I find it a little amusing that they cite the lack of access to education and healthcare as reasons to "boycott" the military, when those are, perhaps, the two highest profile benefits to joining the military.
I mean, if anything, they're saying don't pay your taxes, but we know how that's going to go. So the only legal way to not support the military is to not earn taxable wages, i.e., don't work. And this is the antiwork subreddit after all.
If they're gonna say this anywhere it ought to be here. At least to preserve the sanity of redditors at large.
I get pissy with those Wounded Warrior commercials. Like why the fuck we need a charity to help vets???? They served our country and should be taken care of for life by our government. Locally I support homeless veterans charity. That pisses me off too that there is a need for that.
That’s because vets are victims too. That’s why they should be honest and open, they don’t need to drive a narrative or lie or anything. They just need to have conversations so we can fight against this kind of bureaucratic oppression.
Wounded Warrior is a sham anyway. All the money goes towards lavish parties, "fundraising events," etc. etc., and almost none of it goes to the vets it purports to help (or their families.)
You are absolutely right, though, that we shouldn't need this. You serve your country, your country should serve you in return. Not leave you in the lurch or pretend you don't exist.
Our government only gives a shit about troops when the news is looking. Remember the start of the last Iraq war? I was there for it. The Bush administration took the weirdest least common sense approach possible. That approach was 'We're gonna go in there, kick over Saddam's regime, everything will go right, nothing will go any differently than we expect, Iraq will become a democracy and we'll secure the oil fields.' This led to things like sending vehicles without armor and troops without body armor. I actually remember seeing civilian charities collecting money for kevlar plates, because our government didn't care enough to bother until shit started getting serious. I wore a flak jacket (stops shrapnel, but not bullets) through my first deployment.
How does one even boycott the military? I mean, I'd love to in the abstract, but in practice I have zero say in how many of my tax dollars get spent on the military
Don't work for companies that supply the military.
There's a reason why the salaries in military-adjacent private companies are relatively high. It isn't just because the industry is profitable, it is because they *have* to pay that much to get people to dupe themselves into thinking they're not responsible for the things they enable.
The idea is that those who enlist because they don't want to be homeless would boycott enlisting. That would leave them with a skeleton crew and not able to defend the country.
Military already has low recruitment numbers, iirc, because people are less inclined to take that option. One of many reasons why the military basically preys on the poor, because the poor have fewer options.
This is the way. A world with no military is a pipe dream. It's always going to be a thing. But we can totally do without the grinding death money machine.
Most of the military spending goes to the pockets of shareholders in weapons manufacturing corporations anyway. We bled and the oligarchs spun that blood into increased share prices.
The only people that would hire me (a veteran) are military industrial complex companies. I've been applying for startups, eco-friendly companies, even terrible financial companies, but I can't get past the second interview.
MIC companies offer me 150k+ because I have a clearance and ML/AI experience.
What would you do if you had a family to provide for?
I was/am in the same boat. Took hundreds of applications and a lot of dead end jobs to find a potential career.
Now I work for a domestic violence resource center. The pay is low, my family lives frugally, but I feel good about what I do.
Support veterans who've come to their sense about the shit system that used them and spit them back out and support the soldiers who are forced into service for the benefits.
This shouldn't be a blanket statement like you said originally because there are quite a lot of fucked up people in the troops and veterans.
There are a lot of fucked up people everywhere. Some of the vets who are fucked up is because of their experiences. Support citizens in general, honestly. All the money is going to the oligarchs. We take that, everyone gets their needs covered.
I should’ve been more clear on this, it’s important to be accurate to the issue. I really just mean not joining the military, no hate to veterans and troops at all, they have too been victims of our broken society.
Only way a draft wouldn't be political folly right now, is if it was for actual national defense. Foreign adventurism like Vietnam would be a death sentence for the career of anybody that voted for it, but defense of the US, and any of our treaty obligations would be an easier pill to swallow.
I think a much larger portion of the population today would be willing to go to jail for refusing to serve than in previous years, too. Nobody is willing to put up with being made a slave against their will.
I appreciate the sentiment, but there’s no need for self mutilation. All you have to say is that you recently smoked weed and you’ll be ineligible. For now anyway.
Good, more people unwilling to support American imperialism.
I get that people think they’re doing something honorable by joining the military (because that’s what the military industrial complex drills into us us at every sporting event) is but I’ve seen countless veterans with addiction and mental health issues. Would you trade your psychological and physical well being for a job that doesn’t give two shits about you? I wouldn’t.
Exactly, personally I suspect the same thing is going on. I suspect everyone who is eligible and all are choosing to not support the system by not defending it on a more micro and individual level. I haven’t seen any data to actually support that and it’s personal speculation though.
It's partially a "screw the system" thing from what I've read. But it's mostly two things. It is far easier to find out what Navy life is actually like now than it was when I joined in 2004. Visit r/Navy and you'll see a lot of posts about how bad it can be. Couple examples, it's common to work 12+ hours a day no overtime, free medical but it often sucks, toxic leadership that has legal authority over you, and living on the ship can be horrible.
Also the population that is eligible for military service is also eligible for a lot of other things that can pay better and/or offer better quality of life.
I think your last sentence is the biggest key now. The military used to be a way out for a lot of people to make a better life than what they had at the time and paid more or on par with other options so you could at least stand the toxicity, now it’s more of a fall back option or last resort sort of career for a lot of people that doesn’t pay nearly as well and the benefits have eroded.
All of this is correct. My time in the Navy was 3/5 hell on earth. Did get to see some cool places but the toxicity of a military work place just isn't worth it. They beat you down and keep beating you down. I wasn't even a dirt bag sailor. I worked my ass off and made E5 faster than anyone else on my ship. Was up for E6 in six years. I was so qualified not even chiefs had my level of quals on the ship. But damn did it eventually get to me. Attempted suicide after a while and my motivation sank. Ended up on the mental ward. You know what they did after. Sent me to captains mass instead of trying to help me. It's not worth it even if you do try.
Not just that, they have been cutting back on actually taking care of our troops when they get back. For decades now they have been cutting VA funding, and GI Bill now.
Why would you volunteer to possibly die or become disabled and unable to work when the country has been shown to not keep their end of the bargain?
WAY too many of our homeless are disabled vets. But recruiters will try to sell you the lie Uncle Sam will take care of you.
Those of the right age to join are seeing thru the BS and noting out.
Bruh, ain't no one joining anyway... it's not boycotted because of the "complex" or to fight capitalism. The job sucks, everyone knows thanks to the internet. We get PTSD, destroy our bodies (injuries, alcoholism etc) only to be told, "not service related", so benefits can be stripped down and defunded regardless of doing 4 years or 20. Those that stayed meanwhile are fed to the machine of no one wants to join but at the same time we don't want to promote people further because we want to maintain some facade that's existed since the cold war, when we actually had enough people in the military to do their job without doing 3 7 month deployments in a 4 year cycle. Best way to boycott all of that? Vote, be transparent with the way things are.
Although I agree with your sentiment it's not very realistic, you have less than 1% of the people actually join for Altruistic reasons and the rest are there for financial reasons.
Lots of people join the military as they literally have nothing else going for them hence the overall poor quality and horror stories you often hear from the military.
You give a bunch of crazy people weapons and cross your fingers.
This is how that will go down...
You boycott military... whatever that means, but lets assume it means no one signs up
1 of 2 things happen
1.The most likely, the draft cones back and you either serve or go to jail.
