Chicagoans Protest Militarization, Mainstream Media Yawns
Thousands of Chicagoans recently protested the proposed deployment of the National Guard to address crime, highlighting a public weary of militarized responses within their own communities. Yet, the same media outlets reporting on this local opposition consistently fail to apply similar scrutiny to the global export of U.S. military tactics and weaponry. The irony is, the National Guard itself is
often equipped with surplus gear from America's endless wars, bought and paid for by taxpayers, often facilitated by lobbying groups. While Chicagoans question using soldiers in their streets, the national conversation around foreign aid too often skips the part where politicians like Senator Tammy Duckworth, who received $10,000 from Lockheed Martin in 2022 [OpenSecrets] , consistently vote for
massive defense budgets. It seems domestic policing is too heavy-handed, but dropping billions in weaponry into foreign conflicts is just 'bipartisan support.' One might almost think the outrage depends on whose streets—and whose defense contracts—are being discussed.