Are soldiers just bullys?

[Fingy]

The other day my stepfather (who has never served in the military) asked me what kind of man would join the military. I said what popped into my head immediately "someone with balls". He told me that the kind of people who sign up are bullys who enjoy walking around with guns. I replied that those kind of people are generally weeded out(am I right about this?). He is also going to fill out a form that will divert the taxes he pays from going to the military and send them instead to "peace efforts"(he gets this idea from the quakers who gave him the form). He basiclly told me it is unethical to join the military. I would love it if any veterans or current millitary service men or women could comment.

[Thanatos]

You need to remember that soldiers are still people, and with that, you'll have good people and bad people in the organization.

No group is perfect, mate.

[Gromovnik]

The other day my stepfather (who has never served in the military) asked me what kind of man would join the military. I said what popped into my head immediately "someone with balls". He told me that the kind of people who sign up are bullys who enjoy walking around with guns. I replied that those kind of people are generally weeded out(am I right about this?). He is also going to fill out a form that will divert the taxes he pays from going to the military and send them instead to "peace efforts"(he gets this idea from the quakers who gave him the form). He basiclly told me it is unethical to join the military. I would love it if any veterans or current millitary service men or women could comment.

So basically, we should troll your stepdad? Sounds like fun!

[Aldgarkalaughskel]

Are soldiers just bullys?

Typically yes, but don't make hasty generalizations about anyone.

[Captain Jin]

Yeah, we're bullies. Tell him to shut up and quit whining before I come over and shut him up myself. Tell him I have a gun and have no morale qualms about putting lead to ass.
























Juuuuuust joshin'! He's entitled to his opinion, but he should realize it's incredibly silly to generalize an organization that in the US alone comes to about 3 million members, both active and reserve.

[Maverick]

Juuuuuust joshin'! He's entitled to his opinion, but he should realize it's incredibly silly to generalize an organization that in the US alone comes to about 3 million members, both active and reserve.

It's all about the chain of command.

Any one of those 3 million would have gladly submitted to a Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld gangbang (Dubyah just likes to watch) if the order was given, all for the collective good.

You see, the soldiers are not bullies, they are merely tools of the bullies and that separation is key. For example a soldier that lets Cheney penetrate him is not gay because he's following the chain of command. And Cheney's not gay either because he redefined gay.

The moral of the story is if you want to play sandbox don't be the retard risking your ass killing illiterate peasants half way around the world when you can just run for elected office and send some other poor bastard to do your bidding while you enjoy some forced sodomy on a young paige and a free 4 hour lunch (avec champagne) provided by the good people at Haliburton.

[Chaigidel]

if you are not a bully when you go in you are trained to become one


I knew a guy, one of my closest friends and he went to iraq, and he came back collecting the pictures of dead bodies from the crime scenes he investigated after the fact ( he was MP) --- he had 2 photo albums of mangled corpses and a shine entered his eye when he showed them to me, saying "I wasnt supposed to keep these"

He was a good man.

[Gromovnik]

if you are not a bully when you go in you are trained to become one


I knew a guy, one of my closest friends and he went to iraq, and he came back collecting the pictures of dead bodies from the crime scenes he investigated after the fact ( he was MP) --- he had 2 photo albums of mangled corpses and a shine entered his eye when he showed them to me, saying "I wasnt supposed to keep these"

He was a good man.

Well, everyone needs a hobby...

[Yorkshireman]

if you are not a bully when you go in you are trained to become one

I can't ever remember being trained to bully.

Though it might be said that in some nations where the armed forces are used as a tool of oppression, maybe in Saddams Iraq or North Korea etc then probably thats the case.

[Ciabhán]

if you are not a bully when you go in you are trained to become one


I knew a guy, one of my closest friends and he went to iraq, and he came back collecting the pictures of dead bodies from the crime scenes he investigated after the fact ( he was MP) --- he had 2 photo albums of mangled corpses and a shine entered his eye when he showed them to me, saying "I wasnt supposed to keep these"

He was a good man.

No one trains you to bully others in the military. They train you to stay alive and perform a task. Modern armies project power by their presense not by the trail of bodies they leave behind. Your post is the stereotypical view of a civilian that has never had to fear for his/her life on a daily basis and has no understanding of military matters or the psychology of war. As is the case with any large organisation there are good and bad people in the military. The fact that your friend wasn't supposed to keep/have those pictures means that his military command frowns on it. Therefore he was not trained to do that. Some people break mentally in war, your friend appears to be one of them. He needs help, support, and an environment devoid of people that would judge him. He still is a good man.

[Tiberius Tosi]

if you are not a bully when you go in you are trained to become one


I knew a guy, one of my closest friends and he went to iraq, and he came back collecting the pictures of dead bodies from the crime scenes he investigated after the fact ( he was MP) --- he had 2 photo albums of mangled corpses and a shine entered his eye when he showed them to me, saying "I wasnt supposed to keep these"

He was a good man.

This more than likely stems from his PTSD, not from him being turned into a bully by the military.

People handle it differently: for example my grandpa would puke every time he saw blood, his good friend shot himself from what he saw, many have nightmares, but others can come to like those sort of things.

[★Bandiera Rossa☭]

My aunt is in the navy and she doesn't seem to be a bully.. she is actually a rather sweet lady..