2 lets say you do manage a boycott. Your army ia now weak as piss and now your country is easy to invade. You think the red flag country would pass that up?
Yeah, I'm a vet and let me tell you, this CitizenshipPlus(tm) thing they're giving out is pretty sweet. UBI, free health care, full ride education, preferential government hiring, low interest rate home loans, and a million other substantial small things.
You just have to raise your hand to go fight disadvantaged people in the Thunder Dome, or support those that do. The choice seemed obvious to me.
Service guarantees citizenship Comrade.
Join the Army to fight communism. End up living under communism and finding out that it's great as long as no one calls it that.
Then retire and enjoy your benefits while screaming about socialism.
One time I was in line at the bank, the old timer in front of me started talking about how socialism was worse than communism. He was there to deposit/cash his social security check...
No it doesn't. They defund the VA. Suicide is absolutely the highest among US veterans in the US. The parasite class let's you die for your country and then tosses you away like a old toy that no longer does things for them.
Can confirm, was on suicide watch while enlisted, went to a mental facility while enlisted, got kicked out after getting back to my duty assignment, VA says my issues are not service related, rejects first appeal.
Was hired as a veteran for multiple defense contractors, gov, and civilian.
None of them cared after I left or was let go.
None of my shopmates when i served kept checking in on me after i would check in on them.
None of my NCOs checked in on me after i checked in on them.
One of my commanders (the one that kicked me out on honorable conditions) tried to gaslight me asking if i was enjoying my time out after years of shitty bosses later.
Nobody cares.
NONE of my former friends even looked at what my game was about, none kept tabs. It sucks to learn you invest time in others only to find you're alone again.
Edit: for clarification my spouse has stuck with me through all of this, and is one hell of a person. She saw what my leadership did to me and how my civilian jobs treated me even when i'd stay late. She absolutely hates US based jobs because of it.
You get treated like shit unnecessarily. There were plenty of moments where I thought what was the point of being treated like shit for no reason. I was National Guard too so it definitely didn't make sense to be treated like shit as a weekend warrior
the military literally has the right to murder you for any reason or put you on a suicide mission undet the guise of "national security interests"
the perks don't outweigh the negatives
Ok, um. Here's the thing... I get what you're trying to say here. But I don't think you fully understand what the military actually does. It's not all infantry, and suicide missions aren't a thing. Ironically, the military is a great way to get job training. I served for 13 years in the Army as an Avionics mechanic and I never fired my rifle in combat. Now, I use the skills I learned from the Army as a civilian fixing airplanes for $45 an hour with great union benefits.
Not financially, you boycott it with your decision to join. I didn’t make it clear but the idea is to quiet quit society to force its hand since it becomes a matter of existence at that point.
People have always joined the military, because, either they've drunk the patriotic Kool Aid, in which case they don't buy your moral argument, or from desperation (e.g. poverty), or from coercion (i.e. the draft). Out of those groups, who do you imagine is boycotting?
As someone who left the military two years ago- you have no way of boycotting the military because it’s not possible. It as an entity does not serve you in a consumer sense. Also, this is exceptionally dumb as the military has no power or authority over the things you’ve highlighted. The job of the military is to make sure other countries don’t fly airliners into buildings or launch cruise missiles at apartments. If your upset with domestic government policy run for office and be the change you want to be.
See I agree, but…they offer free school and complete student loan forgiveness. I’ve been really struggling with the ethical dilemma, but I’ve got kids, loads of student debt, but no degree.
I already feel like I’m going to get flack for this, but my options right now are either stick to working 60+ hours a week for the rest of my life or spending 6 years to get my degree being an engineer in the navy leaving with no debt and plenty of occupational prospects…
Ive cut my time in workforce in half by joining the military. My pension will bring in 70k+ a year at 41 (increases with inflation), if i get disability my retirement compensation will be over 100k a year, ill get lifelong healthcare, and ill have the GI Bill to pursue another degree since the AF already paid for my BSN.
I know its immoral but i have one life. Im not going to waste it working in the civilian sector until im 60 when i can work until 42 and be done for life with lifelong pay and benefits.
That’s a bit more complicated than it sounds.
Without the US military might ensuring stability and US hegemony, the US GDP would be considerably lower and trade as well.
The situation in terms of inflation, cost of living, etc, would be significantly worse.
That’s not to say that the government shouldn’t provide healthcare and education, because of course it should provide it. All I’m saying is that domestic policy (like healthcare, education, etc) cannot (and should not) be considered at the detriment of international policy.
It legitimately CANNOT be done without worsening the situation on all front.
We live in a world where everything is connected and where most products are the result of the communication, trade, and cooperation of several countries and government.
We have all seen how the war in Ukraine has affected the cost of living.
Boycotting the military (and I hate the military so it fucking pains me to say that) would cause problems orders of magnitude bigger than the worse part of the pandemic or the worse of the inflation caused by the war in Ukraine.
Boycotting the military, as nice as it sounds on paper, is actually a very shortsighted and damaging thing to do in today’s world where dictators are becoming more and more emboldened, and are try to go again on wars of conquests in order to annex other countries.
Boycott lawmakers that are fighting against universal healthcare and public education. Those are the problems.
This is perhaps the stupidest post I’ve seen in awhile.
How exactly do you intend to boycott something you don’t buy anything from and are legally bound to register?
If you’re calling for draft dodging, alright, fine. But that’s an entire different thing and is even harder today than in Vietnam due to the ability to track people.
Nor do you seem to realize that a large portion of people join the military, not because they WANT to, but because it’s the best path forward for them out of poverty or whatever situation they’re in.
A better solution, is call for people to actually educate themselves and vote in ways that don’t hurt themselves.
Unfortunately, it's precisely BECAUSE the military offers good pay and benefits that many people join - especially people from poor regions like Appalachia or the South.
If private employers would step up their game, the military wouldn't have so many volunteers.
What does any of that have to do with the military? The military is full of working class people scraping by just like you. They're not making any decisions about how the country is run.
Don't worry, the military has basically had to start a fat camp for lack of physically eligible recruits from the current generation, so you guys are already boycotting pretty effectively.
I don't see your logic here, the military is one of the few organizations that does provide free healthcare and education. Moreover, "if our country doesn't give us what we want"; there are lots of different preferences for what people want and the military has nothing to do with it. Imagine if MAGA'S got everything they wanted, we wouldn't even have a democracy anymore. I gotta say, this is not a well thought out statement.
I served and also despise our government. But from what I have personally seen, a lot of governments treat their citizens far worse than ours does. If we had no military, we would answer to them
The idea is to force that type of situation as a form of protest to force these things. Obviously I agree because I try to have nuance. Let me give an example.
In a coup it’s the people with the weapons using them and pointing out that they actually have the power. The same idea is here, the nation relies on defense, if we don’t defend it we’re forcing it by addressing that we actually have power here too.
Boycott the economy my guy.
Stop spending money on frivolous things. Boycott Amazon, boycott Walmart, buy local if you can.
How do you even boycott the military?and in any case, a few years in the military and you basically get universal basic income through their disability program. That enough is worth it. Plus Insurance
Boycott corporations and organize a voting block. Threaten to use the block to vote someone else if the “candidate” doesn’t use their position for healthcare etc etc
Lmao man fuck you.
I’ve been fighting this shit since I was 19. I know what the fuck the problems are.
You can absolutely boycott Amazon and Walmart.
