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Screaming Idiot posted:I'm not a veteran, but I'd imagine the hero-worship some people have for the military gets grating, especially since most of worshipers don't actually care about veterans in the least. They buy the tacky ribbon-magnets and "SUPPORT ARE TROOPS" bumper-stickers, but they're the first to shout down any sort of welfare or healthcare reform or minimum wage increase -- all issues that directly benefit the vast majority of veterans.
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Nov 17, 2014 04:27
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spoon0042 posted:There was a guy on Fresh Air or something last week who, you know, does actual work helping veterans with the issues they face. He said that merely thanking a veteran for their service is the emptiest of gestures. Kind of like slapping a yellow ribbon on your car, big deal. On the other hand he did say that if "Thank you for your service" is the beginning of a conversation in which you attempt to understand what they're going through, go for it. Fair enough. The only veterans I talk to on a regular basis are family members, so obviously the conversations run a lot deeper than a shallow "Thank you for your service."
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Nov 17, 2014 04:39
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All I want is for "Thank you for your service" to expand to all salaried government employees. Its the only logical conclusion. Because really, its the only way the Coast Guard is ever going to get its share of the Are Troops thank-wanking. And then eventually military contractors can be just as thanked since you may not have caught them on their first swing through the revolving door.
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Nov 17, 2014 04:42
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Almost all of the people I know who are or were in the military just think of it as a job or way out of poverty rather than some hero profession or duty or whatever. I dunno how common that sentiment is among vets, but I imagine it must be especially irritating to guys like them.
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Nov 17, 2014 04:47
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As someone who grew up around 'nam vets, and knew more 'nam vets than he did kids his age, the handshake does active harm. The only things that piss them off worse are fakers. Who, as we all know, get more respect from Republicans. Especially when they brag about stomping on babies.
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Nov 17, 2014 05:03
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I met a guy on his way into a grocery store I was leaving. He had a shirt on that detailed his time in the Marines. It was black, with white stenciled info on it about his deployments. I didn't know if it was legit or not, but he looked the part and yes, I'm one of those " I never had the balls to serve" types but I thought I showed some tiny amount of empathy. I stopped and asked him, "That shirt, that's you? You really did all of that?" He said, "Yeah." So I simply responded, "Would it be inappropriate for me to thank you for the service you gave to this country?" He said, "No, it's cool." So I said, "Then please accept my sincere thanks for everything you've done. I feel like this country does too much empty platitudes to vets and not enough real rewards, and for that, I am sorry and I wish you got the real recognition you deserve." The guy just said, "Hey, thanks a lot," and we shook hands and we went on our separate ways. This is not "stuff that didn't happen.txt," it's true. He seemed to sincerely be ok with the exchange but maybe he was merely being polite. But I made a point of explaining that I wasn't being glib or assuming anything on purpose. I asked him first. I feel pretty good about that experience, and I hope he does, too. Dr. Faustus fucked around with this message at 05:59 on Nov 17, 2014 |
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Nov 17, 2014 05:22
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That's not the handshake though, that's an actual conversation, which is different from the handshake in the same way that kids asking questions is different from adults asking the same questions. What I'm saying is you dud well, because you showed an interest and asked permission, which is, like, goddamn.
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Nov 17, 2014 05:31
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shadow puppet of a posted:All I want is for "Thank you for your service" to expand to all salaried government employees. Its the only logical conclusion. Because really, its the only way the Coast Guard is ever going to get its share of the Are Troops thank-wanking. Republicans have always hated the Coast Guard for not asking for enough money and dumb-rear end toys.
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Nov 17, 2014 05:33
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quote:Lets cool it on the hero worship, a simple thank you is more than enough. The Marine Corps was insturmental in building the foundaton to what I have become today, but that was my choice. I did what I felt was best for me at the time. I do not need you to live vicariously through me nor would I ever ask for unquestioned loyalty merely because I went to war for my country. I know that The VA isn´t perfect and there are some apprehensible abuses but we get quite a bit already. If you see a veteran that needs help, help them and empathize with them because they are people in need and nothing more...in fact if you see someone in need do you what you can for them anyway. An ex-marine friend of mine on Facebook on Veteran's Day.
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Nov 17, 2014 05:45
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ErichZahn posted:That's not the handshake though, that's an actual conversation, which is different from the handshake in the same way that kids asking questions is different from adults asking the same questions. That's why I asked, because I knew there were attitudes that real vets have that I know nothing the gently caress about. So I asked permission before I said much of anything. Dr. Faustus fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Nov 17, 2014 |
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Nov 17, 2014 06:02
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AdjectiveNoun posted:Currently the front page of Imgur is dominated by people being outraged that some tumblrites are outraged at this guy's shirt, and delivering Sick Burns (TM) and pledging to buy versions of that shirt just to piss off 'Feminists'. The MRA movement is a loving cancer.
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Nov 17, 2014 09:34
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Hazo posted:Holy hell you weren't kidding. I was just browsing Imgur's front page and it seems like every other post is some shitlord complaining about "feminists" and that dumb shirt. I've seriously heard nothing about this anywhere else except for the Reddit/Imgur MRA spergs. Again, in every single front page post about gender issues on those sites, women are the villains. They made a man cry. 
