Description
Civilian support for the armed forces and/or veteran communities in Western nations is oftentimes premised on the basis that as a civilian it is impossible to understand the demands and hardships of war and military life. At the same time, support from civilian populations at increasing (geographical and emotional) remove from war rely upon ideas of commonality and shared values between military figures and the civilian communities they claim to protect and serve. Drawing on ethnographic reflections of the 2017 and 2020 Invictus Games and 2017 Ms Veteran America, this paper thinks through the ways in which feelings of compassion and empathy are generated from the (largely) civilian audience towards the military and veteran participants, while their service and experiences are simultaneously positioned as exceptional and beyond (civilian) comprehension. Making use of feminist, critical race and critical disability studies, the paper asks what histories and narratives these figures of war become visible and recognisable through, as well as who is (and isn’t) part of these communities of feeling. The paper also considers what experiences of everyday war-making these feelings of compassion, empathy and exceptionalism render invisible.