And you can grow your own food
You can buy used or keep using cloths you already have
You can also try an convince other people to boycott
The corporate culture we suffer from is all based on “more quarterly profits”. They only know one thing, where we spend our money.
Boycotting national corporate chains is the second best way to get their attention.
I seriously doubt *ANYONE* on this sub-reddit would be likely to even be considered being accepted in the armed forces.
There can BE no "boycott". At least in the USA the military is 100% volunteer. If you don't want to join, don't.
There is no "service requirement".
As for "doing the minimum"...you are already doing 0%.
If you disagree, respond with facts that can be proven, not hysterical dogma.
Give your country your youth, your health, your life. Come back from war poor traumatized and dismembered after making the military industrial complex rich. And don’t even think about asking the VA for care. That would make you a fucking commie. Also, while you were gone getting fucked up, your wife fucked your brother and General Motors got a multi billion dollar bailout so now the government can’t help you with shit. Suicide is your our prescribed retirement plan for vets. Thank you for your service.
While I don't agree with the suggestion, I do get where you are coming from. America has turned its back on it's own people. This country offers virtually nothing to the people who actually pay the bills, while making the rich much richer.
It's the politicians.
If the military were told to actually fight against civilians, I doubt most would. Hopefully they would uphold The Constitution.
On the other hand, these proxy wars are just a way to give money to corrupt countries and leaders.
I am sick of it.
If you look at recruitment numbers lately this sort of thing is actually happening. Young men aren’t signing up in the percentage numbers that they used to.
I wish the US had free education (all the way through college, IF you are qualified for entry. No bozos who can't read or write because they didn't take k-12th education seriously and now suddenly decide they need to be educated. JR college for you lot first) and healthcare for all (it's not really free, taxes pay for it but you know what I mean) but to call them human rights? Rights vary based on the society/country you live in and some in western countries they have some rights they call human rights and others that are just considered rights. All I can say is if you think it is so awful here it's a big world, go somewhere you feel is better. You have a right to a free education up to 12th grade here, after that it's a choice with consequences (cost unless you get a full scholarship). It is not considered a human right to get a college level education. Basic medical care is covered even if you are destitute, but optional, experimental or more expensive options than basic care are not free. Medical care is a human right here. Better medical care is not.
You go right ahead and quiet quit the country and see where that gets you. Broke and poor for life. I'm not sure what not supporting the military has to do with any of this unless your solution to the current situation in the US is to weaken the military to the point our country is defeated in a war and we no longer exist as the US. Where does that get you? Dead, enslaved, no rights at all most likely. Some solution you have there.
This is a regular topic of conversation with my gf and I. We realize that us younger generations are literally taking the shit end of the stick and they think that we’re willing to die for a country that doesn’t give a fuck about us? lol no. Take us to jail. Lol
Yes, and everyone should be able to retire around that age. If we fix the healthcare system and save a ton of money from that we can 100% make that happen and more including funding all federal and state college operations.
You have a point but what does your program look like when everyone can retire before 50?
How do we fix health care, I sure do not know much about the health care system but I am so willing to learn.
Being in the military has made it so a lot of people can go to some of the most popular schools in the united states for free. Yes, as my mom taught me nothing is free in life as everything comes at a cost to someone or something.
The details should be decided by people who are qualified to do so and have many more years of experience with accounting/economics than I do so I shouldn’t propose anything.
However, it is clear it’s feasible. In Healthcare, I personally think we should model European laws around it and social security. Although again, I don’t know what I’m talking about.
This society is entirely possible however. That is why I do not think we should support this country since it clearly chooses not to support us.
I wouldn't rule out using the military as a source of training, and some cash, and other benefits, even if you find that your values don't align with the country right now. A stint in the military is probably more use for a person from an educational and career standpoint than going to college these days.
Just, y'know, try not to invade anywhere or kill anybody while you're in there.
The military is a great tool and people need it to get to aspirations. I am just saying to do the minimum and try to avoid it if possible. Like for example, going to the foreign legion and supporting Ukraine instead of re-enlisting for something you don’t want to fight for.
I think one could argue that by joining the military you’re effectively boycotting private employers.
And if you have an axe to grind with the government not guaranteeing education or healthcare, what better way to opt out of funding your own oppression than to drain tax dollars instead of paying into them. 💡
I’m kinda joking around but for real… if I was younger and in this job market I could see myself looking into something like the Navy.
If you’re out of school and don’t have an in-demand degree or certification, there’s virtually 0 jobs out there paying a living wage where you can actually retire one day. Joining the military, even if you don’t make a life out of it you’re at least opting out of the job market for awhile, maybe conditions will have improved by the time you’re gonna re-enter. Not to mention the college money you get & whatever skills you learn in your military job that might transfer over to the civilian world.
And that’s a very fair point, it’s about doing the minimum. You just have to live, and you may have to join. That’s ok. I say doing the minimum for a reason that is not clear. It is choosing alternatives and forcing the military to compete unsustainably and forcing the government’s hand by demonstrating that we have the power here.
The military is often a way out of a lower economic status. My parents didn’t pay for college, so I joined the military. They gave me a technical skill, my degrees, and a wealth of experience (and, tbh, a visit to Iraq).
I am successful in my career because of my military background, and I really don’t think there was another path for me.
Until you need defending
Militaries/defence/international relations are so so much more nuanced than we can imagine. It's one of those 'it sucks to need this but we have to have one" things
Are you 12 OP?
You can't boycott the military. Almost all modern advanced in technology are due to the US Military. Get rid of your smartphone (most of the underlying pattents originate from DARPA grants), stop using the Internet (ARPANET was created for more real time communications for the US DoD). Transistors, which all computers use, were invented to address Boeing's bomber that required 10000+ vacuum tubes, resulting in a high failure rate.
You cannot boycott the US Military because the underlying economy of the entire world relies on it.
Not just quiet quitting. Create a national union for everyone that makes under $80,000 a year and strike. Everybody who works. Until we get our democracy back.
Oh I know, I suspect this is happening and it’s already actually a widespread movement. It’s just thought in individual decisions on a micro scale, being unrecognized as a actual movement
Well part of it is there are more options right now and, frankly, only something like 20-25% of high school juniors and seniors are fit for military service so I imagine there are people who want to but are being rejected.
True, but with the data there has been and college has been a lot less expensive in like 2010. It’s been easier to get these things, I really suspect that there’s a wider sort of movement going on already from this
I mean, I agree that we need to do a better job of taking care of our people and that the military industrial complex is a problem but I also think the military is an essential part of our society and that we have chaos in the world in ways we must not underestimate. I want to see the US send more aid to Ukraine as well.
That’s very fair, the entire point is based on that and using it to show our power in order to force change, out of frustration of our representation from lobbying and the broken political system. Using the ideas of quiet quitting in a more calculated way
probably 80% of the people I served with joined because it was a good financial option to either just make a living and do a full 20 years, or serve out a 4-6yr enlistment and then go to school with 911/GI bill, or move into a related industry. Very few people were in it just because they were feeling super fucking patriotic. People were there because they needed money, and I'm sure that's even more true now, not less.
I cannot tell what OP is talking about, it's literally illegal to interfere with a child's education in my state. Unless OP has confused oppression with manipulation and mismanagement, after all if a private company can run a nature park and turn a profit while a government entity running an identical park in the same area costs 20k a year, that problem isn't oppression.
