Why do people hate the army?

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Uber Evil

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Mar 4, 2009
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I respect what soldiers do and why they do it (most of the time), although I feel like we spend too much on it. Hating on it for the sake of hating on it is wrong. I don't agree with everything they do, but usually that's not their fault, and the individuals who dedicate themselves to that line deserve respect.
 

Evilpigeon

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Feb 24, 2011
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It costs money that could be much better spent. I'm English, Britain has a disproportionately large and well equipped army. The only reason I can fathom is that politicians like power and it lets us throw our weight around like we were still a 'global power' or some ridiculous shit that nobody whose mind isn't full of ridiculous tribalistic, patriotic rubbish should care about.

We shouldn't be involved in the middle east, we shouldn't have anywhere as large an armed forces we do we should be spending more money on that actually matter to the country. I won't deny that an army of some sort is still necessary but ours is excessive.

There are all kinds of social and economic problems that could be dealt with for the cost of that nuclear deterrant we don't need, let alone the rest of the armed forces.
 

chadachada123

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Jan 17, 2011
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For the US Army at least, I don't support joining an association that openly murders innocent people. That said, I understand that many people don't join to "herp derp kill teh evil mooslims" but join either because they have to (for money) or because they hope to make a difference (like NOT kill innocent civilians).
 

Numb1lp

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Chasing-The-Light said:
Next, I also dated a girl who was a militant anarchist and her and her friends hated the military. We weren't allowed to talk politics with each other because it would come down to me getting personally offended and her going on these rants about how "the military is useless" and how they don't do anything. She would be like, "Yeah, I respect them for what they do but I don't think what they're doing is right. I don't agree with it at all. I don't like it and I think it's stupid that they even join!"
But she sounds like she was making a valid argument. Personally, I don't agree with standing armies, even though I understand the necessity. I have family members in the military also; I respect the hell out of them, but it's something I would not be able to do. I just don't agree with it. Does that make me a bad person?
 

Frission

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May 16, 2011
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Matthew94 said:
The_Critic said:
Matthew94 said:
The_Critic said:
A nation without a military is a nation without defense. If we didn't have an army in the 1940's we would all be speaking German right now. If we don't have an army today we would all be speaking Chinese or Korean right now. So I don't understand people who hate the military so much as to say it's pointless and useless or a tax sink.

I find it funny that usually the people that are against military or our (speaking as a US citizen here) are usually the people also protest women's rights, environmentalist minded,etc. And yes those things are important, I just wish they would realize that if we didn't have a military nations like north Korea and China or Islamic extremists that hate America would quickly attack or invade us.

Then those things those people stand for, would be non existent. Lets face it, Korea, China, Islamic Extremists, there not know for their women's rights.
...

People aren't saying you shouldn't have a military, I fail to see how you came to that conclusion. People say that you don't need to spend $700,000,000,000 per year on it while your debt is at $15,700,000,000,000 and rising.
Of coarse you know the only reason we aren't invaded is cause our military is the most advanced in the world, cut funding and we won't causing a risk to our national security.
You can easily defend you borders without spending, AGAIN, $700,000,000,000 per year.

Your navy almost has as many planes as the entire russian air force. You cannot say that is not excessive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures



Your military spending is greater than the combined spending of #2-#14 of the worlds largest militaries. That's right, if you combined 14 ENTIRE COUNTRIES military budget you still wouldn't match the USA, that includes China, the UK, Russia, France etc

You spend just under 50% of the total WORLD military expenditure on your military.
Damn, that's a lot of money. I'm sorry to say I was never aware of the exact amount the U.S spent. I only knew that it was that it was extremely high, but I never knew it was so absurd. It's far more than that of our "foes" combined It's staggering knowing how much healthcare, working class benefits and education have been cut to save this.

Not only does the military have it's own court of law and starts stupid useless wars, but it has this as well. This is insulting. I actually sort of now hate the people associated for being so paranoid and violent, all the while draining a small country's worth of GDP.


In fact what's wrong with the people who shout "GO! GO! AMERICA AND THE MILITARY!"?
This isn't the Cold war anymore.
I wonder how some armchair general can say that without the military China would invade us. China is our business partner. They're making tons of money off of us. South Korea is our ally, and there's no way North Korea could invade us.

