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Are Veterans Better Than The Rest Of Us?

Military types....are they better than the rest of us for having served?


  • Total voters
    32

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
A common thread runs thru society regarding military types, both active & former....
- Special privileges, eg, discounts, free stuff, priority boarding planes.
- Being called "hero".
- Honorary license plates.
- Commercials advertising enlistment, glorifying combat & elite status.
- A thread here proposing that only veterans can vote.
- Denigration of "draft dodgers".

I picked <same status>.
 
Last edited:

Howard Is

Lucky Mud
Well, it’s better than treating them like scumbags when they get home. Right or wrong they went through hell doing what their society told them was right.

Maybe someone got the message that too many Hell’s Angels and Rambos could be problematic.

RealAMericanBOy ? Is that where it came from ?
 

Regiomontanus

Ματαιοδοξία ματαιοδοξιών! Όλα είναι ματαιοδοξία.
A common thread runs thru society regarding military types, both active & former....
- Special privileges, eg, discounts, free stuff, priority boarding planes.
- Being called "hero".
- Honorary license plates.
- Commercials advertising enlistment, glorifying combat & elite status.
- A thread here proposing that only veterans can vote.
- Denigration of "draft dodgers".


From a (my) Christian perspective, violence is wrong. Therefore being in the military is wrong. I do not think you can love your enemy at gun point. It is not a question of who is "better".
 

Regiomontanus

Ματαιοδοξία ματαιοδοξιών! Όλα είναι ματαιοδοξία.
Well, it’s better than treating them like scumbags when they get home. Right or wrong they went through hell doing what their society told them was right.

Maybe someone got the message that too many Hell’s Angels and Rambos could be problematic.

RealAMericanBOy ? Is that where it came from ?

Or at least what the military told them was right. But we have a rational brain so I do not feel any sympathy for those who volunteer for military service who then whine about things.
 

Enoch07

It's all a sick freaking joke.
Premium Member
A common thread runs thru society regarding military types, both active & former....
- Special privileges, eg, discounts, free stuff, priority boarding planes.
- Being called "hero".
- Honorary license plates.
- Commercials advertising enlistment, glorifying combat & elite status.
- A thread here proposing that only veterans can vote.
- Denigration of "draft dodgers".

They are the same as everyone else.

Whilst they go to war to protect us, our freedoms, and our way of life. We stay here and maintain the infrastructure, commerce, etc that keep the gears of civilized society turning. It's a team effort, everyone has different roles to play, but all equally important. The burger flipper, trash man, fireman, auto mechanic, city engineer, soldier, entrepreneur, and politician. We all depend on each other in different ways to make this world work.

But we should take better care of during and after they have served, especially the ones who have physical/mental trauma. We need better programs to help vets reintegrate into civilian life, help them find gainful employment etc.
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
They are people just like us who are Pacifists, but they took a decision that it's ok to kill and that cant be seen as a heroic way of living in my eyes.
 

Howard Is

Lucky Mud
Or at least what the military told them was right. But we have a rational brain so I do not feel any sympathy for those who volunteer for military service who then whine about things.

Plenty of men and women have learned a hard and brutal lesson. They were used as weapons by heartless megalomaniacs and corporate global social engineers, and of course the mongrel profiteers.

And many were very young. Old enough to kill, but not to drink... barely beyond childhood. Suggestible. Green. Insufficiently educated.

They knew not what they did. Until they did it. And lived the rest of their lives with PTSD.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
They are people just like us who are Pacifists, but they took a decision that it's ok to kill and that cant be seen as a heroic way of living in my eyes.
They are the same as everyone else.

Whilst they go to war to protect us, our freedoms, and our way of life. We stay here and maintain the infrastructure, commerce, etc that keep the gears of civilized society turning. It's a team effort, everyone has different roles to play, but all equally important. The burger flipper, trash man, fireman, auto mechanic, city engineer, soldier, entrepreneur, and politician. We all depend on each other in different ways to make this world work.

But we should take better care of during and after they have served, especially the ones who have physical/mental trauma. We need better programs to help vets reintegrate into civilian life, help them find gainful employment etc.
We should note that not all military types are soldiers....even if
perhaps called that. I've known REMFs who have had jobs which
didn't sound so sacrificie. One can be a clerk, cook, chauffeur, etc.
 

Regiomontanus

Ματαιοδοξία ματαιοδοξιών! Όλα είναι ματαιοδοξία.
Plenty of men and women have learned a hard and brutal lesson. They were used as weapons by heartless megalomaniacs and corporate global social engineers, and of course the mongrel profiteers.

And many were very young. Old enough to kill, but not to drink... barely beyond childhood. Suggestible. Green. Insufficiently educated.

They knew not what they did. Until they did it. And lived the rest of their lives with PTSD.


Yes, our government has abused them and tried hard to brainwash them - successfully in many cases. This is why critical thinking skills are so important. I mean, looking over just, say, the last fifty years of the history of this country, how could anyone trust our government, believe anything the military says? But I agree with you that youth is a big factor. We all do stupid things when young.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
A common thread runs thru society regarding military types, both active & former....
- Special privileges, eg, discounts, free stuff, priority boarding planes.
- Being called "hero".
- Honorary license plates.
- Commercials advertising enlistment, glorifying combat & elite status.
- A thread here proposing that only veterans can vote.
- Denigration of "draft dodgers".

I picked <same status>.

