Poll: Do you automatically respect people in the military?

[IamLEAM1983]

I don't respect the military, I respect the individual. I'll respect a soldier who treats his post with a level-headed attitude and who doesn't look down on civilians, and I'll disrespect any privileged moron who wants to enlist because he's sad he doesn't get to have real-life Caw-a-Doody funtimes.

Enlisting does not mean you'll get to blow shit up while listening to AC/DC. I wish more kids today would understand that.

 

[Loki J]

Why should any person gain automatic respect for a job they perform? Every profession has it's share of good, bad, mediocre, and trolls.

 

[Goofguy]

We don't always get to choose the time and place of our deployments so if you disagree with being in Iraq and Afghanistan, you can't really hold Pte Bloggins accountable for that.

Well yes I can. He knew it might end up like that when he signed up. And following orders itself is something I can hold him accountable for. Are there consequences for not doing so? Yup. And there's consequences for doing so, like being accountable for it.

Yup, you definitely can hold the Pte accountable for wanting to go to Iraq and Afghanistan to support his friends and brothers in arms, to make sure he's "in the foxhole" with them when the shit hits the fan.

Don't blame him for the national policy that put his country's forces there to begin with. He may have gone along with it for the right or wrong reasons but he didn't convince the Prime Minister/President to do it.

Sure, we volunteered for this job, we may even have asked to go overseas but even you can't deny that the shit many of us have been through deserves some recognition.

I kind of can deny it when it comes to the present.

I deployed overseas; it was to pack up our equipment and infrastructure to close up that theatre and bring everyone and everything back home. I didn't do it to be a war hero or "for the greater good". I did it because I sought the challenge and I believed in getting us out of there. We did get shot at but we met all of our objectives on time and made it out in one piece. I'm not asking/expecting you to respect my subordinates because they survived a war you don't believe in, but it's only fair that they be recognized for their part in either:

1. Deploying to a hostile environment to serve their country; OR
2. Getting our people and equipment out of said war you don't believe in.

 

[vasiD]

Godwin's law in practice ey?

Anyway i am not saying that bad things do not happen in war, but just as it is wrong to stand all soldiers on a pedestal because of the job they do, it is also wrong to judge them all based on the actions of a few.

Again, just as you can tell me a person in iraq with stories of soldiers doing wrong, I can give you stories of soldiers who i know who have told me no such thing 'If you don't believe me that doesn't matter to my point'. The idea that because he has had bad experiences and stories means that we should look down on all soldiers is wrong, simple as.

Again: My point wasn't his stories. My point was that our government regularly murders people and invades countries for their resources and any one willing to become a tool of such a system and commit such acts without question should be looked down upon.

War IS a 'bad thing', and that this country has constantly been fighting wars all over the world for the past several decades is absurd, more so when you think of what little reason we've had to fight in all of them. Any soldier who is a part of the American military system is a part of a system of death and suffering for profit, even if they're not aware of it or are not on the front lines committing the atrocities.


Mind you I would respect our troops if they weren't constantly being pitted against much poorer and usually browner people. If the past few decades had been peace with a group of armed soldiers being trained and prepared to give up their lives for us rather than take the lives of others, then yes, they would get large amounts of my respect. But as it stands now they are just bloody tools in the rich white man's war on foreign liberty and equality.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

The Taliban are a military force. Just think about that.

OT: Nope. I respect them as people, not soldiers. They go somewhere to fight for for the profit of rich warmongers and weapon manufacturers. There are of course people who believe they're "fighting for freedom" but if you believe that everything you're doing over there involves that and that alone then you're an idiot.

Also, here's another perspective: Soldiers are just mercenaries with a flag.

And didn't you have a thread of your own on this topic, one that you have effectively abandoned.

Sorry for the double post, and on topic, no, someone is not an honorable baddass just by putting on a uniform, but I know that I can trust them more than your average civilian and the level of disdain that the community on this site shows them annoys the hell out of me.

Yeah I did have a thread on it. I just didn't feel like responding to every single post and reply on it.

