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French Foreign Legion
So I'm in school right now majoring in Spanish and minor in Latin American studies. I'm going to have a huge amount of debt when I graduate, so I figured I'd join the FFL after graduation because they have good pay, it will be a life long experience and I love travelling. My question to you is is this counterrevolutionary? I am not proficient on Marxist thought but I have declared myself to be a socialist. I realize if a socialist uprising were to happen in French guyana or any other french dependencies the FFL would be sent to squash it
If I am doing this not for political or military reasons but for economic, is it still counter-revolutionary and should I feel like a bad person for even considering it?
Thanks
I've considered joining myself when I get out of school and I even wondered the same thing. From what I know they serve in Afghanistan which is a conflict that I don't support and personally wouldn't take part in. Do you know much about them? I've heard stories that training can be pretty brutal and harsh but I've been told that it's very rewarding. Once you join you are a member for life. They're a very professional, highly skilled military unit but the experience isn't for everyone. I hoped this helped, you should look for info about them on Google, try get first hand accounts of what service is like because those recruiting websites are mostly glamorized. Make sure you don't have a criminal record and be prepared to give up most of life's luxuries.
It is incredibly counter revolutionary to join into any organization which engages in acts of imperialism, and I would say that it is even more so in your case given the nature of the role of the French Foreign Legion. They are essentially mercenaries that are hired to carry out the dirty work of Frances military affairs, the bits that are too undesirable for it to even consider using its actual armed forces.
I'd argue that it in direct contradiction to the concept of revolutionary defeatism and that it an undeniably defencist position to adopt.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
If you join the FFL you are basically an Imperialist tool.
You will be sent to crush any attempts of Socialist revolutions or you will spend many months in a French prison getting acquainted with Mr. Ass and Mr. Kicking where you won't be useful to the socialist cause. That said how far are you into college? You could become a translator for tourists if you go to Latin America. We have some users in Latin American that could help you out and see what you could do with your skills and education.
That said you're majoring in Spanish and minoring in Latin American studies. Wouldn't joining the FRENCH foreign legion be kind of redundant?
I've read two books and watched a few doc's about them, the training regimen sounds incredibly tough but even if i failed it would still be a good experience.
I don't have a record and as a college student I can't afford most of lifes luxuries anyway
The French Foreign Legion is comprised entirely of foreigners, I'm actually pretty sure that French citizens can't even join the organization. They are also exclusively deployed abroad and outside of France, I believe they train in Africa primarily.That said you're majoring in Spanish and minoring in Latin American studies. Wouldn't joining the FRENCH foreign legion be kind of redundant?
There really isn't much that is actually French about the French Foreign Legion.
Becoming an ass-kisser for an incredibly bourgeois industry (tourism) is the last thing I want to do. I'm majoring in this because I love the culture and people, I don't really care if I don't have a job specific to my major, aside from living in latin americaNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
If you join the FFL you are basically an Imperialist tool.
You will be sent to crush any attempts of Socialist revolutions or you will spend many months in a French prison getting acquainted with Mr. Ass and Mr. Kicking where you won't be useful to the socialist cause. That said how far are you into college? You could become a translator for tourists if you go to Latin America. We have some users in Latin American that could help you out and see what you could do with your skills and education.
That said you're majoring in Spanish and minoring in Latin American studies. Wouldn't joining the FRENCH foreign legion be kind of redundant?
also I would welcome the chance to learn French
But killing people for the bourgeois, now there is a progressive route to go!
Why are US military and police viewed as oppressed proletariat who join for economic reasons but someone who is thinking of joining a multicultural military to get out of debt is a tool of the bourgeois
They are both proletarian and a tool of the bourgeoisie.
[FONT=Garamond][FONT=Tahoma]estroy capitalism[/FONT]
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"[/FONT][/FONT]Socialism is neither an aspiration of angels nor a plot of devils. Socialism moves with its feet firmly planted in the ground and its head not lost in the clouds; it takes science by the hand, asks her to lead and goes whithersoever she points[FONT=Book Antiqua][FONT=Tahoma]."[/FONT][FONT=Tahoma] - [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma]Daniel DeLeon
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The entire purpose of the French Foreign legion, since its creation, has been to suppress colonial uprisings.
