists? To acknowledge a problem is to take the first step in its solution.