The military is after me

The Army called my house 5 times today and the Navy called twice. The wont stop til i bacome one. luckily i got 2 Aces in the hole. first i have osteoperosis, which makes me inelligable. and secondly, and anyone but a marryied man can say this, but im gay. Actually being gay has paid off if there is a draft.

 

dang son they sure do want you, especially the army. I'd just laugh, say "fuck off" then hang up the navy wouldn't be nearly as bad as the army, but I wouldn't be too jazzed about being in a little boat in the middle of a very large ocean.

 

Woah. That would really suck. Being from Canada and all, I am finding that really weird. I have been asked by the army once in my entire life to join and that was because they were running a little promoshow and I asked to use their bathroom. And further more Jeez your only 17 and they're actually phoning you up? Creepy.

 

Well, here in the US theres a shortage of new military members. Pretty soon they'll need the draft. I just hope I can get out by saying I'm a Lesbian (though I'm really bi with somewhat of a prefrence for women). If there is a draft I'm sure a lotta people will start to fake being gay/les, as well as a lot of closeted gays and lesbians will come out to dodge it. Military recrutiers scare me... they really do... thats why I wear my "Make Love, Not War" pin all the time. I show it to that, and tell thier war-monger asses off, and walk off.

 

MSman,

Don't take it too personally. They seem to be after everybody your age.

 

Oh no, you're at the ripe age! When I was your age they bugged the hell out of me too, Ofering me a better future for "free". Once you get a little older they'll leave you alone, or you could do like I did and get a criminal record. That keeps them away! Good luck...
Ciao

 

There's a military shortage in Canada too but for whatever reason they don't do anything about. I know people in the military and they are always complaining about not having enough people to get things done.

But then again maybe the government has just given up altogether considering the Canadian military doesn't even know how to deal with cold weather.

Oh and I heard that one of the reasons they bug younger people to join is because they offer "free" education or career opportunities.

 

democracy now (http://www.democracynow.org/) is reporting today that the pentagon is using a private company to create this humungous database of 16 and 17 year olds containing all their personal details for recruitment purposes. in america it's apparently illegal 4 the government to do this so they sub-contract the job out to a private company. it's very bloody scary you know. america has become a quasi- fascist military state very quickly. and the scary thing is most americans don't seem to realise or care (present company excepted).

 

I am in the same boat as you DreamerSpirit. If it ever comes to a draft maybe I will join up but get caught making out with another girl in the barracks.

 

The U.S. military is going after everybody who's approaching 18; there have even been complaints about over-aggressive recruiting tactics, including at least one semi-major scandal recently. It's only a matter of time before the draft is resumed; Bush doesn't seem to give a fuck about public opinion nowadays, and as a second-term president he is basically a lame-duck politician anyway, since he can't be elected to a third term (thank god!)

I got lucky with Vietnam; it was the tail end of that war, and the draft was being shut down when I turned 18. But then, I would have been 4F'ed anyway, both for being gay and for my allergies. But I'm quite aware that they're getting desperate for warm bodies to send to Iraq, and I'm not even sure that being gay will get you out this time around. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to take you for as long as they can, then kick you out just before the end of your service so they don't have to pay you veterans benefits. Not that those benefits are all that great anymore...

 

yea i turn 18 in 2 months so they seem to want all 18 year olds in Iraq. Even if they accept gays, im still out of the draft (yea me and u got it good shevek), as for the rest u, say hi to Saddam for me.

 

I found out that there is (supposedly) a way to get the recruiters off your back, but you need your parents' help. They can request that you not be contacted. It's called an opt-out list, and it's sort of like the list used to say that you don't want telemarketers calling you. I don't have specifics on this, and I'm not sure just how effective it is, but it may be worth a shot.

I don't think that merely telling the recruiters that you don't want to go, or even that you're gay, will get them off your back. In the semi-major scandal to which I referred in my last post, recruiters were coaching kids on how to cheat on drug tests and school transcripts. Apparently they're getting paid a bounty for each recruit, and the military started getting upset when they found out that druggies were getting sent to them.