The Foreign Legion is not the regular French army, and being a cop is arguably less reactionary.
It all depends how serious you take your socialist leanings to be.
The spiritual atom bomb which the revolutionary people possess is a far more powerful and useful weapon than the physical atom bomb. - Lin Biao
Our code of morals is our revolution. What saves our revolution, what helps our revolution, what protects our revolution is right, is very right and very honourable and very noble and very beautiful, because our revolution means justice
- Dr. George Habash, founder of the PFLP.
The French Foreign Legion is part of the France's armed forces, how is that not French? There are French people in it but since it is meant for foreigners they typically claim Swiss or Belgian citizenship.
France is a NATO member state, participating in the wars against Libya, Afghanistan, and recently in Côte d'Ivoire as well. It's no less a tool of the bourgeoisie. The US military is multicultural too, that's no reason to sign up.
Well, it is not primarily composed of French citizens and it preforms a role well beyond that of a traditional national army. They resemble a band of mercenaries more than they do a national military unit.
Well is joining the French Foreign Legion simply something you must do? If you need money, you need money, but try to understand how antithetical joining the state is to communism/ anarchism. In fact it may require you to think of what exactly being a leftist means to you. If communism is something you picked up two months ago, it may not be wise to base important life decisions around it. Although in my, admittedly biased, opinion I think it is a good theoretical and practical system
Not to mention the many other things you could do with the Spanish language that involves traveling, that is not military related. In fact, do you know France in addition to English and Spanish?
It sounds like to me you could do better than the French Foreign Legion.
But now we must pick up every piece
Of the life we used to love
Just to keep ourselves
At least enough to carry on
I would advise joining another Foreign Legion that is not involved with the War in Iraq if you don't approve of it (such as the Russian Foreign Legion). Otherwise, I would say that joining will give you training to share with other revolutionaries, and give you a new perspective to criticize capitalism from. Though, why not just join the regular army of where you live? Probably less obviously hypocritical missions and such.
Life is beautiful. Let the future generations cleanse it of all evil, oppression and violence, and enjoy it to the full.-Leon Trotsky
A revolution without dancing is not worth having.-Emma Goldman
The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall. -Che Guevara
The wise thing to do is simply to skip the bosh and twaddle and vulgarity and untruth, and get the benefit out of the rest. -Teddy Roosevelt
The French Foreign Legion is open to French Recruits and about a quarter of the recruits are French...that is excluding the officer core which is almost entirely composed of French officers with only a handfull being promoted up the ranks.
It is arguably the most reactionary of all armed forces....you will be joining the ranks of ex-Tsarists, former Waffen SS, Yugoslavian Chetniks and other such lofty and worthy soldiers...who managed to escape responsibility for their crimes in droves through the active recruiting policies of the LE which welcomed them with open arms. Its pursues a course of seeking active involvement in most of the worlds military hotpots and there is very little you can do or say which will not get you send where they want you to go...so if you do not want to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan...thats just something you have to learn to live with. It solely serves Frances imperialist interests.
Last edited by PhoenixAsh; 18th August 2011 at 10:58.
The Left needs more revolutionaries with military training, this is certain.
Do the Russians actually have a foreign legion as such? I thought the French Foreign Legion was the only one of its kind, I know Spain has one but that's just a "foreign legion" in name really
But anyway the FFL are basically Imperialist mercenaries, and it's a fucking hard life as well, they''re just sent to do all the most difficult jobs that they won't give the French army and they won't give a shit whether you live or die, the training on it's own looks brutal enough
Well, you can join the Russian Army as a foreign national, but I don't know if they have a part of it specifically for foreigners. I was just going off the wikipedia article with the name.
Life is beautiful. Let the future generations cleanse it of all evil, oppression and violence, and enjoy it to the full.-Leon Trotsky
A revolution without dancing is not worth having.-Emma Goldman
The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall. -Che Guevara
The wise thing to do is simply to skip the bosh and twaddle and vulgarity and untruth, and get the benefit out of the rest. -Teddy Roosevelt
