Poll: Do you automatically respect people in the military?

[Xan Krieger]

I got a lot of flak on facebook for this recently, I treat military people like I treat anyone else. To me they're a person with a job, a job they chose (unless they were drafted in the vietnam war in which case they have my sympathy). I respect them the same as I respect anyone when I first meet them, not good and not bad, just neutral and they can then earn my respect in various ways. People then throw stupid arguments at me such as "They're defending YOUR freedom" to which I have several replies including "By invading Iraq?" and "against my will"

To put it in short soldiers are ordinary people and I believe they should be treated as such. Here in America people practically worship them and I don't really get it.

 

[Dags90]

Not really. One of my friends from high school joined the Army because he "thought it would be cool" after high school. He's not a particularly noble person. Another joined to study mechanics because getting a mechanics apprenticeship can be troublesome.

The only thing I could say about either of them being different when they came back was that they were in noticeably better shape.

 

[mechashiva77]

I respect soldiers because they are willing to go through hellish training and situations, but I don't respect the military as an institution. Soldiers really don't have a choice in where they are sent, or what orders they have to follow. Any disobedience usually results in treason. That being said, I do not ascribe to the belief that I should kiss their ass because of such. I don't really equate respect with ass-kissing. Soldiers are people like everyone else, and they shouldn't be able to get away with anything they want.

If anything I feel sorry for them more than anything else. All the military personnel I know of only entered the military because they felt they had no choice. College was either too expensive or they couldn't get in.

Don't even get me started on the rapes that occur within the military, against civilians and fellow personnel.

 

[Quaxar]

Being from a country with virtually no proper military that still draws their main numbers from conscription the only full-job military person I've ever really encountered was a guy who called an ambulance for the flu. Not really the toughest guy.

 

[Coffeejack]

Nobody starts with respect automatically. Some truly nasty people tend to gravitate toward the military and police for the power such a position would give them over others. We can only hope that the application process stops them getting through the net and onto the street, any street, with a weapon. I have found myself hoping on several occasions that they find their way into employment with Blackwater and don't come back.

Some Army regiments have vastly better reputations than others, so I guess that would mean some have poorer selection processes and discipline than others. And absolutely everyone seems to hate the RAF. Oh well.

 

[Goofguy]

Question: have you ever had any military member expect you to automatically respect them?

I'll tell you this as a serving soldier myself, most of us would never ask you to respect us point blank. We'd like to think that our actions in direct service to our countries speak for themselves. We don't always get to choose the time and place of our deployments so if you disagree with being in Iraq and Afghanistan, you can't really hold Pte Bloggins accountable for that. Sure, we volunteered for this job, we may even have asked to go overseas but even you can't deny that the shit many of us have been through deserves some recognition.

 

[TheIronRuler]

No, mostly because there's a people's army here. One out of five people you meet at every moment wasn't in the army.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

The only people who seem to get pissy about people not respecting soldiers are people who aren't soldiers themselves, at least from my experience.

Not once have I met a soldier who was offended that he wasn't getting 'the respect they deserve'.

 

[370999]

I'm sure we've done this thread before....

I do respect members of any profession where you do suffer a certain risk of dying. Soliders, police, firemen, some journalists, etc. However physical bravery does not automatically equate to moral courage, or even being a pleasant person.

 

[Shock and Awe]

Yes and no. From what I see most people in the military are simply doing a job. An important job no doubt, but the same could be said of Doctors, Teachers, EMTs, Police Officers, ect. Most people in the military never fire a shot in anger much less perform heroic acts you hear about decades after they were performed. That all being said, I do have a great deal of respect for those who go into combat. Gotta admit it takes cojones.

That being said; I have quite a few friends in the military and going through basic and being in the military does not make you a completely new person and does not make a hero. That is an idea that never ceases to annoy me.

 

[Thaluikhain]

No.

Also, didn't we have this thread a few weeks ago?

 

[Vault101]

Another joined to study mechanics because getting a mechanics apprenticeship can be troublesome.
.

really? that seems odd

here in Aus they really did a drive towards apprenticships, getting one doesnt seem too hard since theres like a whole government thing behined it

OT: TV and movies have shown me that american marines are scary

 

[Zhukov]

Nope.

Funny thing is, I actually used to. Then I got a job that involved meeting a lot of soldiers. After that, not so much.

 

[ElectroJosh]

No; I don't automatically respect anyone due to their chosen career in life. So I do respect some people who are in the military but it isn't due to them being in the military.

 

[Olrod]

It depends on why they joined the armed forces to begin with.

If they're a bloodthirsty assbag looking for a reason to kill random strangers, then no.

 

[Xan Krieger]

Faith in the escapist restored, thank you guys and girls for siding with me on this. While I may disagree with the work they do sometimes I know it's not their fault, it's the fault of the stupid US congress. Also some people rightly pointed out that soldiers themselves don't go around demanding respect, it's the soldier worshiping public that gets angry.

 

[Vault101]

Nope.

Funny thing is, I actually used to. Then I got a job that involved meeting a lot of soldiers. After that, not so much.

what were they like? and what country?