this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2024
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I find it utterly deplorable when I see army recruiters at cons. They're always talking to teenagers who are impressionable and feel bullied. I always walk by and tell the teens to not die for someone else's stock portfolios
It's not like the army forces you to the job that they want you to do. No one finds themselves in a combat role by surprise. Besides, most military jobs are support based, like logistics or IT. I'd maybe recommend it to someone who doesn't have money for college but has an interest in something like computer science. But even then, the GI isn't as big of an incentive as it used to be since a college education doesn't really guarantee you a comfortable living anymore. I'd probably recommend most people don't join the military but it can be a good life decision as long as you know what you're getting yourself into
No, it just preys on vulnerable people who are easy to coerce into something they wouldn't necessarily have chosen for themselves independently. Sound voluntary to you? Or does it sound like cult programming?
Maybe not, but you're aware that "do whatever your superiors want you to do up to and including killing people" is kinda the main thing in military culture. And religious cults.
So you're only coerced into HELPING people kill people? That's alright then!
Yeah, economic coercion is a thing too. If everyone's telling you that you need college to make a good life for yourself and you can't afford it, you're much more likely to be coerced with promises of free college to do something you'd otherwise never do.
Yeah, it's a stick instead of a carrot now: used to be that a college education all but guaranteed you a high paying job. Now that you can't get any except the lowest paying jobs without a degree most places, free college is even MORE of an incentive than back when you could get a middle of the road salary regardless of college.
I'd recommend no people join. At the very least, their recruiters preying on the vulnerable like they are needs to be illegal.
Which is far from always the case and even when you know, you can still be coerced into it against your will.
Sounds like you expect other people to live by standards you yourself don't live. Unless you're somehow a full-time soup kitchen worker you still contribute to the machine just by living in this country and paying taxes. The military can be a good option for a lot of people. But not a great option for most people.
Sounds like you've had the privilege in life to where something like military service is something you'd never consider. Be thankful you have that privilege.
Holy strawman, Batman!
Not preying on the vulnerable to coerce them into killing and getting killed ≠ being a full-time charity volunteer.
That's partly true, though I live in another country that sometimes does bad things, which I subsidize with my taxes. It's not like I have a choice, though, unlike military recruiters and the politicians that send mostly innocent people to kill and be killed. Nobody's going to jail them for not doing those things.
I have and I am. Having privilege that I'm aware of does not mean not having knowledge about and empathy towards those who don't, though.
It also doesn't mean that I don't want things to be better than they are (for everyone, but especially the most vulnerable in society) and scummy predatory behavior to stop.