Veterans Asshattery

[Draconic Aiur]

When veterans parade their time fighting for their country and trample on ordinary citizens when the citizens are trying to change the government without use of weapons or violence. When a citizen didn't ask for a veteran to go to the middle east and kill people just so they come back and bully you into thinking you shouldn't have rights because you didn't join the military because you don't want to hurt anyone. For a person to dislike current America only to be screamed at by a veteran that said "my brothers died for you" so you shouldn't question America. For a pacifist or someone that really doesn't want to hut another will get punched by a veteran, because said veteran has a ignorant hate towards said pacifism. So on Veterans Day you look at a veteran with disgust, so when you find that the public say support our troops like Uncle Sam in the Vietnam war, you want to throw up. When you find veterans who are a okay complaining about using your tax dollars and it isn't enough, you have anger issues.

When a Society parades a group of ex soldiers as heroes and says they can have everything and they trample on ordinary citizens doesn't that piss you off? Tis a feeling I can't let go, when I ask for none of this crap, and yet i'm treated as a second class citizens because I'm not a veteran, or a person that likes to use weapons that symbolize war and destruction and parade it around and beat people physically or mentally if not for such weapons or ideas.

This is my piece on such an issue.

[stromboli]

Considering the fact that there are several veterans on the forum that don't do, as far as I know, any of what you are talking about,
I would have to say you are painting a segment of society in a broad stereotype that is not necessarily accurate. Many of the people like Oathkeepers are not veterans but rednecks who see themselves as patriots. Likewise if you look at the KKK or any other racist/homophobic group, you will find veterans among them, certainly. But that doesn't single them out as a group of haters by themselves.

Whatever. Rant away. I'm a veteran who supports your right of free speech.

[Shiranu]

As a practical pacifist & someone highly against the war culture of America... no I cant say I share your feelings. Of course I grew up in a military household and have spent probably a third or more of my life on military bases so I am a bit biased but still. The veterans who do the shit you say? Yeah... fuck them. But just like I don't hate all white people for propping up a society of violence and oppression towards minorities I don't hate all veterans just because even a fair amount of them are bad seeds.

[TomFoolery]

When veterans parade their time fighting for their country and trample on ordinary citizens when the citizens are trying to change the government without use of weapons or violence.

That's the best way to change government.

For a person to dislike current America only to be screamed at by a veteran that said "my brothers died for you" so you shouldn't question America.

No, they didn't die for you. It is a hard question a lot of veterans face though, especially in light of how things are going in Iraq. Why did we spend nearly a decade there, only to have it all seem like it was for nothing? The best I can manage is, they died for each other, but their deaths were largely in vain. That's hard for people to hear though, and it's hard for me to process.

When a Society parades a group of ex soldiers as heroes and says they can have everything and they trample on ordinary citizens doesn't that piss you off?

I blame society for this a little bit too, because we like veterans tributes at football games and putting little yellow ribbons on our cars. We teach kids that they should be thankful for the sacrifices of our "heroes" without teaching them what they're sacrificing or why. Society as a whole seems to want to put veterans up on a pedestal, and many veterans have found that they're comfortable there.

Tis a feeling I can't let go, when I ask for none of this crap, and yet i'm treated as a second class citizens because I'm not a veteran, or a person that likes to use weapons that symbolize war and destruction and parade it around and beat people physically or mentally if not for such weapons or ideas.

There are many veterans that have a sense of entitlement, but I don't think it's any different than the entitlement displayed by other groups. It just has different criteria. It's sad that many veterans consider themselves above civilians  and pretend like civilians don't know what hardship or stress is. Many veterans do act like they have the market cornered on things like heroism, patriotism, and sacrifice when there are dozens of jobs that are just as stressful, even more deadly, far less sexy, and just as important to upholding the American way of life. Some jobs that come to mind are truck drivers, commercial fishermen, loggers, and construction workers.

As a veteran myself, I feel awkward when someone thanks me for my service (I volunteered and got paid well both monetarily and benefits-wise to serve) or for fighting for our freedom (I didn't: I have no idea why I went to Afghanistan when I look at the big picture but anyone with an ounce of logic would know it had nothing to do with upholding the American way of life).

[stromboli]

My son never viewed it as anything but a job, and was injured and damaged enough to affect the rest of his life, including bouts of PTSD and a few surgeries. He has had to fight for VA benefits and medical retirement money they owe him as determined by the people that won't pay him.

The world is full of assholes. Unfortunately quite a few of them are veterans.

[Draconic Aiur]

Reason being I grew up with veterans in family and friends but they tend to hurt my feelings a bit and living in texas doesn't help.

p.s. I know not all veterans are like this and I do think greatly of veterans who didn't just do it for the money and the after effects but to try to help people and protect the country. I think that's great. However to come back and bully others is not so great.

I know I'm gonna get hated and disliked for this topic more than the other topics.

[Draconic Aiur]

I'm a veteran who supports your right of free speech.

Never got that. You don't. The constitution supports my right of speech, but if your gonna say as a veteran "I fought for you rights" I could say as a citizen "I payed for the tools, food and medical with my taxes to have you fight". Of course many people will say I'm a horrible person for saying that to a vet, but if I don't post the issue who will and who will stand up for those that get bullied by vets.

[Shiranu]

Never got that. You don't. The constitution supports my right of speech, but if your gonna say as a veteran "I fought for you rights" I could say as a citizen "I payed for the tools, food and medical with my taxes to have you fight". Of course many people will say I'm a horrible person for saying that to a vet, but if I don't post the issue who will and who will stand up for those that get bullied by vets.