[Chaigidel]

do they or do they not train you to dominate the situation with violence?

how does the mantra go?

What makes the grass grow green Ciabhan? we both know the answer--- and if my military isnt training soldiers to be killers than I really dont know why we keep it around.


If you did not learn to be a bully then why are you still in the military? I think they would kick you out if you did not take to the necessary programming are we now going to deny that the military training is programming for killing? and killing without remorse upon command?( I tend to think of those who kill as supreme bullies, otherwise I dont think you would be very good at being a military)

[Ciabhán]

do they or do they not train you to dominate the situation with violence?

how does the mantra go?

What makes the grass grow green Ciabhan? we both know the answer--- and if my military isnt training soldiers to be killers than I really dont know why we keep it around.


If you did not learn to be a bully then why are you still in the military? I think they would kick you out if you did not take to the necessary programming are we now going to deny that the military training is programming for killing? and killing without remorse upon command?( I tend to think of those who kill as supreme bullies, otherwise I dont think you would be very good at being a military)

Bullying implies that you are needlessly attacking and beating unarmed and incapable people. Soldiers kill soldiers(or other armed attackers) or at least they are trained to. Western militaries do not train soldiers to bully people they train them to do their jobs as professionally, quickly, and cleanly as possible. If someone was a bully going in they will still be one, if they were a good person going in they will still be one. I was a bloody criminal who joined the Army of another country and figured out how to be a decent citizen because of the sense of discipline and duty it instilled.

[Chaigidel]

made this one a better man for sure http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/11/...ngs/index.html

but my friend was a good man before he went in he was a good man when he came out--- but god knows if you arent touched by the things you go through you arent really alive.

[Phier]

My grandfather stormed Iwo Jima.

He seemed pretty well adjusted after.

[Tiberius Tosi]

My grandfather stormed Iwo Jima.

He seemed pretty well adjusted after.

Hehe, strange. I guess this just goes to show how different people handle these situations. My other grandfather was on an LST during Iwo Jima, and he knew a man on his ship that killed himself because he couldn't even stand seeing people getting slaughtered on the beach. I guess that just goes to show how different people handle stress.

[Chaigidel]

not saying people dont come out perfectly fine--- but if you act like you are there to do anything but kill what you are told to kill then you are simply naive.

so bully isnt really a good word, since that implies some kind of willful harm-- soldiers dont have to like what they do they just have to do it, no matter what.

but to say bullies are not attracted to positions like police officer and military then again you are misguided-- it draws them like flies to .

[Ciabhán]

not saying people dont come out perfectly fine--- but if you act like you are there to do anything but kill what you are told to kill then you are simply naive.

so bully isnt really a good word, since that implies some kind of willful harm-- soldiers dont have to like what they do they just have to do it, no matter what.

but to say bullies are not attracted to positions like police officer and military then again you are misguided-- it draws them like flies to .

This I agree with. My argument was with the terminology. That and generalising all soldiers into one large group based on anecdotal evidence.

Though in modern times less and less of the bully type slip past and get into a position as a cop or soldier. Enough but not as many.

[Captain Jin]

not saying people dont come out perfectly fine--- but if you act like you are there to do anything but kill what you are told to kill then you are simply naive.

Okay, this is where I need to raise the flag. This shows the complete lack of understanding civilians have in regards to the military. As I said in my original post, in the US armed forces alone, there are about 3 million people serving, both active and reserve. If you knew about the military, you'd realize that there is something called the Combat arms, which are those jobs directly related to combat. For every one guy in the field simply killing as you put it, there are anywhere between 4-6 people supporting that one particular person.

Naive is thinking everyone who joins is taught to kill. No, that's not it at all. You don't learn to kill in boot camp, you learn some basic level bs to inspire confidence and you're broken down and rebuilt to be a disciplined team player. This is different from branch to branch, but the killing mentality is most prevalent in the Marine Corps, and even in that recruit training you don't learn a hell of a lot about killing. Then 90% of your graduating company goes onto do jobs that have nothing to do with killing whatsoever. Ie, admin clerk, radio operator, water purification specialist, motor T operator or mechanic, avionics electronics, radar repair, wireman, engineer, supply, intel, and a plethora of other jobs. I didn't even say stuff like ordinance, who you can make some stupid argument like "The guy puts bombs on planes he is killing people", yeah right, it's not the same and he isn't simply killing.

I'm really getting tired of this everyone in the military is a bad ass killer. How many people in the Air Force and Navy do you think there are that learn how to conduct themselves in combat effectively? Not a hell of a lot. Even within the combat arms community some jobs are arguable at the level of 'killing' they participate in.

MY job was to learn how to kill people effectively, but we don't do it blindly and without reason, as you like to frame it up to be. And no, there is not a 'you don't have a choice'. You insinuate that if someone in charge of me told me to shoot someone, anyone, I'd have to do it. That's the farthest thing from the truth as it is an illegal and immorale order.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Yeah, we look like some nasty bullies there. After those pics were taken we killed everyone, robbed their corpses and set them on fire. Oh wait, we didn't do that at all. Seriously people, it's odd how it's unacceptable to make some broad sweeping racist comment like Muslims are murderers or black people steal cars, but it's okay to say everyone in the military is a bully or just a simple minded killer?

sadly they make up the majority of the armed forces.

Sadly, that's an ignorant ass statement based on absolutely no information whatsoever.