As a former southerner who grew up around a lot of that "be a man" bullshit, I think that's a particularly cheap shot for any adult to go pulling on a kid.
They keep trying to call my brother (who is just turning 17)... It makes me scared and angry, but luckily my kid brother is a veggie peacenik and a cheerful founding member of his school's Gay Straight Alliance.
I hope it's realize that this sort of thing is the action of individuals, and certainly not anything like what happens to most people. Sure, I got (and still get) calls from recruiters every few months, but no more than I get phone company calls too.
Making sweeping generalizations about any organization based on the poor behavior of one or two people is a pretty bad thing, especially when no one seems to bother to follow on finding out what the consequences were.
It's not a completely isolated incident, though. I mean...there are a lot of stories floating around about really aggressive military recruiters who won't take no for an answer, because they're expected to fill quotas and desire to enlist is pretty low right now.
Although this story is the single worst I've heard yet, and I hope there are consequences.
My experiences were slightly similar yet very different. When I was a young'un all highschool students took the Armed Forces Whateveritscalledtest. I aced the thing (on average only one person aced the test in the country every three years) and subsequently got TONS of phonecalls and had recruiters showing up at school to pull me out of class to talk to me.
However, I weighed 425 pounds at the time. The typical response was for them to salivate right up until they saw me, at which point they'd just say "nevermind" and leave.
I've got a lot of respect for the folks that serve in our armed forces, but my experience has been that the recruiters are a bunch of total assholes.
Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB. Which sounds like "Ass Fab", but that's another Don't Ask, Don't Tell Production.
When I was in high school -- back before the earth cooled, as I tell my student-clients -- they told us to be very clear if a recruiter called us. Do NOT tell them you're interested if you're not.
Now it seems they're not even taking "Go the fuck away" for an answer.
Are there any other reports about this case? I ask because on at least one forum I'm on it's been dismissed as an exaggeration by the librhul meeja.....(Seattle? well of course.....)
Why can't this stuff find its way to the TV where the moronic majority can see what their tax dollars are funding?
When I graduated from highshcool, I always told them outright that I was not interested, I was going to collage. The funny thing is when I changed my major from engineering to theater, the call where I said "I'm majoring in theater" was the last call I got.
I took the ASVAB because I like to take those sorts of tests. I scored extremely high and I had two uncles who were nuclear techs and my grandpa was a radar tech.
Needless to say they were very interested in me...until...
I told them I was transgender. It worked wonders! Not another phone call, from any divisions, despite the fact I only told one this.
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Still, I worry.
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Making sweeping generalizations about any organization based on the poor behavior of one or two people is a pretty bad thing, especially when no one seems to bother to follow on finding out what the consequences were.
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Although this story is the single worst I've heard yet, and I hope there are consequences.
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When I see those responsible for this held accountable for their actions by their superiors, then I'll believe it's not official policy.
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There have unfortunately been a few similar incidents for army as well in Florida and other states.
Military recruiters have frequently been weasels, but it's gotten way out of hand.
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However, I weighed 425 pounds at the time. The typical response was for them to salivate right up until they saw me, at which point they'd just say "nevermind" and leave.
I've got a lot of respect for the folks that serve in our armed forces, but my experience has been that the recruiters are a bunch of total assholes.
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When I was in high school -- back before the earth cooled, as I tell my student-clients -- they told us to be very clear if a recruiter called us. Do NOT tell them you're interested if you're not.
Now it seems they're not even taking "Go the fuck away" for an answer.
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Why can't this stuff find its way to the TV where the moronic majority can see what their tax dollars are funding?
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(Anonymous) 2005-06-09 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)Looks like 1812 all over again.
Sirius
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Needless to say they were very interested in me...until...
I told them I was transgender. It worked wonders! Not another phone call, from any divisions, despite the fact I only told one this.