Any Draft Dodgers On RF?

[Augustus]

The US was supporting the wrong side in Vietnam. We were the bad guys.

Are you saying the Soviet backed communists were the right side? They weren't exactly shy about committing an atrocity or two (hundred) either.

Uncle Ho was a Comintern agent and thus, unsurprisingly, had a similar approach to ethics as Mao and Stalin did.

Seems like one of those conflicts where both sides are the wrong side.

 

[Valjean]

So I searched for "racoon with gun" & found....


But I also found....

I'm unfamiliar with the 2nd martial art style.

It's a diversionary modality: keep 'em distracted while the main force flanks 'em.

Are you saying the Soviet backed communists were the right side? They weren't exactly shy about committing an atrocity or two (hundred) either.
Uncle Ho was a Comintern agent and thus, unsurprisingly, had a similar approach to ethics as Mao and Stalin did.

Seems like one of those conflicts where both sides are the wrong side.

There's plenty to criticize on both sides, but you'd think America would be more favorably inclined toward a people trying to shed a foreign, imperialist yoke.

A good case can be made for a co-operative model being more conducive to general prosperity in Vietnam than the competitive, capitalist domination of the French.

The US should have just stayed out -- but the communist panic was upon us and, apparently, we just couldn't help ourselves.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Anyway, I never presume to know why people dodge a draft I'm sure their reasons are valid for their personal situations. Maybe they have a kid on the way and don't like the mother-in-law, really it could be that simple...

Maybe they just refuse to be slaves on principle.

 

[Augustus]

There's plenty to criticize on both sides, but you'd think America would be more favorably inclined toward a people trying to shed a foreign, imperialist yoke.

Being ruled by a Comintern agent tended not to equate to shedding a foreign, imperialist yoke (See Poland, Hungary, etc.)

A good case can be made for a co-operative model being more conducive to general prosperity in Vietnam than the competitive, capitalist domination of the French.

Perhaps, but what was on offer was the Soviet model which was not conducive to general prosperity or general well-being.

If America's foreign policy was about going after those committing atrocities, they have a bad record of supporting fascists and supplanting military dictators whilst prioritising attacking countries that fly red flags or have oil.

My post was critical of America, it's just that it was also critical of Ho Chi Minh and the Soviet Union. Just like in Russia, most people who wanted a revolution didn't want it to simply replace the colonialists with an even more oppressive regime.

Millions of people in the South didn't want to be subject to a hostile takeover by North Vietnamese and Soviet Communists via reunification (not that they were necessarily enamoured with Diem though).

 

[Stevicus]

Anyone else who refused to be inducted?

I grew up after the draft era, but still had to register for the draft when I was 18. Although I wasn't worried about getting drafted. I tried to enlist in the Navy when I was 19, but I didn't quite pass the physical. A year later, I tried to join the NSA, but they didn't want me either. So, at least I can say with a clear conscience that I tried to serve my country, but my country didn't want me.

On an unrelated side note, when I first heard the term "draft dodgers" as a kid, I thought it referred to a baseball team.

 

[VioletVortex]

How do you think the government finds out about those who fail to sign up for draft or heed a draft summons? They generally do not.

 

[Valjean]

...So, at least I can say with a clear conscience that I tried to serve my country, but my country didn't want me.

If you wanted to serve your country maybe you should have tried AmeriCorps, or, if you had a hankering to see the world, the Peace Corps.

I don't see the military as serving the country, in most cases. They serve the corporate aristocracy; the "economic royalists," as Roosevelt put it. (See post # 32).
The general public doesn't benefit from the military. It's harmed by the military.

 

[Stevicus]

If you wanted to serve your country maybe you should have tried AmeriCorps, or, if you had a hankering to see the world, the Peace Corps.

I thought about that, too, although one of the questions on the Peace Corps application was about my debts and whether I could pay them all off. So apparently they don't want anyone who has any outstanding debts.

 

[DavidFirth]

I served voluntarily for 7 years. If I were drafted I would go, though I wouldn't be the least bit happy about it.