And it's not disdain, it's just that alot of people on this site aren't fanatics about them.

So you ask a question, walk away when you don't like the answer and then continue to spout the same lines elsewhere.
Don't you think that shows a lack of respect for other people's opinions and, in fact, your own.

The hell? I said not EVERY post, I still responded to plenty and read most of them. Next time, try reading the sentence properly.

 

[Rose and Thorn]

I am actually the opposite, I am more cautious and tense around soldiers.

I don't automatically respect anyone, it needs to be earned.

 

[the clockmaker]

The Taliban are a military force. Just think about that.

OT: Nope. I respect them as people, not soldiers. They go somewhere to fight for for the profit of rich warmongers and weapon manufacturers. There are of course people who believe they're "fighting for freedom" but if you believe that everything you're doing over there involves that and that alone then you're an idiot.

Also, here's another perspective: Soldiers are just mercenaries with a flag.

And didn't you have a thread of your own on this topic, one that you have effectively abandoned.

Sorry for the double post, and on topic, no, someone is not an honorable baddass just by putting on a uniform, but I know that I can trust them more than your average civilian and the level of disdain that the community on this site shows them annoys the hell out of me.

Yeah I did have a thread on it. I just didn't feel like responding to every single post and reply on it.

And it's not disdain, it's just that alot of people on this site aren't fanatics about them.

So you ask a question, walk away when you don't like the answer and then continue to spout the same lines elsewhere.
Don't you think that shows a lack of respect for other people's opinions and, in fact, your own.

The hell? I said not EVERY post, I still responded to plenty and read most of them. Next time, try reading the sentence properly.

I just think that when you have failed to address points in threads that you created and that are still going, it is strange that you trot out the same nonsense. It may be me and me alone that thinks this, but you asked those questions, myself and a fair few others put a lot of thought into the answers and then you vanish with nothing but a few one or two line rhetorical questions and some very questionable statements (Iraq being the first invaded being the main one).

So, if you could please take your own advice and read a post before responding to it.
You asked a question -true
Walked away when you didn't like the response or more accurately when that response was more complex than rarara democracy or rarara facist. -true
You now spout the same lines elsewhere -true

As I said, I am tired of the same two or three statements being trotted out time and time again, because apparently people will always believe the same thing.

 

[DugMachine]

I respect what they do and the sacrifices of war but as for the people themselves... not always. I have friends that are military so every now and then I hang out with some non-friend military type and there are quite a few douchebags to put it lightly.

Thank you for serving this country but you're kind of overly machismo douche canoe so I'd rather not talk to you, sorry. This is by no means not a sweeping statement as I've met a lot of military that are really cool guys but just some...

Kind of the same thing with police officers. Coming from a family that was all law enforcement, I can tell you that all cops aren't worthy of respect. You can respect the job if they get it done but once the uniform is off and they're off duty they can be some of the biggest dick weeds ever.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

The Taliban are a military force. Just think about that.

OT: Nope. I respect them as people, not soldiers. They go somewhere to fight for for the profit of rich warmongers and weapon manufacturers. There are of course people who believe they're "fighting for freedom" but if you believe that everything you're doing over there involves that and that alone then you're an idiot.

Also, here's another perspective: Soldiers are just mercenaries with a flag.

And didn't you have a thread of your own on this topic, one that you have effectively abandoned.

Sorry for the double post, and on topic, no, someone is not an honorable baddass just by putting on a uniform, but I know that I can trust them more than your average civilian and the level of disdain that the community on this site shows them annoys the hell out of me.

Yeah I did have a thread on it. I just didn't feel like responding to every single post and reply on it.

And it's not disdain, it's just that alot of people on this site aren't fanatics about them.

So you ask a question, walk away when you don't like the answer and then continue to spout the same lines elsewhere.
Don't you think that shows a lack of respect for other people's opinions and, in fact, your own.

The hell? I said not EVERY post, I still responded to plenty and read most of them. Next time, try reading the sentence properly.