This argument that the bloated military is our only protection of us speaking "Chinese or Korean" not only falls flat, but is offensive. America is not the underdog. I won't be invaded. In fact in some cases it's the bully. More money could have been spent building levees in New Orleans, or fixing the educational system, but no, some Americans HAD to bomb some brown people.

I don't know about soldiers, but the Military complex in the U.S has to change, because right now it's horrible and over funded.
 

Chasing-The-Light

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Numb1lp said:
Chasing-The-Light said:
Next, I also dated a girl who was a militant anarchist and her and her friends hated the military. We weren't allowed to talk politics with each other because it would come down to me getting personally offended and her going on these rants about how "the military is useless" and how they don't do anything. She would be like, "Yeah, I respect them for what they do but I don't think what they're doing is right. I don't agree with it at all. I don't like it and I think it's stupid that they even join!"
But she sounds like she was making a valid argument. Personally, I don't agree with standing armies, even though I understand the necessity. I have family members in the military also; I respect the hell out of them, but it's something I would not be able to do. I just don't agree with it. Does that make me a bad person?
No, there's nothing wrong with that as long as you're not throwing it in people's faces. xD Maybe I wrote that up wrong but the way she would talk was so degrading and condescending and perhaps it's me being a bit biased but damn did that always bother the hell out of me.
 

Numb1lp

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Jan 21, 2009
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Matthew94 said:
The_Critic said:
Matthew94 said:
The_Critic said:
A nation without a military is a nation without defense. If we didn't have an army in the 1940's we would all be speaking German right now. If we don't have an army today we would all be speaking Chinese or Korean right now. So I don't understand people who hate the military so much as to say it's pointless and useless or a tax sink.

I find it funny that usually the people that are against military or our (speaking as a US citizen here) are usually the people also protest women's rights, environmentalist minded,etc. And yes those things are important, I just wish they would realize that if we didn't have a military nations like north Korea and China or Islamic extremists that hate America would quickly attack or invade us.

Then those things those people stand for, would be non existent. Lets face it, Korea, China, Islamic Extremists, there not know for their women's rights.
...

People aren't saying you shouldn't have a military, I fail to see how you came to that conclusion. People say that you don't need to spend $700,000,000,000 per year on it while your debt is at $15,700,000,000,000 and rising.
Of coarse you know the only reason we aren't invaded is cause our military is the most advanced in the world, cut funding and we won't causing a risk to our national security.
You can easily defend you borders without spending, AGAIN, $700,000,000,000 per year.

Your navy almost has as many planes as the entire russian air force. You cannot say that is not excessive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures



Your military spending is greater than the combined spending of #2-#14 of the worlds largest militaries. That's right, if you combined 14 ENTIRE COUNTRIES military budget you still wouldn't match the USA, that includes China, the UK, Russia, France etc

You spend just under 50% of the total WORLD military expenditure on your military.
Please understand that most Americans are not this ignorant. We understand that Reagan's precedent needs to be broken, and me need to find better ways to spend our money.
 

Justank

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Nov 17, 2010
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Coast Guard brat here, father was in for 26 years. Considering joining right now. People are wayyyy too crazy about the military, on both sides. I respect those already serving, and I do understand what sacrifices are made. It's not an easy life, but it's not a bad one by any means. You get a decent paycheck plus quite a few benefits beyond just healthcare to make up for the sacrifice. People acting like service members should be treated as Godly heroes is silly, if you pay your taxes you've done you service in return for theirs. You may choose to do more, but belittling others for choosing otherwise is ridiculous.
 

OZWIN

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May 14, 2012
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I don't hate the army at all although I feel most people that join the army just do it as a last resort. Not saying everyone in the army had a bad life or no family, but a lot of people that join feel it is an escape from life.

Nonetheless we need an army and I feel anyone who has fought to protect our country is worth a lot, after all someone has to do it.
 