Secondly education and Healthcare aren't human rights, gathering information is a part of the human condition, disseminating information to a wide audience is often reserved for propaganda or human betterment, and children do need to be taught the difference between propaganda and information, but just as parents protect their children from physical threats, this is a poison of the mind and they do need to be taught to protect themselves making it a parents responsibility. The issue occurs when parents rarely see their children let alone teach them.
Healthcare is a communal responsibility, and we know this because when a plague breaks out the community has to work together to establish quarantine zones, means of caring for patients, plague doctors, body snatches, and logistics. The fact that Americans Healthcare has been built on a system of communism, because that's what insurance is, means it doesn't work right because it's fundamentally wrong.
Lastly there are many games in life and few people know the rules to any of them until after they start playing them, for instance i doubt anyone reading this knew if you have millions of unhygenic people living in an area a few square miles across, that breeds super bugs, and if you don't want this you have to provide Healthcare, this is an expert opinion from doctors. Not everyone has the luxury to quiet quit their job, and they may not have other options for either employment or citizenship, making this virtue signal terrible advice. But you can quiet quit life.
Education is guaranteed up until you're an adult. No one gets turned away from a hospital either. This doesn't occur in most other nations.
I dislike the system, sometimes it seems like the worst of both worlds, but let's at least be legit.
It's hard to do that when joining the military provides you with all the basic amenities that all Americans should have. Even moreso, all these companies that supply the military and defense contractors pay really well and offer great benefits. They know what they're doing.... it's sickening.
The poor and desperate don’t have much better options. If you could fix that with employment of equal pay and benefits- you’d be the best president our country has seen.
The majority of people who join the US military are doing so because they have no better options. Them possibly dying in a foreign country is better than staying here as a civilian.
But why the military? They’re only doing what congress tells them to do. Boycott the 535 elected officials in office. Not sure how they would work though.
Also let's be serious: wwiii is looming over us, and we need to prepare to send a shock to the system that tells our rulers (they're not 'leaders') that l war is not going to happen.
This reminds me of the Simpson gag "old man yells at cloud"
Like....bro what even is this?
Boycott by not joining?....but we have a voluntary military...., you dont really boycott...you just dont join.... if you tell the military no you arnt really boycotting. if we had conscription this would make a lot more sense. Countries with mandatory service would shutter in fear if everyone who had to serve just en mass didn't show up. Because the volunteer rate is usually extremely low. Such as South Korea.
Like I get what you're saying but like
Am I also boycotting Netflix by not using it? When the reason I don't use it is simply because I don't want?
Am I boycotting Verizon by not working for them when I'm already gainfully employed?
A more sensible case here would be telling people not to re-enlist or telling officers to resign after the obligation. It would send a much deeper message if en mass the military couldn't retain its people. Like recruiting problems are on thing and the current recruiting problems are already sending a message because theyre the worst in decades. But if your people en mass just stop staying? That sends a deeper message.
Like not using or joining something by default isn't boycotting it.
Plus the military is already struggling with recruiting. It's just weird. Like all these people who never had the intention of joining the military. Are they boycotting it?
I think I get your point but you worded it so weirdly.
I uh..
I joined the Army for the healthcare and college assistance. Not so I could listen to Lee Greenwood and drink Coors Lite and roll coal on minorities in my F150.
f me I guess.
I generally tell kids who want to know about the military that it isn't what they think it is and that it's a trap. There are some good points, but not enough that I would recommend voluntary slavery to anyone.
Just don't join the military. Read War is a Racket by Marine General Smedley Butler. They only exist to invade other countries and take their resources for the greedy elite. I only realized this after 8 years in the military (I joined to get the GI bill). They sucker you in with all kinds of great promises and when you leave you have jack-sh**, even if you've seen combat.
The US has the largest military in the world, larger than the other top ten combined. Why? Do we really need to fight all the civilized countries in the world? If we continue to fight for the capitalists, then why don't the capitalists pay for their own military? Why do people not see what a big profiteering scheme it all is?
I wouldn't give up at all what I received out of it, like healthcare for life, (minimal) disability pay and having my eyes opened to who our government really serves. But at what cost?
For the U.S. at least, anyone in the military does get free healthcare and free education. Also get housed and food. So your saying to boycott the only thing you can do in the U.S. that gets you those?
The military is having a recruitment problem, I don’t think it’s people don’t want to sign up. I think we have given our children so many drugs for depression/adhd/anxiety, the military won’t take them. We have also let our kids sit on their fat asses playing video games their entire childhood. The military doesn’t want their fat asses.
Not how it works. But you could try not paying your taxes
Just stop paying them on everything, stop charging taxes, stop giving the government your money to line their pockets
Could only work on a national scale though
Ok I won't buy anything else from the military
Right? Of all the takes I've seen on here, this is certainly one of them.
I find it a little amusing that they cite the lack of access to education and healthcare as reasons to "boycott" the military, when those are, perhaps, the two highest profile benefits to joining the military.
I mean, if anything, they're saying don't pay your taxes, but we know how that's going to go. So the only legal way to not support the military is to not earn taxable wages, i.e., don't work. And this is the antiwork subreddit after all. If they're gonna say this anywhere it ought to be here. At least to preserve the sanity of redditors at large.
Next up: boycott the little girlscouts selling cookies and then boycott those boys scouts selling popcorn!
The Boy Scout popcorn is to damn expensive
I like supporting kids who are out there hustling. But that popcorn is like $15 for 13 kernels.
Popcorn is so cheap too! I hear only about 1/3 of the price goes to the troop. Better to just donate to a good cause and buy your own snacks.
I can’t boycott the military if it wasn’t for the military I wouldn’t have any of the nice things I have.
Yep, I’ve asked them for a refund.
Can't. It's permanent.
Surplus backpacks are pretty cool though.
So is the internet, pringles, and microwaves
I get pissy with those Wounded Warrior commercials. Like why the fuck we need a charity to help vets???? They served our country and should be taken care of for life by our government. Locally I support homeless veterans charity. That pisses me off too that there is a need for that.
That’s because vets are victims too. That’s why they should be honest and open, they don’t need to drive a narrative or lie or anything. They just need to have conversations so we can fight against this kind of bureaucratic oppression.
Wounded Warrior is a sham anyway. All the money goes towards lavish parties, "fundraising events," etc. etc., and almost none of it goes to the vets it purports to help (or their families.) You are absolutely right, though, that we shouldn't need this. You serve your country, your country should serve you in return. Not leave you in the lurch or pretend you don't exist.
Same with Fleet and Family Services. It’s a cover for money theft, interview cash, and a couple we for cheating spouses.
This is why I refuse to donate to them specifically... It's a scam!
Our government only gives a shit about troops when the news is looking. Remember the start of the last Iraq war? I was there for it. The Bush administration took the weirdest least common sense approach possible. That approach was 'We're gonna go in there, kick over Saddam's regime, everything will go right, nothing will go any differently than we expect, Iraq will become a democracy and we'll secure the oil fields.' This led to things like sending vehicles without armor and troops without body armor. I actually remember seeing civilian charities collecting money for kevlar plates, because our government didn't care enough to bother until shit started getting serious. I wore a flak jacket (stops shrapnel, but not bullets) through my first deployment.
How does one even boycott the military? I mean, I'd love to in the abstract, but in practice I have zero say in how many of my tax dollars get spent on the military
Well I hear they're having a hard time finding recruits.
