I don’t know what it means but when I see things like special operations hammers and tape measures, it makes me think bin Laden succeeded in irreversibly damaging the American psyche in ways few of us could have even fathomed.
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Even as a 17 year old, his plan of "we couldn't destroy the USA in a million years, but we can get them to destroy themselves" seemed as obvious as it was flawless
Tools
Painted brown
To blend in with dirt on job sites lol
Construction workers don't buy these and we paint our tools brightly for two reasons
1. To find them easier
2. To prevent theft. Hammers are stolen all the time
I usually painted mine metallic blue and have caught them growing legs
Military grade: made by the lowest bidder for the lowest cost with the cheapest materials they could get their hands on. Anytime I see something touting military grade or special ops grade, it takes its' quality down significantly in my mind immediately.
I'm blanking on who said it first, but wasn't it related to giving the illusion by purchase of being heroic, which the GWOT dubbed SOF as exwnplars? It's the whole heroism by proxy purchase (i.e., grift) behind the tacticool industry.
right after 9/11 my stepfather filled his basement with guns. Once he was messing around with his ar-15 telling me about how he'd be ready if a "terrorist" walked down his street (in suburban Rhode Island)
Don't reward this bullshit. When you need a tool just buy a generic but faithful old stalwart. A few quarters of making a loss selling only to militia wannabes will make them realise a niche is not a big market.
I was wondering if anyone would mention Bell and Howell in these comments - products marketed to old people as "milspec". "As a former Navy Seal, I need amber sunglasses that fit over my regular glasses for driving at dusk"
Dang this blew up while I was working in the yard contemplating the irony that my trimming and mowing tools are called “Ego” in the context of this post.
I absolutely would have loved a MOLLE baby carrier and bag, had there been any available that weren't decorated in a way that would shame me beyond recovery. Instead, I had to resort to multiple carabiners on the straps.
Oh I was aware of that shortly after our ill-planned invasion of Afghanistan. The way people were talking I actually said out-loud, "so Bin Laden won." Like a modern Cassandra, nobody heeds my warnings.
It was the 3 hour TSA inspections at the airport that did it for me.
I remember flying pre-9/11 and it was way more chill. They let me hang out in the cockpit once. The only people who "won" the war on terror were the TSA, the people who make those airport scanners, and the terrorists.
I don't know that Bin Laden can take credit for any of that. It was present going back to the 80's. Americans behaved like unhinged assholes during the Gulf War, too.
My specific assignation here is to the fetishization of SOF in normal civil life, which is very much a product of 20 years of GWOT. I don't disagree with the many folks here who've chimed in that our general gun culture/war mongering/obsessive masculinity exist independent of bin Laden.
Watching insecure middle-class white men (literally the only people who could afford this bullshit, and who it's targeted to) have a compulsion to play Soldier is fucking embarrassing.
Oh the weekend warrior complex is super embarrassing. All the different venues it reveals itself, "survivalists," "militia groups," etc. would all be utterly laughable as well, if they weren't so dangerous.
Dangerous in the way you don't let children run around with knives.
One of the biggest offenders of that lifestyle in my county drives around in a spotless $90,000 superlifted truck with trump flags festooned over it. The only lifting this guy does is beer mugs to his face.
And my instagram is full of new money petite bourgeoisie in exurbs crossfitting in home gyms in plate carriers preparing for the day the shit hits the fan and they’ll have to whisk their families to safety (while shitting on migrants who are doing just that).
There is a place for historical interpretation, and that includes living history demonstrations about the lives of U.S. and CS soldiers, but if you think that you’re still fighting the war or “honoring” a dead ancestor, think again.
I confess I have a "tactical flask" with a molle jacket but no idea with what I should equip the exterior. (Interior has Talisker for emergency purposes)
i lived in Southern KY the last few years and dated a woman who lived in Nashville - all her guy friends were about that life and when we'd be camping i'd be like my guy that is just a plastic latrine trowel not a carbon fiber tactical digging implement
It's crazy how we have this weird need for little amulets and signifiers to reinforce our identities to ourselves. I'm not above it myself, in some respects, but jeez-- you gotta be SOMEwhat self-aware & laugh at that need, & yourself.
The pinnacle of flashlights with actual tactical potential hasn't changed in decades. It's still those heavy D-cell Maglite ones that can be used as a baton in a pinch. Anyone saying theirs is meant to be tactical had already lost.
