On Sat. Sept.12, 150 to 200 activists descended on the Army Experience Center in the Franklin Mills Mall in the founding city of American bourgeois democracy. The protesters rallied and marched to shut down the high-tech propaganda tool of the military industrial complex.
The AEC is a $13 million, 14,500-square-foot establishment of the United States Army. Built inside a Philadelphia mall, the U.S. Army describes the center as “an innovative way to communicate its mission, values, resources and career opportunities to a new generation of Americans on a local level.” It also claims, that the AEC “now serves as a twenty-first-century destination for people to get accurate information about the army directly from the source.”
In reality, the U.S. Army specifically targets teenagers using the popularity and success of the gaming industry to recruit soldiers. The “innovative communication” and “accurate information” includes video game kiosks and battle simulators that allow users to participate in indiscriminate and consequence-free killing. Furthermore, the center glorifies battle and brutal occupation. It falls far short of offering an adequate portrayal of the physical, emotional, psychological, and environmental ravages of war. Also missing from the “accurate information” is any reference to the inherent imperialist nature of the U.S. Army, the main goal of which is to protect the profits of the bankers and corporation through wars of conquest.
The day started with all of the activists gathered at a high-traffic intersection, followed by a high-spirited street march to the mall. Amongst the demonstrators were the Party for Socialism and Liberation and several local anti-war groups including World Can’t Wait/Philly and the American Friends Service Committee. The protest was covered by both local and national media.
The AEC attempted to counter the protest with pleas for support from local pro-war veteran committees, which garnered no more than 20 participants.
After about 30 minutes inside the mall, and at the door of the AEC, the police started to issue arrest threats. The threats culminated in seven arrests. The crowd was non-violent. The threats and subsequent arrests were a clear attempt by law enforcement to protect mall profits as well as the AEC’s image.