That is all irrelevant. He never said "I gave you the right to free speech"... he merely responded to your implications that veterans would be against it by saying he is a veteran who isn't.

I'm curious as to what veterans you hang out with... because here in San Antonio (one of the largest military cities with the largest military hospital in the States) that has never been an issue... nor was it when I went to fort Bliss in El Paso (largest army base).

[Draconic Aiur]

That is all irrelevant. He never said "I gave you the right to free speech"... he merely responded to your implications that veterans would be against it by saying he is a veteran who isn't.

I'm curious as to what veterans you hang out with... because here in San Antonio (one of the largest military cities with the largest military hospital in the States) that has never been an issue... nor was it when I went to fort Bliss in El Paso (largest army base).

he never said but he implemented it and is enforced by society norms

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I did twenty years in the USN. I'll let that speak for me.

[TomFoolery]

p.s. I know not all veterans are like this and I do think greatly of veterans who didn't just do it for the money and the after effects but to try to help people and protect the country. I think that's great. However to come back and bully others is not so great.

I wouldn't say I see a lot of flat out bullying, but I often encounter a profound sense of smugness among veterans. In the last 24 hours, friends on my Facebook have posted the following memes:


Yes, let's make fun of broke students for their "sense of entitlement" over wanting to be able to pay off student loans before they reach the age of 130 (unlike many other students in Western countries) by reminding them that we signed a contract agreeing to die if necessary to go to college. No matter who you are, the military is an extreme price to pay to get an education. Why not agree that college should be more affordable, not argue that it should remain out of reach for anyone that doesn't serve in the military?


Apparently the only way to be brave is to be a soldier. Fuck you Caitlyn Jenner: it doesn't take bravery to stand up and be who you are despite knowing the overwhelming amount of ridicule coming your way. Also, fuck all other people who stand up to bullies, kids with cancer, domestic violence survivors, first responders, good Samaritans, and anyone else who has dared to allow themselves to be called "brave." Sorry, that word is reserved only for soldiers.


So wait, you're saying fuck those burger flippers working in entry level jobs without an education demanding the right to work for a living wage? You know what else is an entry-level job that also requires no training of its new hires? The military. Besides, when you account for the full medical benefits for you and your family, housing allowance, COLA (for high cost of living areas), food allowance, education benefits from both the GI Bill and tuition assistance programs, and ability to earn a retirement pension after just 20 years (something virtually extinct in the American private sector), troops don't work for anything remotely close to minimum wage.

[Mike Cl]

he never said but he implemented it and is enforced by society norms

It would really be good if you could learn to communicate in English.  I don't know what that sentence means.

As in any section of society, no matter how you slice it, there are bullies.  I would think you would have more problems with bullies in the classroom than you would veteran bullies.  Bullies are everywhere, and I assume you feel about them as I do.  They need to be called on their horrid behavior each and every time they try to bully somebody. 

[Jack89]

@Draconic Aiur - It sounds to me like this might have stemmed from a particular incident.  Sure, there are some veterans out there who are assholes, but in my experience, most are pretty good guys who don't talk a lot of shit.  But if you get in their face and tell them that you're a pacifist, don't like America, and you think that soldiers just want to hunt down and kill people, you should probably expect some push-back. 

You might also want to consider that it's difficult for some veterans to transition back into civilian life.  Not an excuse, just a possible reason.  A soldier's mindset is quite a bit different than a civilians, and even more so when deployed. 

[Draconic Aiur]

@Draconic Aiur - It sounds to me like this might have stemmed from a particular incident.  Sure, there are some veterans out there who are assholes, but in my experience, most are pretty good guys who don't talk a lot of shit.  But if you get in their face and tell them that you're a pacifist, don't like America, and you think that soldiers just want to hunt down and kill people, you should probably expect some push-back. 

You might also want to consider that it's difficult for some veterans to transition back into civilian life.  Not an excuse, just a possible reason.  A soldier's mindset is quite a bit different than a civilians, and even more so when deployed. 

I don't get in their face, they get in mine and other people's. Also my Facebook news feed is flooded by all that shit.

Most of them are conservative and christian so ugggh

[AllPurposeAtheist]

There will always be people who think of themselves as more important than others and in no way do veterans have a monopoly on this.  Both of my grandfathers were veterans,  my father is, both of my brothers and one sister is and I'm a veteran. None of us have ever thought our veteran status entitles us to more than what the government promised.  Those who think they're special or heroes more deserving are just as full of shit as anyone else who thinks of themselves as special and entitled.  Sadly I've known plenty of veterans who never came close to anything you can consider as combat as the military has many different types of occupations from combat troops to electronic technicians to cooks to file clerks to mechanics. Many people in the military never leave the country. My brother spent 4 years guarding missiles in Great Falls Montana. He did basic in San Antonio then went directly to Montana for 4 years and the ONLY treat he ever faced were geese landing on the grounds. He was injured once playing softball though.
The point though is that he signed his name and for 6 years was at the beck and call of Uncle Sugar and could have at any time been sent to anywhere in the world to fight.
That's an obligation that should be honored and all to often is not and until just recently veteran status meant very little. Soldiers were fodder and tossed away once done.
Plenty of people make far to much about being a veteran. Some think merely being a veteran should entitle them to more, but the bottom line is that when your government asks you to be willing to sacrifice your life and you fulfill your obligation the government should be prepared to honor whatever promises they make when you enlist, no more, no less and nobody is entitled to be worshipped as a fucking hero.