I've noticed this myself. At least, I can say with a clear conscience that I tried to enlist and serve my country, but my country didn't want me. I have a slight, small defect in my arms which prevents me from having 100% mobility.

I've known quite a few veterans, and in my experience, it's only a certain few who wear this "I fought for your freedom" badge that some of them like to wear. Most are rather ordinary and speak of their military service in ordinary, matter-of-fact terms - without all the pseudo-patriotic BS that one might encounter from others.

To be sure, they were all proud of their military service and proud to have served, but they weren't the kind who get in other people's faces about it.

At least in recent decades, some of it may be overcompensation and an indirect response to how veterans were treated when they returned from Vietnam in the 60s and 70s. They were spat at, called "baby killers" and generally treated as pariahs in their own country.

So, there were active efforts to try to change those perceptions among the people, so by the time of the first Gulf War in 1990-91, it was all about "supporting the troops." The notion was that, even if people didn't agree with the government going to war, it was unfair to attack or denigrate the troops themselves, since they're just doing their job.

But perhaps even that idea has been taken too far at this point, since even questioning US military policy is being perceived as "disloyal" or "unpatriotic." Or there might be those who refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance or might take a knee during the National Anthem, and others interpret that as attacking the troops, which goes against the notion of "supporting the troops."
 

ImmortalFlame

Woke gremlin
A common thread runs thru society regarding military types, both active & former....
- Special privileges, eg, discounts, free stuff, priority boarding planes.
- Being called "hero".
- Honorary license plates.
- Commercials advertising enlistment, glorifying combat & elite status.
- A thread here proposing that only veterans can vote.
- Denigration of "draft dodgers".

I picked <same status>.
Over here in the UK-

...

Sorry, is it "Britainistan"? Let's go with that.

Over here in Britainistan, we have a very different general attitude and culture regarding soldiers than America seems to have. They have certain benefits, but most of these benefits aren't too far removed from any other employee of the public sector. We have the odd ceremony now and then to remember the fallen and people who sacrificed in war, but I still feel there is a significant difference in how the public at large treats active soldiers and veterans. They tend to be lionized a lot less. Not so much "heroes", but more "tough people who are useful".

Most advertising for army recruitment over here emphasizes the idea of joining the army for the sake of personal growth and exploration rather than honour, service or glorifying violence. Every advert is more-or-less the same:
"I was born in a small town, finished school, had a choice to either get a job in a chip shop or join the army, so I joined the army, now I'm tough and experienced and it taught me stuff." JOIN NOW.

In my experience, when someone over here tells you they were in the army, the psychological reaction is less "Wow, what can I do for you?" and more "I see, you must have failed at school, then" or "Oh. Please don't kill me." Of course, these are horrible generalizations, but it's still interesting to compare that kind of attitude to the American one. Even I, as a British-.... Britainistanian person, feel an almost Pavlovian response to US military personal that puts them in a heroic light. The US military must have some seriously good PR people.

Of course, none of this is to say soldiers in this country are any less worthy people. A friend of mine who was a burlesque dancer said the nicest, kindest and least hand-grabby private party she danced at was for soldiers (the worst - a bunch of businessmen. Big surprise). But it's really interesting, the difference in perception, reaction and depiction of soldiers from two different ends of the Atlantic.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
I've noticed this myself. At least, I can say with a clear conscience that I tried to enlist and serve my country, but my country didn't want me. I have a slight, small defect in my arms which prevents me from having 100% mobility.
I can understand not wanting you.

Wait...that came out wrong.....no, it didn't.
I've known quite a few veterans, and in my experience, it's only a certain few who wear this "I fought for your freedom" badge that some of them like to wear. Most are rather ordinary and speak of their military service in ordinary, matter-of-fact terms - without all the pseudo-patriotic BS that one might encounter from others.

To be sure, they were all proud of their military service and proud to have served, but they weren't the kind who get in other people's faces about it.

At least in recent decades, some of it may be overcompensation and an indirect response to how veterans were treated when they returned from Vietnam in the 60s and 70s. They were spat at, called "baby killers" and generally treated as pariahs in their own country.

So, there were active efforts to try to change those perceptions among the people, so by the time of the first Gulf War in 1990-91, it was all about "supporting the troops." The notion was that, even if people didn't agree with the government going to war, it was unfair to attack or denigrate the troops themselves, since they're just doing their job.

But perhaps even that idea has been taken too far at this point, since even questioning US military policy is being perceived as "disloyal" or "unpatriotic." Or there might be those who refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance or might take a knee during the National Anthem, and others interpret that as attacking the troops, which goes against the notion of "supporting the troops."
IRL, I don't know any vets who were spit at or called "baby killer".
Nor have any given me grief for being a draft dodger.
The internet is where the hostilities arise for me.
 

shmogie

Well-Known Member
A common thread runs thru society regarding military types, both active & former....
- Special privileges, eg, discounts, free stuff, priority boarding planes.
- Being called "hero".
- Honorary license plates.
- Commercials advertising enlistment, glorifying combat & elite status.
- A thread here proposing that only veterans can vote.
- Denigration of "draft dodgers".

I picked <same status>.
Those who have served in combat deserve the benefits they receive. Of course, those injured in combat deserve the benefits they receive.

Better is a nebulous term. In general no one is better than anyone else.

However, some have had experiences that differentiate them from other people, and sometimes those experiences deserve recognition.
 
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