Of course, things are really going to get scary once the draft gets revived, and just about everyone is privately admitting that this will happen and probably soon. The administrative machinery is already in place and ready to go! If this happens, it may take a revival of the 60s protests to get the government's attention. By the way, you can probably forget about going to Canada to avoid the draft, they now have a treaty to send you right back. Anyway, it's soon going to get a lot harder to freely cross even that border. Let's hope that getting 4F'ed as gay will continue to work for a while, though I doubt that it will work for long once the government gets wise to it.

The one sign of hope: the polls are saying that the majority of Americans think that we need to start getting out of Iraq, and soon. There are just too many of us around who remember the Vietnam debacle. Bush may be able to get away with ignoring the polls, but Congress, which must get re-elected, is getting nervous. Even some Republicans are now calling for an explicit exit strategy with a timetable. The main thing holding up the draft right now is that it would be political suicide for many members of Congress to allow it to go forward, even if Bush tries to bypass Congress with an executive order.

 

"IF" bush tries to push the draft, there would be a major anti-republician backlash and they would be booted out of office faster than you can say 4F.. which wouldn't be all that bad. bush is pig headed and he will stay the course in Iraq despite the death count of American soldiers {I guess dead Iraqi's don't matter:-( } like today, 3 female GI's were killed, but that won't change bush's attitude about staying why ...

bush has only one thing on his mind ... his presidential legacy. he stubbornly believes that forcing Iraq to become "democratic" will cause a domino effect throughout the region and he will be remembered for bringing democracy to states that have never known it and freedom to a people that have never ever felt it.

 

1) I'd be more concerned bout the Senate and House putting up the draft again more than i would Bush.
2) There is no way Bush will get kicked out of office for putting in a draft. No way in hell.
3) As far as casualties go, this war is going better than immagined (well.... that good if they were planning on staying here that long). its the 2nd least amount of casualties in a US war ever (next to Gulf War I). But this is nothing compared to the Civil War. over 30 million died, which is almost equivalent to a 9/11 attack happening every day in the civil war.
4) and yes all Bush is now concerned about is his legacy.

 

guess what? over 100,000 iraqis are dead now (according to the conservative estimates of the red cross) and most of these are children under 15: all dead since March 2003 because america illegally invaded their country so they (the us) could control the oil flow and guarantee israel a more secure position geo-politically. that's over fifty thousand non-combatant children that the american armed forces has willfully murdered since the beginning of the illegal american invasion. everyone but the american public knows this to be the truth. when u complain about the dead american soldiers, please consider the hundred thousand others who are also dead. i am sorry for the amereican soldiers but i am even sorrier for the innocent iraqis. and every time an aemrican goes on about how many dead US soldiers there are and neglects to mention that 100,000 other people are also dead because of the illegal american invasion of iraq it makes non-american readers, myself included, pissed off with u because in effect what u r saying is that american lives are far more imortant than anybody else's lives, and that's just racist and dumb. in america (home of the brave land of the free) their mass media brainwashes the people 24/7 with pentagon propaganda, to such an extent that most americans have no idea what's really happening in iraq or anywhere else for that matter. for an american to find out what is really happening and to understand the appalling crimes and catastrophes that the american government is committing worlwide in their name it does mean he or she will have to wake up from their Fox TV patriotic wet dream, get up, turn off the tv and go to the internet:
here www.democracynow.org (for a left of centre view of things)
or here www.antiwar.com (for a right wing view of things)
or here www.juancole.com (for an informed and neutral view of things). and read. yes, read. and find out for him or herself what is actually going on. otherwise everything said here by uninformed contributors is a lazy wank.

 

when I refered to getting booted out of office, I meant the 06 election and the presidential in 08.

bush would be the one to bring up the draft, via his cabinet, and then present it to congress/the senate.

the war is not exactly going as immagined .. the architects of the war thought we would be out of there in as little as 6 months, a year at most.

actually the "war" itself presented very few casualties, it is the occupation that is bringing the death count, both American and Iraqi.