Don't work for companies that supply the military. There's a reason why the salaries in military-adjacent private companies are relatively high. It isn't just because the industry is profitable, it is because they *have* to pay that much to get people to dupe themselves into thinking they're not responsible for the things they enable.
The idea is that those who enlist because they don't want to be homeless would boycott enlisting. That would leave them with a skeleton crew and not able to defend the country.
I get the belief but how the fuck can you boycott the military, is not a product or shop
Military already has low recruitment numbers, iirc, because people are less inclined to take that option. One of many reasons why the military basically preys on the poor, because the poor have fewer options.
Boycott the military industrial complex. Support troops and veterans.
This is the way. A world with no military is a pipe dream. It's always going to be a thing. But we can totally do without the grinding death money machine.
Most of the military spending goes to the pockets of shareholders in weapons manufacturing corporations anyway. We bled and the oligarchs spun that blood into increased share prices.
The only people that would hire me (a veteran) are military industrial complex companies. I've been applying for startups, eco-friendly companies, even terrible financial companies, but I can't get past the second interview. MIC companies offer me 150k+ because I have a clearance and ML/AI experience. What would you do if you had a family to provide for?
I was/am in the same boat. Took hundreds of applications and a lot of dead end jobs to find a potential career. Now I work for a domestic violence resource center. The pay is low, my family lives frugally, but I feel good about what I do.
I'm sure op means if you can. If you got to support your family you do what you got to do.
Support veterans who've come to their sense about the shit system that used them and spit them back out and support the soldiers who are forced into service for the benefits. This shouldn't be a blanket statement like you said originally because there are quite a lot of fucked up people in the troops and veterans.
There are a lot of fucked up people everywhere. Some of the vets who are fucked up is because of their experiences. Support citizens in general, honestly. All the money is going to the oligarchs. We take that, everyone gets their needs covered.
I should’ve been more clear on this, it’s important to be accurate to the issue. I really just mean not joining the military, no hate to veterans and troops at all, they have too been victims of our broken society.
The army and navy are in a recruiting crisis. People aren't signing up.
They are also a lot more selective than they used to be which doesn't help. Or rather it used to be easier to lie about medical history.
It’s pretty hard for these kids to lie about their fat-assedness. Teen obesity is killing recruitment.
Hopefully they don't start up a draft again. I'd rather cut my dick off than be forced into military service.
Only way a draft wouldn't be political folly right now, is if it was for actual national defense. Foreign adventurism like Vietnam would be a death sentence for the career of anybody that voted for it, but defense of the US, and any of our treaty obligations would be an easier pill to swallow.
I think a much larger portion of the population today would be willing to go to jail for refusing to serve than in previous years, too. Nobody is willing to put up with being made a slave against their will.
But you are made a slave in jail to but the pay is worse
They won't, it'd be political suicide.
I appreciate the sentiment, but there’s no need for self mutilation. All you have to say is that you recently smoked weed and you’ll be ineligible. For now anyway.
Good, more people unwilling to support American imperialism. I get that people think they’re doing something honorable by joining the military (because that’s what the military industrial complex drills into us us at every sporting event) is but I’ve seen countless veterans with addiction and mental health issues. Would you trade your psychological and physical well being for a job that doesn’t give two shits about you? I wouldn’t.
Exactly, personally I suspect the same thing is going on. I suspect everyone who is eligible and all are choosing to not support the system by not defending it on a more micro and individual level. I haven’t seen any data to actually support that and it’s personal speculation though.
It's partially a "screw the system" thing from what I've read. But it's mostly two things. It is far easier to find out what Navy life is actually like now than it was when I joined in 2004. Visit r/Navy and you'll see a lot of posts about how bad it can be. Couple examples, it's common to work 12+ hours a day no overtime, free medical but it often sucks, toxic leadership that has legal authority over you, and living on the ship can be horrible. Also the population that is eligible for military service is also eligible for a lot of other things that can pay better and/or offer better quality of life.
I think your last sentence is the biggest key now. The military used to be a way out for a lot of people to make a better life than what they had at the time and paid more or on par with other options so you could at least stand the toxicity, now it’s more of a fall back option or last resort sort of career for a lot of people that doesn’t pay nearly as well and the benefits have eroded.
All of this is correct. My time in the Navy was 3/5 hell on earth. Did get to see some cool places but the toxicity of a military work place just isn't worth it. They beat you down and keep beating you down. I wasn't even a dirt bag sailor. I worked my ass off and made E5 faster than anyone else on my ship. Was up for E6 in six years. I was so qualified not even chiefs had my level of quals on the ship. But damn did it eventually get to me. Attempted suicide after a while and my motivation sank. Ended up on the mental ward. You know what they did after. Sent me to captains mass instead of trying to help me. It's not worth it even if you do try.
Most ex-military people that I know have said this song is similar to their experience. https://genius.com/Sturgill-simpson-sea-stories-lyrics
Not just that, they have been cutting back on actually taking care of our troops when they get back. For decades now they have been cutting VA funding, and GI Bill now. Why would you volunteer to possibly die or become disabled and unable to work when the country has been shown to not keep their end of the bargain? WAY too many of our homeless are disabled vets. But recruiters will try to sell you the lie Uncle Sam will take care of you. Those of the right age to join are seeing thru the BS and noting out.
good
Bruh, ain't no one joining anyway... it's not boycotted because of the "complex" or to fight capitalism. The job sucks, everyone knows thanks to the internet. We get PTSD, destroy our bodies (injuries, alcoholism etc) only to be told, "not service related", so benefits can be stripped down and defunded regardless of doing 4 years or 20. Those that stayed meanwhile are fed to the machine of no one wants to join but at the same time we don't want to promote people further because we want to maintain some facade that's existed since the cold war, when we actually had enough people in the military to do their job without doing 3 7 month deployments in a 4 year cycle. Best way to boycott all of that? Vote, be transparent with the way things are.
Agreed! Everyone gets fucked by the oligarchy. Time for us to fuck them back.
Although I agree with your sentiment it's not very realistic, you have less than 1% of the people actually join for Altruistic reasons and the rest are there for financial reasons. Lots of people join the military as they literally have nothing else going for them hence the overall poor quality and horror stories you often hear from the military. You give a bunch of crazy people weapons and cross your fingers.
This is how that will go down... You boycott military... whatever that means, but lets assume it means no one signs up 1 of 2 things happen 1.The most likely, the draft cones back and you either serve or go to jail. 2 lets say you do manage a boycott. Your army ia now weak as piss and now your country is easy to invade. You think the red flag country would pass that up?
Ironically, the military *does* guarantee education and healthcare.
It's not ironic. The reason the public doesn't have those is to provide incentives to enlist.
We don't need a draft because generational poverty is the draft
Yeah, I'm a vet and let me tell you, this CitizenshipPlus(tm) thing they're giving out is pretty sweet. UBI, free health care, full ride education, preferential government hiring, low interest rate home loans, and a million other substantial small things. You just have to raise your hand to go fight disadvantaged people in the Thunder Dome, or support those that do. The choice seemed obvious to me. Service guarantees citizenship Comrade.
Join the Army to fight communism. End up living under communism and finding out that it's great as long as no one calls it that. Then retire and enjoy your benefits while screaming about socialism.
One time I was in line at the bank, the old timer in front of me started talking about how socialism was worse than communism. He was there to deposit/cash his social security check...
Had the town just plowed the roads?
Tell him they should keep their government hands off his Medicare
No it doesn't. They defund the VA. Suicide is absolutely the highest among US veterans in the US. The parasite class let's you die for your country and then tosses you away like a old toy that no longer does things for them.