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Nov 17, 2014 09:43
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MariusLecter posted:They made a man cry. Each manly tear, precious. Precious, pure, beautiful manly fluids.
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Nov 17, 2014 09:46
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My coworker got called up to the reserves for the past year and he was stationed in Djibouti translating French. On Veteran's Day a woman in the office was like "omg thank you so much for your service it's really brave of you!" I did my part and gave him a bunch of poo poo later for raking in the dough tax free, getting hazard pay, practicing his language skills, and buying a Mazda3 with cash (he asked me what car to get and I told him a 2014 Mazda3 hatchback). It definitely is a sacrifice, but people only pay lip service to the veterans who are gainfully employed and who didn't exactly get in "the poo poo".
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Nov 17, 2014 15:23
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Phone posted:My coworker got called up to the reserves for the past year and he was stationed in Djibouti translating French. On Veteran's Day a woman in the office was like "omg thank you so much for your service it's really brave of you!" Yeah, but if needed, he could have been sent to Iraq, to advise. There are good gigs and bad gigs, the fact that he volunteered means he's taking risk for the country. That's what you should be thanking a service member for.
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Nov 17, 2014 16:37
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I'm not sure if the Navy has a lot of sway in a land locked country like Iraq, but then again, I'm just a civilian.
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Nov 17, 2014 16:45
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XtraSmiley posted:Yeah, but if needed, he could have been sent to Iraq, to advise. There are good gigs and bad gigs, the fact that he volunteered means he's taking risk for the country. That's what you should be thanking a service member for. Casualty rates in the military are rather low, though. Being a lumberjack is more likely to kill you than being a soldier, for example. If we're going to honor people for volunteering to do something risky then there are much nastier things than "join the military." If that's the sole metric we're using then we should replace Veteran's Day with Lumberjack Day.
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Nov 17, 2014 16:58
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Glenn Beck's making a Christmas movie, you guys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOhGs1ReVGA
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Nov 17, 2014 17:09
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Don't get me wrong, enlisting in the military and volunteering for anything takes more than a little spine (and, in some cases, desperation, but I digress), but unless actual danger is involved, isn't it basically a job? It takes integrity to dedicate yourself, sure, but it's not exactly hero material. When people verbally fellate servicepeople of any kind regardless of circumstance, it depreciates the value of the gratitude. Maybe I'm weird, but I think the guy who throws himself on top of a grenade and ends up looking like he fell into a woodchipper is just a little more worthy of gratitude and praise than a guy who sits around on an air-conditioned base loving around with software all day. Phone posted:I'm not sure if the Navy has a lot of sway in a land locked country like Iraq, but then again, I'm just a civilian. If you were part of the military, you'd learn of the secret "land-boats" that were built to match the Air Force's burrowing drill-jets.
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Nov 17, 2014 17:21
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Ray and Shirley posted:Glenn Beck's making a Christmas movie, you guys. Why would Jesus need a protector? He's God. And he's supposed to suffer.
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Nov 17, 2014 17:35
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Screaming Idiot posted:Maybe I'm weird, but I think the guy who throws himself on top of a grenade and ends up looking like he fell into a woodchipper is just a little more worthy of gratitude and praise than a guy who sits around on an air-conditioned base loving around with software all day. If that guy's any good at software, he's basically throwing his career on a grenade by making 1/3rd what they're paying contractors for the same job while putting up with military life. At the end of the day he's still got his legs, but he still rolled the dice and he's still voluntarily forsaking his autonomy, stability, and possibly future. It doesn't mean Russian Roulette wasn't dangerous if you didn't "win." E: I don't think the office guy needs a ticker-tape parade, but I won't begrudge him a once-yearly free large fries with any drink purchase either. moths fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Nov 17, 2014 |
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Nov 17, 2014 17:36
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Mehuyael posted:Why would Jesus need a protector? He's God. And he's supposed to suffer. It'll just be more B movie crap that the fundies will eat up like candy. Someone brought in "God's Not Dead" while I was deployed, and I was actually surprised how many of even the more religious guys in my unit were not impressed by it.
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Nov 17, 2014 17:36
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Mehuyael posted:Why would Jesus need a protector? He's God. And he's supposed to suffer. Because Beck's next miraculous illness cure isn't paying for itself.
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Nov 17, 2014 17:38
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The people who go the most out-of-the-way to thank servicemen in my experience tend to be older people who are guilty that they didn't go into the services themselves or dodged the draft, legally or otherwise, back in the day (some of my family fits this model, anyway). That said, I thank veterans when I hear of their service largely because working for the military is usually lovely and nearly every vet I've gotten to know personally happens to have PTSD to at least a minor degree from the stress of military life. ProperGanderPusher fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Nov 17, 2014 |
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Nov 17, 2014 17:44
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CommieGIR posted:It'll just be more B movie crap that the fundies will eat up like candy. Yeah because its basically Nietzsche yelling "GOTT IST TOT!!!" at a kid and the kid yelling back "NO HE'S NOT!!!"