Nghtgnt

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May 30, 2010
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The problem is twofold:

1. A number of people are not terribly well informed regarding foreign policy (both of your nation and that of others) and don't have a good grasp of how the international community operates. I won't go into details here, because the subject is so deep there are 4-year degrees in this kind of stuff.

2. As previously mentioned very few people even know someone in the military. As an example (using some broad numbers), the U.S. has a population of approximately 350 million, with 2.3 million serving in the military (active and reserve), meaning 0.6% of the population (wow... talk about "the other 1%" :p). Additionally military personnel tend to be clustered in certain areas, with a support system that decreases the need to interact with civilians outside that. The civilian and military populations have become disconnected and unable to understand each other, which leads to the civilian extremes of either hate or idolization, and for the military to become increasingly insular, bitter, and in the worst cases, self-entitled.

Of course, in nations with mandatory service (such as Israel) or constant security issues, I assume the case is very different.

Until I figure out how to embed video, here's an amusing link: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-march-10-2008/marines-in-berkeley?xrs=share_copy
 

Samurai Silhouette

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Nov 16, 2009
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aba1 said:
Wolverine18 said:
Generally I think such idiots speak from ignorance and sterotypes.

aba1 said:
Realistically you shouldn't need a army to begin with.
You really believe that? LMAO.
Sure I mean what is your country doing that makes people hate you so much they actively want to kill you?

I mean sure I can see defense but a huge army set in place for invasion is hardly defensive.
Reality check, we don't live in a perfect world. People are going to hate you and want to kill you for what other people do that lives in the same country as you or even just for what you look like. I can guarantee that someone secretly wants to punch you in the throat just for what you said in this topic.
 

sabercrusader

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Mortai Gravesend said:
sabercrusader said:
Now, I know this doesn't mean a whole lot, but I've been in an Army JROTC program for the last three years. My 1SGT served in Vietnam, and has given us vivid details about how he was treated, then I compare it to how they're treated today. Overall, soldiers today are treated so much better (in America) than they were in Vietnam. They can still be treated horribly though,and I don't know why. I'm not sure that they understand that the only reason they can speak out like that and voice their opinions are because we have soldiers fighting and dying for us to do so.

The military should really get more respect than they do. So should the police force and firefighters. They are all putting their lives on the line so we can live our lives as peacefully as possible.
Lol? Soldiers fighting and dying somehow let us speak out and voice our opinions? Well gee, do tell me who they're killing and being killed by that's ready to come over to America and stop me from talking. Pretty sure they don't need to be fighting and dying to protect the country right now, they'd probably do better just sitting back here at home. They're not putting their lives on the line so we can live our lives in peace, they're doing it because they're told to and what they're doing has jack shit to do with whether I live my life in peace or not. All I need them for is a deterrent and they would do that job fine if they were safe sitting here back in America.

Yes, soldiers are the reason you can voice your opinion. If there are no soldiers, we are left undefended, meaning that any country with a decent sized army, whether they're skilled or not, can take over and take away your freedom. No matter how you look at it, soldiers are the reason you can voice your opinion with no fear at this moment. They may not be fighting anyone right now who's threatening to take away your freedom, but they sure as hell did back in the American Revolution, War of 1812, WW2, and were the deterrent back in the Cold War. Think about it, they may not be currently defending your freedom, but past soldiers are the reason you can do this now, and in the future, soldiers will be there to defend it when it must be defended.


For a country that would be long gone by now without them, we sure don't always give soldiers the respect they deserve.
 

Davroth

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Apr 27, 2011
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I think many nations have a completely overinflated military budget, and they would be better served cutting down on that then on other things.

But I suppose people believe that the Koreans just parachute in if they cut their military down at all.

Looking at it historically, a standing army of the size of the US is an economical disaster unless you are able to make a profit from pillaging with that very army. That's how it's always been.

I mean think about it, if there isn't a war, how productive is a soldier to society? He sure as all hell costs a lot of money. Muscular men aren't exactly cheap on the upkeep. Not to mention all that high tech military equipment that needs constant attention.

I think the kind of military we have today is a relict of the past, but as long as it's this kind of shared delusion of all nations, I guess we all need one, don't we?
 