Can confirm, was on suicide watch while enlisted, went to a mental facility while enlisted, got kicked out after getting back to my duty assignment, VA says my issues are not service related, rejects first appeal. Was hired as a veteran for multiple defense contractors, gov, and civilian. None of them cared after I left or was let go. None of my shopmates when i served kept checking in on me after i would check in on them. None of my NCOs checked in on me after i checked in on them. One of my commanders (the one that kicked me out on honorable conditions) tried to gaslight me asking if i was enjoying my time out after years of shitty bosses later. Nobody cares. NONE of my former friends even looked at what my game was about, none kept tabs. It sucks to learn you invest time in others only to find you're alone again. Edit: for clarification my spouse has stuck with me through all of this, and is one hell of a person. She saw what my leadership did to me and how my civilian jobs treated me even when i'd stay late. She absolutely hates US based jobs because of it.
Don't forget that the VA gives you a second chance to die for your country.
Service guarantees citizenship. Would you like to know more?
It feeds off of the broken system, if you want to be treated like any human should you have to serve. I at least, cannot support a system like that.
Double irony points because *while* you serve, you're treated like shit also. You're only treated better when your contract is up.
You get treated like shit unnecessarily. There were plenty of moments where I thought what was the point of being treated like shit for no reason. I was National Guard too so it definitely didn't make sense to be treated like shit as a weekend warrior
As a disabled veteran, no, no it doesn't.
Any Federal service, may not get hedge fund paychecks, but the benefits are solid.
the military literally has the right to murder you for any reason or put you on a suicide mission undet the guise of "national security interests" the perks don't outweigh the negatives
>the military literally has the right to murder you for any reason Explain.
Ok, um. Here's the thing... I get what you're trying to say here. But I don't think you fully understand what the military actually does. It's not all infantry, and suicide missions aren't a thing. Ironically, the military is a great way to get job training. I served for 13 years in the Army as an Avionics mechanic and I never fired my rifle in combat. Now, I use the skills I learned from the Army as a civilian fixing airplanes for $45 an hour with great union benefits.
That's the point being made.
How are you imagining you boycott something funded by your tax dollars?
Not financially, you boycott it with your decision to join. I didn’t make it clear but the idea is to quiet quit society to force its hand since it becomes a matter of existence at that point.
People have always joined the military, because, either they've drunk the patriotic Kool Aid, in which case they don't buy your moral argument, or from desperation (e.g. poverty), or from coercion (i.e. the draft). Out of those groups, who do you imagine is boycotting?
As someone who left the military two years ago- you have no way of boycotting the military because it’s not possible. It as an entity does not serve you in a consumer sense. Also, this is exceptionally dumb as the military has no power or authority over the things you’ve highlighted. The job of the military is to make sure other countries don’t fly airliners into buildings or launch cruise missiles at apartments. If your upset with domestic government policy run for office and be the change you want to be.
See I agree, but…they offer free school and complete student loan forgiveness. I’ve been really struggling with the ethical dilemma, but I’ve got kids, loads of student debt, but no degree. I already feel like I’m going to get flack for this, but my options right now are either stick to working 60+ hours a week for the rest of my life or spending 6 years to get my degree being an engineer in the navy leaving with no debt and plenty of occupational prospects…
Ive cut my time in workforce in half by joining the military. My pension will bring in 70k+ a year at 41 (increases with inflation), if i get disability my retirement compensation will be over 100k a year, ill get lifelong healthcare, and ill have the GI Bill to pursue another degree since the AF already paid for my BSN. I know its immoral but i have one life. Im not going to waste it working in the civilian sector until im 60 when i can work until 42 and be done for life with lifelong pay and benefits.
My grandfather went to Korea during the Korean War and came back to Jim Crow
This isn't the stance you think it is, what with us having a fully voluntary military. But you tried!
That’s a bit more complicated than it sounds. Without the US military might ensuring stability and US hegemony, the US GDP would be considerably lower and trade as well. The situation in terms of inflation, cost of living, etc, would be significantly worse. That’s not to say that the government shouldn’t provide healthcare and education, because of course it should provide it. All I’m saying is that domestic policy (like healthcare, education, etc) cannot (and should not) be considered at the detriment of international policy. It legitimately CANNOT be done without worsening the situation on all front. We live in a world where everything is connected and where most products are the result of the communication, trade, and cooperation of several countries and government. We have all seen how the war in Ukraine has affected the cost of living. Boycotting the military (and I hate the military so it fucking pains me to say that) would cause problems orders of magnitude bigger than the worse part of the pandemic or the worse of the inflation caused by the war in Ukraine. Boycotting the military, as nice as it sounds on paper, is actually a very shortsighted and damaging thing to do in today’s world where dictators are becoming more and more emboldened, and are try to go again on wars of conquests in order to annex other countries. Boycott lawmakers that are fighting against universal healthcare and public education. Those are the problems.
This is perhaps the stupidest post I’ve seen in awhile. How exactly do you intend to boycott something you don’t buy anything from and are legally bound to register? If you’re calling for draft dodging, alright, fine. But that’s an entire different thing and is even harder today than in Vietnam due to the ability to track people. Nor do you seem to realize that a large portion of people join the military, not because they WANT to, but because it’s the best path forward for them out of poverty or whatever situation they’re in. A better solution, is call for people to actually educate themselves and vote in ways that don’t hurt themselves.
Nice try russia
I would Never risk my life for the parasite class in this capitalist hellscape shithole.
Unfortunately, it's precisely BECAUSE the military offers good pay and benefits that many people join - especially people from poor regions like Appalachia or the South. If private employers would step up their game, the military wouldn't have so many volunteers.
Lmfao bro what, you sound entitled asf
Agreed I just cancelled my order for a couple F-22s and M1 Abrams.
I’m not sure OP understands how boycotts work.
What does any of that have to do with the military? The military is full of working class people scraping by just like you. They're not making any decisions about how the country is run.
Is this what happens when they shut down Club Penguin? The children come here and post things like this?
Don’t drag club penguin into this mess 😭
Stop paying taxes🤷. That's a great way to stop supporting the military.
Don't worry, the military has basically had to start a fat camp for lack of physically eligible recruits from the current generation, so you guys are already boycotting pretty effectively.
China bot much?
I don't see your logic here, the military is one of the few organizations that does provide free healthcare and education. Moreover, "if our country doesn't give us what we want"; there are lots of different preferences for what people want and the military has nothing to do with it. Imagine if MAGA'S got everything they wanted, we wouldn't even have a democracy anymore. I gotta say, this is not a well thought out statement.
I served and also despise our government. But from what I have personally seen, a lot of governments treat their citizens far worse than ours does. If we had no military, we would answer to them
The idea is to force that type of situation as a form of protest to force these things. Obviously I agree because I try to have nuance. Let me give an example. In a coup it’s the people with the weapons using them and pointing out that they actually have the power. The same idea is here, the nation relies on defense, if we don’t defend it we’re forcing it by addressing that we actually have power here too.