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Nov 17, 2014 17:48
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Ray and Shirley posted:Glenn Beck's making a Christmas movie, you guys. Seeing stuff like this I just have to believe people like Beck don't believe anything they say but are just con men who have found a very, very lucrative mark. This movie is like something I'd expect on Tim and Eric on Adult Swim
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Nov 17, 2014 17:50
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moths posted:If that guy's any good at software, he's basically throwing his career on a grenade by making 1/3rd what they're paying contractors for the same job while putting up with military life. At the end of the day he's still got his legs, but he still rolled the dice and he's still voluntarily forsaking his autonomy, stability, and possibly future. No, I'm cool with him getting props, I'm just saying people shouldn't fall all over themselves in gushing praise before him like a lot of people seem to do with servicepeople. As another goon posted, it's embarrassing, and takes away from the praise given to people that have really been through the (proverbial and/or literal) minefield. This is a peeve of mine because of how annoyed my dad would get at folks praising people like him one moment and turning around and calling him a parasite the next because he had the gall to collect benefits he earned. Dr. VooDoo posted:Seeing stuff like this I just have to believe people like Beck don't believe anything they say but are just con men who have found a very, very lucrative mark. This movie is like something I'd expect on Tim and Eric on Adult Swim Except this is funny!
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Nov 17, 2014 17:51
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I think it's probably overall harmful to vets in the same way slacktivism harms charities. As a culture, we get to assuage our guilt for stepping over that legless guy by buying Ralph in IT a coffee and thanking him profusely for his sacrifice at the coast guard's server farm. Veteran's day really brings me down in a lot of ways, sorry guys.
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Nov 17, 2014 18:02
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ProperGanderPusher posted:
That's basically my attitude. It's a tough job and it's public service and it's underpaid as hell and everyone who comes through it gets broken apart, physically or psychologically. I mean, we should be thanking public school teachers and volunteer firemen and so forth too, but vets deserve the thanks too.
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Nov 17, 2014 18:04
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Ray and Shirley posted:Glenn Beck's making a Christmas movie, you guys. Concept art of the reimagined Santa Claus: 
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Nov 17, 2014 18:04
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I support are troops by paying my taxes every year. 
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Nov 17, 2014 18:06
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A friend of mine is a vet and a bartender so every time he brings me a drink I tell him "thank you for your service" and let me tell you that joke never gets old.
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Nov 17, 2014 18:32
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shadow puppet of a posted:I got a "quiet aunt gets tipsy and suddenly has lots to say about lots of things" vibe from the video. She kept tacking on odd little ideas through each sentence. I hope she runs for something again. McCain's awful judgement needs to be continually spot-lit. Reminder that people pay money to listen to this.
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Nov 17, 2014 18:49
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Phone posted:I'm not sure if the Navy has a lot of sway in a land locked country like Iraq, but then again, I'm just a civilian. I tried, but I just can't let this slide: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basra
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Nov 17, 2014 19:29
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CommieGIR posted:It'll just be more B movie crap that the fundies will eat up like candy. Even my religious parents (my dad's a Christian teacher now but has been a pastor for most of his life) thought God's Not Dead was a piece of poo poo.
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Nov 17, 2014 20:14
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Regarding military types, I usually just pick up their tabs for them when I see them in airports and restaurants, donate here and there, ship things overseas when I can and generally just try to do whatever. I think it's part of the GOP model to leave half to three quarters of the population with no other options beyond service or prison, and it's oddly contradictory since they seem so collectively gung-ho against working for the government (military) and against government power in general (incarceration). You think about the concerts Hannity did "for the troops" and follow where all the money went and you start to get a sense of how much they really care.
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Nov 17, 2014 20:53
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Smaller Government doesn't apply to massive, aircraft-carrier shaped chunks of government.
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Nov 17, 2014 20:59
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The "thank you for your service" stuff hurts mostly because it's a symptom of the blind military worship that allows us to throw men's lives away and justify it by saying that is a really great thing for them to do. It also paints modern military service as a necessity, like if they didn't do it, someone else would, or we'd all be killed by dirty foreigners. That isn't the case, you're basically signing your life away to further the interests of politicians and businessmen, who are absolved of any responsibility because they say your sacrifice is heroic. Yeah it's really great that your nephew died heroically on a land mine, you know what would have been better? If he had grandkids and lived till he was 90. It's so loving perverse that any call to cut back on the military or keep our troops at home is met with "Don't you support the troops?!" bullshit. Yes I support the troops, that's why I want them to stay out of danger or better yet be able to get a job that doesn't involve killing or being killed. Tender Bender fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Nov 17, 2014 |
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Nov 17, 2014 21:00
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Tender Bender posted:
This was a thing around 2006 or so but I think most people are happier that we are bringing our boys home.
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Nov 17, 2014 22:28
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computer parts posted:This was a thing around 2006 or so but I think most people are happier that we are bringing our boys home.
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Nov 17, 2014 22:40
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