Meanwhile anyone actually secure in their masculinity or who’s actually done shit in their lives won’t think twice about carrying the Longchamp bag we use as a diaper bag.
(here is where I must cop to having used a WWII grenadier's bag I got from an army/navy store when I was a teenager and those places were not yet creepy as a diaper bag when my kids were little; I still use it as a kind of purse onnacounta it's handy to carry a bag with stuff in it around. )
The story behind the infamous $100 hammer was that it was part of a palette, which some accountant took the total price of the palette and divided by number of items on it.
While people are up in arms over the $100 hammer, nobody bats an eye at the $100 jet engine also on the palette.
Nice to see a thorough breakdown. Another example I use is the Space Shuttle program. Each shuttle flight per year carried part of the nearly $3 billion per year infrastructure and salary costs, so the number of flights mattered. The per launch cost was only $50 million or so.
What? Pshaw. Next you'll be telling me beards are a thing because a bunch of try hards saw SF guys wearing them back in like 2004 because elders wouldn't talk to them unless they had beards.
no. this is gun culture, and people asked for some regulations on guns, they took it personal and grew worse with each. mass. shooting. guns? fine. gun worshiping is the problem needing solved.
Plus stolen valor: the aesthetic of serving/being a veteran, without any of the sacrifices. "I paid $20 & did my part." It also lets you beat off to police immunity from the law, fantasize being in a SWAT team, being in the cop mafia family. There's a specific demo these are for, not the gen public.
I do know of a special ops soldier who took out a helicopter with a hammer. Sadly, it was one of our Hueys and he threw it up into the blades for, uh, reasons. Blade just folded up.
Idk. The tool industry has been going down this route of “gamerfication” for like a decade or two now. Partly to blame has been the rise of home stores and the commodification of tools, and the abstraction of utility and aesthetics from durability and function, like in basically everything else.
Yeah, the whole cordless tool saga basically changed all their priorities away from reliability and longevity to: how many cordless tools can we make per generation for consumer lock in; and subsequently change batteries to force upgrades every few years.
But how would they have been able to calculate the correct force for busting in the cave door, if the special forces didn't measure it first with special ops labelled tape measures?
I'm reminded when I was looking for a new backpack and commenting to a friend "If you paint it black and call it tactical you can charge at least an extra $20 for it."
I think he didn't much change it, he diagnosed it! And then it just became visible for us all!
The US never evolved past the Wild West, it is killing globally now widening the frontier of white supremacy with pew pew Manifest Destiny Might Makes Right LAWMAN morals
yesterday a cute lil knife i’ve been hunting came on the resale market but it was a fucking digital camo edition because of course it is why god won’t someone think of the stylish bisexuals
I have a hard enough time finding my goddamned tape measure when it's neon fucking orange, the LAST thing I need is a camo one, or a tactical assault hammer.
This is also a problem I have with the proliferation of tacti-cool hunting/fishing/camping gear.
Yeah, I want my blind & camo to be, well, camo. I do NOT want my tent stakes, phone case, or multitool camouflaged, I need to FIND them again if I drop them!
Well okay maybe just the little 4x6 pictures you hang alongside your stairs?
(idk, so long as it's longer than any imperfections in the picture frame it ought to work for at least that. But yeah, my go-to level is something like 18")
Back when I was still on facebook years ago, I made a post *on my own wall* about how proud Al Queda would be at the overall impact 9/11 had. I got a one week suspension.
My profile wasn't even public.
There's some truth to this, but I think it's giving him a bit too much credit. We were worshipping at the altar of the warrior cop (WAR ON DRUGS!) from the 80's onward, as well as the "spec ops" action films. The bin Laden of it all is just a kind of evolution over time.
I'll bet you that shit is made in China and not made well.
I'm not convinced bin Laden didn't have the entire country brain damage but it did grave damage to a very high percentage of Americans with Y chromosomes.
"All of our tools are designed and engineered in the USA by a team of veterans and industry professionals. Our tools are produced in the USA and Taiwan, with some items coming from other locations including China and Vietnam."
it might even be one of those scammy things where like, the head and handle of a hammer are manufactured in china, but they put them together in the US, so they can say "made in the USA" on them
There's also a certain amount of manufacturing in the Northern Marianas that qualifies for "made in the USA" labels but the territorial status means US labor law doesn't apply. I want to say that's mostly shoes and clothing though.