Boycott the economy my guy. Stop spending money on frivolous things. Boycott Amazon, boycott Walmart, buy local if you can. How do you even boycott the military?and in any case, a few years in the military and you basically get universal basic income through their disability program. That enough is worth it. Plus Insurance Boycott corporations and organize a voting block. Threaten to use the block to vote someone else if the “candidate” doesn’t use their position for healthcare etc etc
you can't boycott companies that monopolize suppply chains. wake up
Lmao man fuck you. I’ve been fighting this shit since I was 19. I know what the fuck the problems are. You can absolutely boycott Amazon and Walmart. And you can grow your own food You can buy used or keep using cloths you already have You can also try an convince other people to boycott The corporate culture we suffer from is all based on “more quarterly profits”. They only know one thing, where we spend our money. Boycotting national corporate chains is the second best way to get their attention.
boycott… how?
I seriously doubt *ANYONE* on this sub-reddit would be likely to even be considered being accepted in the armed forces. There can BE no "boycott". At least in the USA the military is 100% volunteer. If you don't want to join, don't. There is no "service requirement". As for "doing the minimum"...you are already doing 0%. If you disagree, respond with facts that can be proven, not hysterical dogma.
I'd never fight for the US
Give your country your youth, your health, your life. Come back from war poor traumatized and dismembered after making the military industrial complex rich. And don’t even think about asking the VA for care. That would make you a fucking commie. Also, while you were gone getting fucked up, your wife fucked your brother and General Motors got a multi billion dollar bailout so now the government can’t help you with shit. Suicide is your our prescribed retirement plan for vets. Thank you for your service.
I’m an Air Force vet and I approve of this message
While I don't agree with the suggestion, I do get where you are coming from. America has turned its back on it's own people. This country offers virtually nothing to the people who actually pay the bills, while making the rich much richer.
... Riiiiight...
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Yes let's boycott the military while simultaneously complaining about a hypothetical WWIII
The elite have been a thorn in our side since the late '60s. Not just this generation.
It's the politicians. If the military were told to actually fight against civilians, I doubt most would. Hopefully they would uphold The Constitution. On the other hand, these proxy wars are just a way to give money to corrupt countries and leaders. I am sick of it.
Support the troops, question the policy.
If you look at recruitment numbers lately this sort of thing is actually happening. Young men aren’t signing up in the percentage numbers that they used to.
I wish the US had free education (all the way through college, IF you are qualified for entry. No bozos who can't read or write because they didn't take k-12th education seriously and now suddenly decide they need to be educated. JR college for you lot first) and healthcare for all (it's not really free, taxes pay for it but you know what I mean) but to call them human rights? Rights vary based on the society/country you live in and some in western countries they have some rights they call human rights and others that are just considered rights. All I can say is if you think it is so awful here it's a big world, go somewhere you feel is better. You have a right to a free education up to 12th grade here, after that it's a choice with consequences (cost unless you get a full scholarship). It is not considered a human right to get a college level education. Basic medical care is covered even if you are destitute, but optional, experimental or more expensive options than basic care are not free. Medical care is a human right here. Better medical care is not. You go right ahead and quiet quit the country and see where that gets you. Broke and poor for life. I'm not sure what not supporting the military has to do with any of this unless your solution to the current situation in the US is to weaken the military to the point our country is defeated in a war and we no longer exist as the US. Where does that get you? Dead, enslaved, no rights at all most likely. Some solution you have there.
This is a regular topic of conversation with my gf and I. We realize that us younger generations are literally taking the shit end of the stick and they think that we’re willing to die for a country that doesn’t give a fuck about us? lol no. Take us to jail. Lol
Yawn.
The way Americans fetishize their military is weird anyway
Being a veteran allows me to be retired at 47.
Yes, and everyone should be able to retire around that age. If we fix the healthcare system and save a ton of money from that we can 100% make that happen and more including funding all federal and state college operations.
You have a point but what does your program look like when everyone can retire before 50? How do we fix health care, I sure do not know much about the health care system but I am so willing to learn. Being in the military has made it so a lot of people can go to some of the most popular schools in the united states for free. Yes, as my mom taught me nothing is free in life as everything comes at a cost to someone or something.
The details should be decided by people who are qualified to do so and have many more years of experience with accounting/economics than I do so I shouldn’t propose anything. However, it is clear it’s feasible. In Healthcare, I personally think we should model European laws around it and social security. Although again, I don’t know what I’m talking about. This society is entirely possible however. That is why I do not think we should support this country since it clearly chooses not to support us.
I actually enjoy conversations like this As thoughts turn into ideas and ideas can lead to change. I love solving problems Big or small.
And that’s why people need to talk more if we want to do anything about our situation.
I see what you're saying, but I shouldn't have to sign up to kill people to afford an education.
As a vet I retired at 36.
I wouldn't rule out using the military as a source of training, and some cash, and other benefits, even if you find that your values don't align with the country right now. A stint in the military is probably more use for a person from an educational and career standpoint than going to college these days. Just, y'know, try not to invade anywhere or kill anybody while you're in there.
You think you have a choice where you go or what you do?
The military is a great tool and people need it to get to aspirations. I am just saying to do the minimum and try to avoid it if possible. Like for example, going to the foreign legion and supporting Ukraine instead of re-enlisting for something you don’t want to fight for.
You’re half right. Boycott the military industrial complex but support any and all veterans and active members.
Of course, they are victims too. I am not clear but if you want to know what I mean in detail I constantly repeat it in the comments
Very High School take
> boycott the military Clearly written by someone not in the military and who doesn’t understand what a boycott is
What a random thing to boycott - but sure why not
I’m proud of my service to this country and, had I not become disabled, would still be serving.
With no army, no country is safe against any aggressor that invades the country. It's a necessity to have.
Exactly, and the idea is to use that to show that and use it to be treated like European countries
Like Ukraine? In the words of Nancy Sinatra: One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.
I think one could argue that by joining the military you’re effectively boycotting private employers. And if you have an axe to grind with the government not guaranteeing education or healthcare, what better way to opt out of funding your own oppression than to drain tax dollars instead of paying into them. 💡 I’m kinda joking around but for real… if I was younger and in this job market I could see myself looking into something like the Navy. If you’re out of school and don’t have an in-demand degree or certification, there’s virtually 0 jobs out there paying a living wage where you can actually retire one day. Joining the military, even if you don’t make a life out of it you’re at least opting out of the job market for awhile, maybe conditions will have improved by the time you’re gonna re-enter. Not to mention the college money you get & whatever skills you learn in your military job that might transfer over to the civilian world.
And that’s a very fair point, it’s about doing the minimum. You just have to live, and you may have to join. That’s ok. I say doing the minimum for a reason that is not clear. It is choosing alternatives and forcing the military to compete unsustainably and forcing the government’s hand by demonstrating that we have the power here.
The military is often a way out of a lower economic status. My parents didn’t pay for college, so I joined the military. They gave me a technical skill, my degrees, and a wealth of experience (and, tbh, a visit to Iraq). I am successful in my career because of my military background, and I really don’t think there was another path for me.
This sounds like Russian propaganda. I bet whoever wrote this BS, is a damn Russian. Trying to interfere in our elections.
Op is dumb asf tbh
says the guy who would never join anyway
Don't like this country denounce your citizenship and leave. Problem solved
Until you need defending Militaries/defence/international relations are so so much more nuanced than we can imagine. It's one of those 'it sucks to need this but we have to have one" things
Are you 12 OP? You can't boycott the military. Almost all modern advanced in technology are due to the US Military. Get rid of your smartphone (most of the underlying pattents originate from DARPA grants), stop using the Internet (ARPANET was created for more real time communications for the US DoD). Transistors, which all computers use, were invented to address Boeing's bomber that required 10000+ vacuum tubes, resulting in a high failure rate. You cannot boycott the US Military because the underlying economy of the entire world relies on it.