@james .. if you look at my post you'll notice that I wrote "{I guess dead Iraqi's don't matter:-( }" this is to reflect how our media only focus on the US casualties. it really pains me to see kids lying on stretchers with broken bodies or see a greiving parent beside themselves over the death of their child.

 

MSman, I hope you don't mind that I post a reply to your thread. I have the rare viewpoint of an American Gay man, who just retired from the military after over 20 years of service.

I totally understand you reluctant attitude toward the draft. I think I would have the exact same feelings as you, if I were in your shoes.

To provide an answer, I think some background info on me is in order.

I was a 19 yo kid, homeless, and without family support. I spent several months living in my car or sleeping at the beach, or camping in the woods and I basically was tired of it. (yes I had a job)

I joined the military to pull myself up.

I count the first 4 years in the military as possibly the BEST period of my life. I met people and made friends (many of whom, I remain in contact with via phone/email) to this day, some 20 years latter. I spent the first year in Colorado (Denver) and then was stationed at a major US base outside of London (in England!) I was then stationed in Idaho (near Boise)

At the end of the enlistment, (4 years) I decided to remain in the service. Mostly to finish school, and I really really enjoyed the state of Idaho (I know it's crazy, but I love the outdoors, and I fished, hiked and camped (with a tight group of friends) almost every weekend.

I stayed in. I never really disliked the order and discipline, or the haircut, or clothes. It suited me.

BUT...

being GAY in the military was tough.

Heck, being gay is tough sometimes.

But I somehow endured and my life has been full.

The draft will not come back. I assure you. Never, never

However, if I could go back in time and give myself advice, I would have got out after 4 years.

Gay American men and women can be; strong, patriot, freethinking, and a positive influence in the course and direction of the American military.

Let’s not forget our history....

WWII was the turning point for homosexuals in our country.
This was the time, when millions of young men from small towns all around the country were forced together, and THAT is how "little gay jonnie from Nebraska found out that there were other men, (probably from the bigger cities) were "doing it" with each other. (Remember--there was no TV, magazine, or porn. Radio was family oriented. The concept of gayness was unclear. In the US, being GAY was illegal and punishable by jail time)

There were about 6 "gay" bars in the entire country.

But somehow, Homosexuals gathered the courage and strength to stand up for themselves. (Stonewall Inn in NYC for example)

anyways, to make a long (sorry bout that) story short...

when a recruiter calls...

ASK THEM QUESTIONs.

1. What are the promotion opportunities for GAY people in that branch of service?.

2. How are gay people treated differently in the military?

3. What are the long term advantages of a gay people in the service?

4. How are gay people housed (dorm/barracks)?

5. Can the military provide equal opportunities for gay people?

that should keep the evil recruiters off your back. Using you "gayness" to stay out of the military is NOTHING to be ashamed of. ALL branches of the military KICK OUT thousands of gay men and women every year. Use it to your advantage.


I believe we made a tremendous service to the people of Afghanistan.

Iraq is a totally different story. we should pull the fuck out today. That is how the Iraqi people have lived for 2000 years. Who are we to change it?


take care
Boon

 

hey Boon ... the vark ?

 

hey TX

yup!! it's a small world after all, huh?

 

dear txbarefooter: yes, i know what u said in your posting. that's why i gave u a figure of 100,000 dead iraqis in mine (a figure that all informed commentators think is a gross underestimate). to know what's really happening in iraq, as opposed to being sucked into the gobrot network and cable tv fed the public, as i mentioned, there are alot of good sites on the net devoted to the truth. many people (if not most) outside america think that it doesn't matter who the president is, a republican or a democrat, the war in iraq will continue for the forseeable future because the oil supplies are not guaranteed for one thing, and israel will not be content until syria and iran are also invaded and on their knees. this must be the first time in history that a large imperial power (america) has conducted a war for the benefit of a much smaller and weaker country (israel): it's usually, of course, the other way around. this is the real reason so many innocent people are now dead, and many hundreds of thousands are injured and homeless. it is also the real reason why american soldiers are dying there too. the american public were lied to about the vietnam and they are being lied to about iraq. the onus is then on the american people to rouse from their state of hypnosis, discover what the fuck is really happening and tell their government 'no more!'