Basicslly If you want something that is truly made in the USA you have to buy something from a defense contractor because they're legally obligated to have the traceability for it lmao
Whenever I see “made with real cheese” on a snack I always think that it's made with cheese, like it's a person there with them as the people make the food, as opposed to an ingredient.
People forget a lot of stuff about Osama Bin Laden. Like the fact he was part of one of the wealthiest families on Earth, or that Al Qaeda were basically venture capitalists for terrorism.
Men have been threatened with “not a real man” status over everything from eating vegetables to wearing color to using soap. The psychological damage seems to express itself in camouflage and molle straps.
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That camo hammer is getting buried in concrete or left inside a wall after it gets dropped and nobody can see it.
Painted brown
To blend in with dirt on job sites lol
Construction workers don't buy these and we paint our tools brightly for two reasons
1. To find them easier
2. To prevent theft. Hammers are stolen all the time
I usually painted mine metallic blue and have caught them growing legs
Let history judge us both as it will
because apparently using a daiper bag that is baby-themed is somehow less manly than caring for the child you created. 🤦♀️
I remember flying pre-9/11 and it was way more chill. They let me hang out in the cockpit once. The only people who "won" the war on terror were the TSA, the people who make those airport scanners, and the terrorists.
Watching insecure middle-class white men (literally the only people who could afford this bullshit, and who it's targeted to) have a compulsion to play Soldier is fucking embarrassing.
One of the biggest offenders of that lifestyle in my county drives around in a spotless $90,000 superlifted truck with trump flags festooned over it. The only lifting this guy does is beer mugs to his face.
And this isn’t even surplus.
Decades ago, friends of mine and I would heckle southern re-enactors.
It became too dangerous (we were chased by too many of them) but there are few more fulfilling free things to do with your time.
I don't think they ever do?
Though some of it is quite durable...
now i can cut joinery fit for a barracks foot locker
While people are up in arms over the $100 hammer, nobody bats an eye at the $100 jet engine also on the palette.
The bad guys have realized it, use it to their advantage.
The good guys are so wet noodle that they won't. But should.
Manipulation is a 2 way street.
All we achieved with exporting tacticool bullshit and late capitalism to the taliban
...mostly I use them to get ice cream out of the tub and into a bowl.
Not just psychological. I would argue he also a strategic and tactical win in regard of military campaign.
I don't think you can pin this on Bin Laden.
It's really no different from any other ad: We hope you feel insufficiently _____, and our product will improve that.
Insert words like: manly, beautiful, smart, successful - whatever.
"That's the epitome of advertising. Big tits! Threateningly big tits!"
Also, I think you're denying GWB his share of the credit.
I mean, put on your sweatshirt and settle down.
The US never evolved past the Wild West, it is killing globally now widening the frontier of white supremacy with pew pew Manifest Destiny Might Makes Right LAWMAN morals
https://youtu.be/StOGdOFJv1Q?si=Jksl5AqumbP54kSM
Military grade cargo shorts, I mean...🤡
* (putting up ikea shelves)
Yeah, I want my blind & camo to be, well, camo. I do NOT want my tent stakes, phone case, or multitool camouflaged, I need to FIND them again if I drop them!
people started talking of emancipating enslaved people
who had been brutalized by whites
for generations
When everything is tacticool, nothing is tacticool. 😬
(idk, so long as it's longer than any imperfections in the picture frame it ought to work for at least that. But yeah, my go-to level is something like 18")
My profile wasn't even public.
I'm not convinced bin Laden didn't have the entire country brain damage but it did grave damage to a very high percentage of Americans with Y chromosomes.
"All of our tools are designed and engineered in the USA by a team of veterans and industry professionals. Our tools are produced in the USA and Taiwan, with some items coming from other locations including China and Vietnam."
to me this says "we make 1 thing in the US" lol
1. receive the completed products from overseas,
2. remove one solder joint,
3. re-solder the joint, and
4. slap a MADE IN USA sticker on it.
That's when I learned what MADE IN USA meant.
Or did everyone forget he was trained, armed and funded as leader of the the Mujahidin to fight the spread of communism on behalf of the CIA?
America creates every monster, both real and imagined.
https://www.businessinsider.com/osama-bin-ladens-niece-backs-donald-trumps-re-election-2020-9