Who We Supported In September & October
Who We Supported In September & October
The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth is the beneficiary for September & October.
Military recruitment of young people is something that I’ve written and talked about for a while now. In 2020, I noticed the Army was recruiting kids on Twitch. After a bit of observing, I noticed they were trying to trick kids into filling out recruitment forms by telling Twitch viewers it was a giveaway for an Xbox controller. The form just said “Register To Win!” at the top and had a small disclaimer at the bottom that it was actually a recruitment form.
Video games have been a common avenue for military recruitment. The Army shows up at various conventions and gaming events in a fancy trailer filled with consoles and gaming PCs to lure kids in to highlight its “E-sports team,” which is ultimately a recruiting effort. Kids often find a way into these trailers, despite military recruiters purportedly being restricted from having direct contact with children under 16.
A good rule of thumb if you’re a military recruiter could be if their feet can’t reach the ground, they’re too young to serve.
I’m working on a longer piece on military recruiting and video games that I think you’ll all enjoy and will bring to light new issues on this front, but for now it’s time to announce who we’re supporting with September and October’s subscription revenue: The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth!
The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) is a fantastic network of peace and anti-war organizations and activists that do critical counter-recruiting work to provide young people with resources and information educating them about the consequences and ramifications of military service. NNOMY helps young people, especially those enticed by the stability military benefits could provide, understand that there are many different career paths that are both peaceful and afford the same stability.
Special thanks to subscriber Michelle Cohen for nominating NNOMY!
Here’s the receipt for the donation:
This donation brings our collective donations since the start of this Substack to over $2,000! ($2,087 to be exact).
In August we supported Cooperation Jackson, as it worked to supply Jackson, Mississippi residents with clean water as the city dealt with its water crisis. In July, we supported Project Safe in Philly, and in June we donated to The Night Ministry in Chicago, Sanctuary DMV in Washington, DC and Brother Benno’s in San Diego.
I’m really grateful so many of you have upgraded from a free subscription to a paid one and become a vital part of this collective effort. I’m constantly inspired by your generosity and support, and look forward to many more months supporting amazing groups around the country together.
If you haven’t become a paid subscriber yet, please consider upgrading your subscription here:
Thank you all so, so much.
-Jordan