@Timcast I want to share a thought stream with you. Thread follows. For background, I'm a right-leaning Libertarian, spent ten years in the Navy following 9/11. My peers spent the war in sandy climates, face to face with the worst of humanity, I lucked out at periscope depth.
/1

The navy taught me to love travel and learning other cultures. In 2018, I taught myself Croatian and Serbian, so I could travel to the former Yugoslav states. In Dubrovnik, I had the pleasure of meeting @Reuters photographer @WadeWPL
/2

I know you're in a similar boat as I am, where you do not want civil war, but you feel like we're headed that way loud, fast, and in a hurry. I also feel like your descriptions of daily life goes on are inaccurate. I suggest you grab a copy of @WadeWPL book "Enclave."
/3

It takes a harsh look at daily life in Mostar while the city was under siege. Similarly, photos from other photographers that showed daily life in Dubrovnik during the siege there paint a similarly bleak image.
/4

Without going into a lengthy discussion, the parallels between Yugoslavia in the late 80s and early 90s are uncanny with the US today.

Additionally, the breakup of Yugoslavia was the bloodiest European war since WW2 and was the first major war to feature asymmetrical tactics
/5

From an outside perspective, there were no "good guys" or "bad guys," simply Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs, Kosovars, Turks, and half a dozen other cultural groups. Most cities had blended populations devolving into neighbor-on-neighbor guerilla warfare.
/6

Looking back to the US, when I see people arming up because the believe war is inevitable, I want them to see what I saw in Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro. I want to talk sense to them. I want them to see Wade's photo of a Bosniak girl pinned in the gutter by a sniper.
/7

If anyone wants to believe that war isn't hell, they need to simply visit a non-tourist area in the former Yugoslav states. Don't bring up the topic, but if a local is willing to discuss their experience, it's worth a listen.
/8

My hosts in Montenegro cried at the recollection of the St. Nikolas Day bombings, saying it forever tarnished their otherwise peaceful history, simply because of orders from Belgrade.

The Bosnian town of Bihač still has buildings in rubble, and bullet holes in storefronts.
/9

A more keen eye will notice a distinct lack of men over the age of 40 because at the time, anyone teenaged or above could reliable hold a rifle, and the death toll was high enough to make a generational dent.
/10

I have a few dozen followers, maybe. You have hundreds of thousands. I pray that you see this, and can share this message with your followers.

We do not want a war here. War is a hell with effects that linger for decades that I pray nobody between our shores has to live.
/end