Mycroft Holmes

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Sep 26, 2011
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DkLnBr said:
Because we have the freedom to. Ironic isnt it?
No, Ironic would be hating freedom because we have the freedom to hate freedom. Hating the military because we have freedom is not ironic at all.

Yopaz said:
If you think war is necessary to stop evil sometimes, then I really don't see how you can be a pacifist. Why would you think something is important and good, and be unwilling to participate in it? If you don't believe in unprovoked offensive wars, that's fine. It's a view I held for most of my life, and it's the view most of my family still holds. But it's not pacifism at all.

Edit: And in case you want to reanalyze your belief in pacifism, because you find yourself believing too heavily that dictators need to be met with force. Just know that well trained French pacifists halted German forces in the town of Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon, saved thousands of Jews and forced a German colonel to refuse an order to burn the village to the ground and kill everyone in it. In the heart of Berlin during the height of the war, nonviolent protest saved the lives of hundreds of Jews. Despite being facing down heavily armed SS soldiers with mechanized guns.
 

CrazyMedic

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Jun 1, 2010
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aba1 said:
sextus the crazy said:
aba1 said:
Realistically you shouldn't need a army to begin with.

First of all, we need an army for self defense.
But that is just it you shouldn't need a big defense because you shouldn't be out making a ass of yourself coercing others into wanting to attack you to begin with. There is also a difference between defensive military and offensive military as well. If your military is really meant for defense it should be almost solely homeland security.

I mean I get having some security and defense but there is a point in which it is just dragging down the country and holding you back from achieve economic success in a stable environment.
one thing you seem to be forgetting is while I agree our military is a massive tax sink, we do kind of need if the US wants to mantain its superiority, and you don't just need a defensive army, you need an offensive because diplomacy doesn't work because countries want to work together it works because the other guy has guns and you don't want to piss him off, it is incredibly naive to think that the US only need a defensive army, I mean do you expect other countries to treat us nice just because they are nice people
 

flames09

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Nov 26, 2011
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"We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
- G Orwell

I think this sums it up pretty well. The world is a harsh and dangerous place, we need those people who are willing to give up their time and lives for us to go about what we do.

The spending, though I admit it is pretty astronomically high and should be at least half, is required due the the huge amount of threats your country (I am from New Zealand) faces and the many enemies that it has built up (admittedly through the use of that military).

The technology being used is increasingly costly due to it's developmental nature, more so now than ever combat is revolving around information! Drones, hacking and electronic warfare is sophisticated and will continue to grow so much money will need to be spent to keep up with this.

Highly unlikely, but still possible, is the threat of war with the PRC, DPRK or Iran. These are potential military threats that will take much firepower and resources to combat, with the U.S still taking it's roll of the 'world police' I cannot see any time soon a disarmament of you're forces.


Since 1945 the United States of America has been in constant conflict with multiple nations, from the Cold War when the threat of the Soviet Block and the Socialist Asian countries taking hostile action, hot zones in the Middle East, Africa and South America.
<->
The pace of combat is at an all mighty pace, the military build up that has been rolling on for almost 65 years is one that cannot simply be stopped at a whim! It will take at least another 40-50 years to scale down the size of your armed forces, their support services such as catering and maintenance; removal of service personal, weapons, armor, aircraft, naval fleets and the numerous military bases located overseas.


Even if you're nation decides to downgrade it's military it will not be on a large scale, the bases featured over the earth are there for a reason! Most are close to strategic economic points such as oil pipelines and refineries, strategic posts such as the panama canal, DMZ between the ROK and DPRK and zones that resupply its carrier task force (which will if anything be boosted to combat the Chinese building up their fleet).

after writing all of that I realized I am defending the armies need to exist, not that hate towards it (sorry)p :)

Summary:

There are to many threats in the world that face America to just scale back the military spending, you have been on a spending roll against there threats since 1941 and it will take a while to stop. As long as you enforce you're roll as the 'world police' you will have to keep a large force otherwise you will not be taken seriously and China will just push you over.

(tl; dr):

To many haterz against you, need d-fence, spending for ages cannot stop on a dime, do not want to let China and other countries 2 be the world police.

Alan S.