I can understand someone dodging the draft for the right reason(s). What I don't understand is how we could have elected a president who was a draft dodger. That I think is a travesty.

 

[Revoltingest]

I served voluntarily for 7 years. If I were drafted I would go, though I wouldn't be the least bit happy about it.

I can understand someone dodging the draft for the right reason(s). What I don't understand is how we could have elected a president who was a draft dodger. That I think is a travesty.

Draft dodging is pretty acceptable...depending upon the party & circumstances.
And there's also the question of just who is & who isn't a dodger.
Bill Clinton avoided it legally (privilege of knowing the right people).
I fully intended to illegally dodge it, but Nixon cancelled in the nick of time.
Obama avoided it by privilege of youth. (Good timing of his Kenyan birth, eh.)
Hillary avoided it by privilege of gender.
No real "dodgers" there.
I'm more of a poser.

 

[VioletVortex]

As for acceptability, I think it is acceptable in every instance.

 

[DavidFirth]

Draft dodging is pretty acceptable...depending upon the party & circumstances.
And there's also the question of just who is & who isn't a dodger.
Bill Clinton avoided it legally (privilege of knowing the right people).
I fully intended to illegally dodge it, but Nixon cancelled in the nick of time.
Obama avoided it by privilege of youth. (Good timing of his Kenyan birth, eh.)
Hillary avoided it by privilege of gender.
No real "dodgers" there.
I'm more of a poser.

I'll tell you this. I have a great deal of respect for Gary Lewis (Jerry's son) because he went to Vietnam and got killed over there instead of using his money to dodge the draft. I'm like him in that I believe this country is worth dying for - even in a stupid war like Vietnam.

I love his music, but I digress.

 

[Valjean]

I'll tell you this. I have a great deal of respect for Gary Lewis (Jerry's son) because he went to Vietnam and got killed over there instead of using his money to dodge the draft. I'm like him in that I believe this country is worth dying for - even in a stupid war like Vietnam.

I love his music, but I digress.

"Worth dying for" implies some existential threat. Most of the time there is no threat. The military is corporate 'muscle'.

 

[DavidFirth]

"Worth dying for" implies some existential threat. Most of the time there is no threat. The military is corporate 'muscle'.

I'm not talking about a threat. I'm talking about obedience to the POTUS and the law, signing up and going to fight for the USA because of duty to the country.

If you don't agree with that, then that's fine but that's what I'm talking about.

 

[columbus]

. I have a great deal of respect for Gary Lewis (Jerry's son) because he went to Vietnam and got killed over there instead of using his money to dodge the draft.

What do you think about Muhammad Ali. He didn't dodge, he took it head on. "No! I have nothing against any Vietnamese. No Viet Cong ever called me n!gger!". And he did his time in prison for the stance.
Tom

 

[DavidFirth]

What do you think about Muhammad Ali. He didn't dodge, he took it head on. "No! I have nothing against any Vietnamese. No Viet Cong ever called me n!gger!". And he did his time in prison for the stance.
Tom

I think he should have been deported and his citizenship should have been revoked.

Hey, you asked. I answered.

 

[columbus]

I think he should have been deported and his citizenship should have been revoked.

Hey, you asked. I answered.

Pretty low opinion, but I did ask and you did make your ethics clear.
Tom

 

[columbus]

I think he should have been deported and his citizenship should have been revoked.

Trump and Slick willy Clinton dodged as well, without even doing time.
Should they have their citizenship revoked and be deported?
Tom

 

[DavidFirth]

Pretty low opinion, but I did ask and you did make your ethics clear.
Tom

Yep. The Constitution makes it clear that citizens should obey the laws and soldiers should obey the POTUS. If you don't like it, there are other countries you can move your citizenship to.

 

[DavidFirth]

Trump and Slick willy Clinton dodged as well, without even doing time.
Should they have their citizenship revoked and be deported?
Tom

Yep. In my opinion. First I heard about Trump.