I just think that when you have failed to address points in threads that you created and that are still going, it is strange that you trot out the same nonsense. It may be me and me alone that thinks this, but you asked those questions, myself and a fair few others put a lot of thought into the answers and then you vanish with nothing but a few one or two line rhetorical questions and some very questionable statements (Iraq being the first invaded being the main one).

So, if you could please take your own advice and read a post before responding to it.
You asked a question -true
Walked away when you didn't like the response or more accurately when that response was more complex than rarara democracy or rarara facist. -true
You now spout the same lines elsewhere -true

As I said, I am tired of the same two or three statements being trotted out time and time again, because apparently people will always believe the same thing.

Yeah it's true that I'm not into reading every wall of text put in front of me. And no I didn't walk away. Some I thought were actually true and more so than my own opinions. And I appreciate that people put alot of time and effort into the posts, and I'm sure that other people reading them did aswell, but you're absolutely insane if you think I'm going to respond to all roughly 180 posts on a thread. And I'm not "spouting the same lines everywhere", this was a thread asking for people's opinions and I offered mine.

Has my opinion changed a little bit? Yes, but that doesn't mean I'm all of a sudden converted to the extreme.

P.S. Yes, I admit that I was wrong about the date of the Iraq invasion. Doesn't change the fact that Iraq and nothing to do with anything except being in the general area.

 

[babinro]

No.

I'm very much anti-military. I'm against using death as a tool to resolve conflict. It also feels arbitrary when we go after one country over certain actions when other 'lesser' countries are committing far worse atrocities.

That's not to say I don't appreciate what they've chosen to do though.
Those in the military often perform non-violent peace missions. Unfortunately, soldiers cannot simply choose to do the mission(s) they personally feel have ethical merit.

"When the rich wage war it's the poor who die" - Linkin Park
This factual statement sums up my feelings on the matter quite nicely as well.
People are not treated as equals when it comes to fighting for our country.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Its kind of like the leader of the country; there's a certain amount of respect for the position and the burdens it carries, but you're under no obligation to like the person doing the job.

As with police, I resent anyone who treats their uniform as some kind of all-encompassing shield from it being pointed out that they're wrong and/or an arsehole.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

It makes me question their intellect if they joined to be 'noble' or because it was 'the right thing to do'. It makes me sad if they joined because there lives are so bad they would potentially throw it away like that. The only reason I would consider a good reason for joining the army is if you are taking a role that doesn't involve getting shot at.

 

[Jamieson 90]

I recognize them as soldiers, and therefore recognize the difficult job they have to do whilst risking their lives, but that doesn't inherently make them a good person which I would automatically respect. As always the best saying is 'respect is earned,' so generally I give everyone a certain level of respect that goes as far as common courtesy until they prove their not worthy of my respect, but for true respect and trust? Well you've got to earn that.

 

[aba1]

I respect those who defend my country on our turf. Though I think there is something to be said for peacekeeping missions as well. If you are off in someone elses country fighting well that means your the invaders and well that just ain't cool.

 

[sweetylnumb]

More like the opposite. i automatically dislike anyone in the military as gun wank douchebags, myself

 

[TheOtter]

I'm not military but my entire family is and I had the...pleasure...of growing up as a kid to a Navy chief. I've always lived in very heavy military areas and will be interning at the Navy base where my father works as a civilian now.

A man/woman in uniform is the same as one without to me. They chose a profession and they do a job. No, I don't like the wars (or any unnecessary wars) but they didn't vote on whether to be sent over there. I do have more respect for firefighters and *some* police but its all just a job. Sure, I've met some true military jerks and I've met some great people - the uniform doesn't make the man.

 

[Ashadowpie]

im kinda accidentally respect them because society told me too, but to be honest, i feel incredibly uncomfortable to be around a legal mass murderer. so...

i seriously disagree with any war, its backwards and it never truly solves anything win or lose. plus, a whole crap load of innocent people die while only a small crap tone of the actual war moneys die. thats pretty retarded.

boo on war! D:<