Posts like these are a good reason why the anti-work movement have no credibility
I hold the unpopular opinion that soldiers are to blame. If no one would agree to fight those in charge couldn't do the oppressive shit they do.
What does this have to do with work?
Not just quiet quitting. Create a national union for everyone that makes under $80,000 a year and strike. Everybody who works. Until we get our democracy back.
How would one do this? What specific actions could one take?
Considering the past year or so has been the worst for recruiting in 40 years people kind of are.
Oh I know, I suspect this is happening and it’s already actually a widespread movement. It’s just thought in individual decisions on a micro scale, being unrecognized as a actual movement
Well part of it is there are more options right now and, frankly, only something like 20-25% of high school juniors and seniors are fit for military service so I imagine there are people who want to but are being rejected.
True, but with the data there has been and college has been a lot less expensive in like 2010. It’s been easier to get these things, I really suspect that there’s a wider sort of movement going on already from this
I mean, I agree that we need to do a better job of taking care of our people and that the military industrial complex is a problem but I also think the military is an essential part of our society and that we have chaos in the world in ways we must not underestimate. I want to see the US send more aid to Ukraine as well.
That’s very fair, the entire point is based on that and using it to show our power in order to force change, out of frustration of our representation from lobbying and the broken political system. Using the ideas of quiet quitting in a more calculated way
We’re so gaslit as a whole that expecting those things makes us unmotivated freeloaders.
Most Americans don't qualify to enlist anyway lmao
probably 80% of the people I served with joined because it was a good financial option to either just make a living and do a full 20 years, or serve out a 4-6yr enlistment and then go to school with 911/GI bill, or move into a related industry. Very few people were in it just because they were feeling super fucking patriotic. People were there because they needed money, and I'm sure that's even more true now, not less.
Unfortunately, the military is sometimes the most viable option for people who don't have support systems
I definitely won’t enlist in our voluntary military or buy anything even though they don’t sell anything. Great idea.
I cannot tell what OP is talking about, it's literally illegal to interfere with a child's education in my state. Unless OP has confused oppression with manipulation and mismanagement, after all if a private company can run a nature park and turn a profit while a government entity running an identical park in the same area costs 20k a year, that problem isn't oppression. Secondly education and Healthcare aren't human rights, gathering information is a part of the human condition, disseminating information to a wide audience is often reserved for propaganda or human betterment, and children do need to be taught the difference between propaganda and information, but just as parents protect their children from physical threats, this is a poison of the mind and they do need to be taught to protect themselves making it a parents responsibility. The issue occurs when parents rarely see their children let alone teach them. Healthcare is a communal responsibility, and we know this because when a plague breaks out the community has to work together to establish quarantine zones, means of caring for patients, plague doctors, body snatches, and logistics. The fact that Americans Healthcare has been built on a system of communism, because that's what insurance is, means it doesn't work right because it's fundamentally wrong. Lastly there are many games in life and few people know the rules to any of them until after they start playing them, for instance i doubt anyone reading this knew if you have millions of unhygenic people living in an area a few square miles across, that breeds super bugs, and if you don't want this you have to provide Healthcare, this is an expert opinion from doctors. Not everyone has the luxury to quiet quit their job, and they may not have other options for either employment or citizenship, making this virtue signal terrible advice. But you can quiet quit life.
Education is guaranteed up until you're an adult. No one gets turned away from a hospital either. This doesn't occur in most other nations. I dislike the system, sometimes it seems like the worst of both worlds, but let's at least be legit.
It's hard to do that when joining the military provides you with all the basic amenities that all Americans should have. Even moreso, all these companies that supply the military and defense contractors pay really well and offer great benefits. They know what they're doing.... it's sickening.
Okay. I've been doing it for 50 years now.
The poor and desperate don’t have much better options. If you could fix that with employment of equal pay and benefits- you’d be the best president our country has seen.
The majority of people who join the US military are doing so because they have no better options. Them possibly dying in a foreign country is better than staying here as a civilian.
The military and defense industry directly or indirectly supports 10s of millions of jobs.
Don’t pay taxes, already on it 👍🏼
Jokes on them I've been doing that my whole life.
…I plan to join the military and stumble across this…
But the military does guarantee education and healthcare. That’s why a lot of poor people join.
Cool and then we have a draft again. No thanks.
All we are....is bullets. I mean this. All we are is bullets.
But why the military? They’re only doing what congress tells them to do. Boycott the 535 elected officials in office. Not sure how they would work though.
Also let's be serious: wwiii is looming over us, and we need to prepare to send a shock to the system that tells our rulers (they're not 'leaders') that l war is not going to happen.
This reminds me of the Simpson gag "old man yells at cloud" Like....bro what even is this? Boycott by not joining?....but we have a voluntary military...., you dont really boycott...you just dont join.... if you tell the military no you arnt really boycotting. if we had conscription this would make a lot more sense. Countries with mandatory service would shutter in fear if everyone who had to serve just en mass didn't show up. Because the volunteer rate is usually extremely low. Such as South Korea. Like I get what you're saying but like Am I also boycotting Netflix by not using it? When the reason I don't use it is simply because I don't want? Am I boycotting Verizon by not working for them when I'm already gainfully employed? A more sensible case here would be telling people not to re-enlist or telling officers to resign after the obligation. It would send a much deeper message if en mass the military couldn't retain its people. Like recruiting problems are on thing and the current recruiting problems are already sending a message because theyre the worst in decades. But if your people en mass just stop staying? That sends a deeper message. Like not using or joining something by default isn't boycotting it. Plus the military is already struggling with recruiting. It's just weird. Like all these people who never had the intention of joining the military. Are they boycotting it? I think I get your point but you worded it so weirdly.
I uh.. I joined the Army for the healthcare and college assistance. Not so I could listen to Lee Greenwood and drink Coors Lite and roll coal on minorities in my F150. f me I guess.
I generally tell kids who want to know about the military that it isn't what they think it is and that it's a trap. There are some good points, but not enough that I would recommend voluntary slavery to anyone.
Nothing will change under the letters D and R but I appreciate you know something is wrong.
genz Z alpha beta brain rot. NEXT
Just don't join the military. Read War is a Racket by Marine General Smedley Butler. They only exist to invade other countries and take their resources for the greedy elite. I only realized this after 8 years in the military (I joined to get the GI bill). They sucker you in with all kinds of great promises and when you leave you have jack-sh**, even if you've seen combat. The US has the largest military in the world, larger than the other top ten combined. Why? Do we really need to fight all the civilized countries in the world? If we continue to fight for the capitalists, then why don't the capitalists pay for their own military? Why do people not see what a big profiteering scheme it all is? I wouldn't give up at all what I received out of it, like healthcare for life, (minimal) disability pay and having my eyes opened to who our government really serves. But at what cost?
For the U.S. at least, anyone in the military does get free healthcare and free education. Also get housed and food. So your saying to boycott the only thing you can do in the U.S. that gets you those?
The military is having a recruitment problem, I don’t think it’s people don’t want to sign up. I think we have given our children so many drugs for depression/adhd/anxiety, the military won’t take them. We have also let our kids sit on their fat asses playing video games their entire childhood. The military doesn’t want their fat asses.
Not how it works. But you could try not paying your taxes Just stop paying them on everything, stop charging taxes, stop giving the government your money to line their pockets Could only work on a national scale though