I think this is probably made as a costume for Purim not Halloween.
I canât really imagine wanting an armed forces costume(at least not one of the generally banal and functional real-world ones; Iâd definitely consider a T-45d; T-51b, or Advanced Mk. II, if I were going to put that much effort into it); but even a fairly controversial nation-stateâs uniform seemsâŚpretty tepidâŚby the standards of âclassiest halloween everâ.
Compared to classics like âghettoâ, âpimps and hoesâ, and âbig chief wampumâ, it just doesnât shock and outrage nearly as hard as it might.
Now, if you really want to do âIsraeli Soldierâ with class, youâll have to do some hunting for an authentic esprit-de-corps-in-dubious-taste Shaked Battallion marksmanâs T-shirt:
Thanks for mentioning thatâŚ(GoogleâŚGoogleâŚ)
Now hereâs a Purim costume I could like. Looks kind of Sci-fi, but itâs a cookie! (Though I prefer poppy-seed Hamantaschen, myself.)
âWar toysâ for kids are generally frowned upon where I live.
Realistic war toys even more so.
Realistic military uniforms of a state currently engaged in warfare (doesnât really matter what side youâre on): Absolutely impossible.
Any reasonably bright ten-year-old in Austria will happily explain to you why that kind of costume is not appropriate.
This shouldnât be about whether you approve of Israeli politics, about whether itâs insulting to the victims of unjust violence or whether it honors the brave defenders of Israel.
Itâs enough that it instills more militarist madness in young peopleâs minds, in a country that is IMHO already stuck far too deep in a militarist world view.
âWalmart is promoting occupation and the killing of innocent children this Halloween,â tweeted author Max Blumenthal, along with a photo of a child receiving emergency medical care.âŚ
The winner of yesterdayâs Hyperbolic Outrage Award! To enter, just find an example of something thoughtless or insensitive, and inflate it into mass-murder. Bonus points if you can compare it to slavery and/or the Holocaust!
ThatâŚdoes not look like a hamentaschen to meâŚ
Shalom!
OhâŚnot a cookie? 
Admittedly, my male mind went straight to another, similarly shaped part. Perhaps the album cover for one of my favorite albums will illustrate my point (and may I recommend âBallad in Urgencyâ?):
EDIT WITH SPARKLES: I believe the above was cropped from this original:
Yeah, that does look wrong in two or three different waysâŚ
?
Heâs referring to IDF killings of Palestinians.
In this case, I see that. I was thinking more of the general case. Here in the States those are our favorite metaphors; comparing Obama to the IDF wouldnât resonate as well.
Thanks for the explanation. So Blumenthal isnât being hyperbolic then? Still not sure what you were getting atâŚ
[Emphasis mine]
That absolutely strikes me as hyperbolic. Wal-Mart is no more promoting occupation or killing of innocent children than it is promoting the slaughter of animals by selling kitchen knives. Now if the costume had a patch notating âkiddie killsâ, or something like @fuzzyfungusâ t-shirt above, I think weâd have a much different situation.
I think thereâs a very fine line between promoting and normalizing. In this case, that line is so fine that I canât actually see it.
Do you know whatâs happening over there? I also think you might be ignorant of exactly how much Wal-Mart panders to peopleâs Christianity, and in this a case, a particular apocalyptic vision. The Christian Rightâs unhealthy obsession with Israel is well documented.
https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Israel_T-shirt_affair
Is it common in warfare for this level of dehumanisation? And I donât mean the dehumanisation of the Palestinians by the Israelis, I mean the self-dehumanisation of those wearing these shirts.
Do all soldiers routinely boast about this kind of stuff? I mean, when they find themselves in a war in which they are killing kids and pregnant women. Am I being really naive? Does this happen in every war?
Iâm thinking about Iraq and Vietnam, so I guess it kinda does.
Perhaps Arthur C Clarke was right and the military should be a completely separate society. If you want to give your life to the Military, thatâs cool and all, and probably you should get the best of everything in return. Healthcare, housing, education, commodities. The VERY BEST. I mean it.
Just, maybe not access back into society.
I hate to ask for an explanation because my reply is usually âuse google ya jaykayassââŚbut how do you mean? Normalizing military uniforms for children and their play? If anything, I think Iâd object more to the gun thatâs included with the outfit.
