well I see common misconceptions (and truths too!) here: nobody is in the military is "indoctrinated" into thinking liberal = bad. There is zero partisan political indoctrination in the Air Force or Army - I can't speak for the other branches. There is indoctrination but it's to make members believe that they are part of the greatest military on the planet. But if you don't have that mindset it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy and you won't be the greatest and that would be catastrophic. There's no place for political discussion.* Granted off-duty of course you can socialize and associate with anyone you want to, and human nature being what it is people tend to socialize with people they feel the most familiar with - no surprises there. Jenee is right there are many libs (and conservatives) and totally apolitical members too. The U.S. military is one of the most diverse on the planet. I've worked & trained with foreign military groups - not much of a melting pot to say the least. But this makes sense - the U.S. is a melting pot so our military should be too. Granted it didn't used to be - so maybe that's where the stereotype of "white & conservative & male" got perpetuated. As for myself I am lean conservative (no shit!) but I am not southern nor from the rural midwest. I lived in the rural midwest for a few years but was born & raised near Chicago. Nothing in my life has ever revolved around the church - I have no use for religion but I respect your right to follow them. * there is indoctrination of sorts that you could consider "political" and it would be left wing bias versus right wing, if you had to categorize it. Yes, you heard me correctly! And that of course is the "equal opportunity/ethnic diversity/racial appreciation/consideration of others" mandatory fun that generally descends into "why whites should feel guilty" classes once open discussion starts. After a while (as a white) you learn to keep your mouth shut because those discussions are far from "open" and you know who the army is going to side with - that's just "political correctness" so you can't fight city hall if you value your career. That's just the way it is - you go along to get along.
The proof that the constitution can be wrong is that it is sometimes modified. In the context in which it was written, I can see why they thought it necessary to guarantee the right to bear arms. But I'm sure the framers never ever, in their worst nightmares, imagained that it would come to the point where mass shootings are so common they don't even always make the news. If they had, they certainly would have gone about the issue in a very different way.
I was speaking more about your social circle than you specifically. This is BS. and it's not just in the military. It's an argument made here on this board as well as any other place. There are more people crying "I shouldn't have to feel guilty cuz I'm white" than there are people crying "white people should feel guilty". If you speak up, and your opinion is countered, even if its countered by everyone else in the room, that isn't an attempt to silence you, its everyone else expressing their opinion of your opinion. You are entitled to your opinion. You are not entitled to state your opinion and everyone must agree with it.
Authoritarians never like when anyone but themselves have the means (weapons) to force people to obey their will. Yet you accuse me of being authoritarian. Hmm.
Just because they don't like it, doesn't mean they will enforce it. Authoritarians want to impose their will on others. This is exactly what the American Right wing party is attempting to do. Please provide an example of when conservatives attempted to compromise with liberals.
You have that completely backwards. Conservatives aren't out in the streets in masks, shouting down the opposition, hitting people they disagree with, and throwing drinks on people they disagree with.
Thanks Marso for adequately expressing what sensible human beings feel when they see your ilk out and about with AR-15s making like they have it hard.
There is this oldfella that says reasonable stuff, and then we get the other oldfella who says racist and untrue things. There is a reason some of us are frustrated with you. But I imagine there are people frustrated with me so do what you do. You might want to check yourself a little deeper on the right wing imaginary universe.
you are pro gun? Aren't you always going on about "guntards" and how they need guns to make up for their small penises and so forth? Yeah, I'm petty sure you do that a lot!
Good point! And I'm not saying it didn't happen (I was just a kid so Nam to me was just some war they showed on the news) but I swear if I hear one more Nam vet talk about getting off the airplane and getting spit on..... Damn every airport must have had mop buckets and "wet floor" signs at the ready at all times!
Yes, that is true. I also think a lot of gun owners are scared little wussies who need a safety blanket. AKA @Forbin . What is your point?
My point is you consistently claim guntards are cowardly - that doesn't sound very pro-gun to me. I honestly can't remember you ever having anything good to say about gun owners.
Jenee is a pseudo-intellectual who can't count to twenty without taking off her shoes. Don't waste too many brain cells on the apparent conundrums.
Yes, guntards are cowardly. That does not mean we can't have good gun regulations. You can go sleep with the fucking thing, but I want to have regulations to protect everyone else.
we have plenty of regulations concerning guns. But like with any set of regulations some people don't like to follow those regulations! IMHO the biggest problem is 50 sets of rules plus the federal rules. Oh wait let's throw county and city rules in the mix too!
Have guns prevented the police in your country becoming aggressive, authoritarian and violent to the point of murdering people in broad daylight? Or did those guns just prompt the police to be better armed themselves? It's worth reiterating this point to the point of labouring it - no other western nation has anything like the level of murders, police brutality and racial divisions you do despite being unarmed. Where does that leave your belief that guns prevent authoritarian governments and agencies? People have fought back against years of living in fear of being murdered by the police with virtual impunity, but all you see is property damage and public disorder to be squashed. I don't imagine many are in favour of looting and vandalism but those are inevitable counterparts to any acts of public uprising. Your own revolution looked much the same with mobs in the streets, shops, businesses and government buildings looted and burnt. That is seen by history as unfortunate but an acceptable evil given what it led to. Why celebrate their fight for freedom but be so willing to condemn their modern day counterparts?
spot you do realize that the odds (that means "chances" if you aren't a betting man) of getting murdered by a cop are much much much less than getting murdered by someone you know? You can google the actual FBI crime statistics (or any crime/murder statistics) on that. Are there bad cops? Yes there are! And did you know that doctors have murdered patients? Should people be scared shitless of going to the doctor now? I bet if the media focused on the rare murdering doctors people would be scared. Side note George Floyd wasn't killed by a gun. He was killed by a cop's knee on his neck. I don't run the U.S. but if I did we'd have no white male cops, and the cops would be unarmed. You would have a tremendously epic orgasm and zero citizens would be shot by a white male cop - everybody wins! That said all the currently armed criminals in the U.S. would trip over themselves trying to get to the nearest "gun buyback" center so that might be a safety hazard, but other than that I don't see any problems with my idea! Who's with me on this?
None of which has anything to do with what I posted. Let me say it again so you can actually address the point: Lots of unarmed societies - comparatively low murder rates, less police brutality One great big armed society - very high murder rate, more police brutality. It's also a pattern which extends out of the so called "first world". I know it's a bit abstract but where in there did I say anything about the odds of being shot, being killed by police v family members or (for good measure) Joe Biden?