About Face: Death and surrender to power in the clothing of men.

[Nevilledog]

Yes, this is from 2019. Yes, this is the first time I've seen it. Yes, I think it's brilliant.


https://popula.com/2019/02/24/about-face/







*snip*


Much more at link

[harumph]

1. while there is certainly fetishizing - e.g., cos-play by persons not

in the military, in the actual military, uniformity in dress - e.g., combat fatigues is good at promoting a team ethos rather than
a strict hierarchical one. The "combat fatigues" type uniforms are simple - less costly and easily laundered. So while the author has good points - but I don't think it's quite that simple. Is the author implying "still I was surprised..." that people are "play acting" in the military - or just outside it? If he's implying people are play acting in the military - that's uninformed by reality. HOWEVER, He's spot on that there's been an explosion of wanna be warriors (the cos-play - the camo - the rolling coal tricks). My take is that many of those are insecure about their masculinity and those "props" calm their anxiety. Under real hardship - or in a real emergency, most would shit their pants. It's all a "threat display."

[Hekate]

2. Holy cow, this guy is good. Thank you, Nevilledog.

Would love to see his take on the insurrection — but frankly I think he already presciently covered it all in this essay.

[Nevilledog]

3. Yeah, I had the same reaction.