on to crustier pastures (goodbye thread) | Squat the Planet

on to crustier pastures (goodbye thread)

The Hiker

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After my 1st full year out of brainwashing camp - I mean school, fuckin autocorrect - I'm going to the most well funded cult in the world, the marines. Last year was a good one, went to Costa Rica and all over the states, I met new and scary people, outwitted the man once or twice, and learned some shit.

Thanks to everybody who put up with all my edgelord bullshit in the past and I hope you all have kick ass times forever!
 

Matt Derrick

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I gotta ask.... Wtf WHY

agreed man. that's... incredibly disappointing. you're a great guy and we all loved having you as a part of our community. i know you're young and looking for something, but the marines are the exact opposite of freedom, and it's not something you can take back, or a job you can 'quit'. that alone should be a red flag. just ask many of the folks that drifted into this community after getting out...

i just wish you would have sought out some advice on this before committing, because now you're not going to get those years back, and believe me, when you're out, you're gonna wish you did something more productive with that time.

i can't fathom why you'd choose such a thing, but i hope you don't let the institution make you into a different person. and believe me, keeping that from happening is going to be an uphill battle you're probably not going to win.
 

Jerrell

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Don't do it homie. There's plenty of alternatives to more brainwashing. I've always wished I'd joined the Peace Corps or something similar instead of the military.
 

WyldLyfe

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Don't follow orders from the corrupt. You know its a cult, you say its a cult, if you do go in at least don't forget that while being in there...

-crimes-in-the-world-are-not-committed-by-47981653.png
 

mouse

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when you're out, you're gonna wish

My own crystal ball isn't shiny enough for such bold predictions.

There are people who benefit from a dose of discipline to develop into full adulthood. There are people who want the college money, security clearances, or training the military offers. There are people who feel a duty to serve quite removed from partisan agitprop or bumpersticker philosophies. There are people who want to continue a family tradition.

Because people are different and want different things I do not encourage them to enlist, and I do not try to scare them off.

something more productive with that time.

I can't speak for how productive everyone else was in the late 80s, but: the work my unit did in [the former West] Germany led directly to the Reagan-Gorbachev INF treaty and the destruction/decommissioning of Soviet-era SS-20 nukes (among others) and indirectly to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the CCCP. The college money got me through a couple degrees, a VA loan helped finance my house when I had one, and now the VA provides my medical and psychiatric care.

So, no. I don't wish I did something more productive.

I live in a van now and have few possessions. One of them is an old army field jacket with my last name and tabbed unit insignia on it. It's beat up, ugly, and still functional -- kinda like me. No regrets.
 

Matt Derrick

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My own crystal ball isn't shiny enough for such bold predictions.

There are people who benefit from a dose of discipline to develop into full adulthood. There are people who want the college money, security clearances, or training the military offers. There are people who feel a duty to serve quite removed from partisan agitprop or bumpersticker philosophies. There are people who want to continue a family tradition.

Because people are different and want different things I do not encourage them to enlist, and I do not try to scare them off.



I can't speak for how productive everyone else was in the late 80s, but: the work my unit did in [the former West] Germany led directly to the Reagan-Gorbachev INF treaty and the destruction/decommissioning of Soviet-era SS-20 nukes (among others) and indirectly to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the CCCP. The college money got me through a couple degrees, a VA loan helped finance my house when I had one, and now the VA provides my medical and psychiatric care.

So, no. I don't wish I did something more productive.

I live in a van now and have few possessions. One of them is an old army field jacket with my last name and tabbed unit insignia on it. It's beat up, ugly, and still functional -- kinda like me. No regrets.

was i talking to you? no, i wasn't. thanks for sharing an opinion no one asked for.

i know the OP personally, and considering the amount of ex-military i talk to through this community, and hearing their thoughts on the subject after getting out, i feel like my opinion still holds true for the majority of people in this subculture, despite how great it worked out for you.
 

The Hiker

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Replying to everyone here

I know what I'm getting into. I've talked a lot with family, mentors, a retired marine sniper (one of my mentors) and done lots of studying and I know what will happen to me more or less, and I know how fucked up it might be - to who I am as well as the things I might be told to do. Matt you're right that it's gonna change me a lot, and I appreciate your concern, but this has been on my mind for several years and it's no impulse choice.
This is the natural evolution of all the things I enjoy learning and doing - sort of. I'll be traveling, learning all the time and fighting which are all things I love doing. At the same time it will be total control which is my least favorite thing. Still, after the next 4 years I'll have training, connections and experience that will prepare me for all the craziness coming in the next 10 - 20 years.
Everyone here who spends all their time saying fuck the man has my respect (mostly) but that's not my thing. I'm about actions, not words, and this is what I need to do to become my best self.
 

Matt Derrick

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Replying to everyone here

I know what I'm getting into. I've talked a lot with family, mentors, a retired marine sniper (one of my mentors) and done lots of studying and I know what will happen to me more or less, and I know how fucked up it might be - to who I am as well as the things I might be told to do. Matt you're right that it's gonna change me a lot, and I appreciate your concern, but this has been on my mind for several years and it's no impulse choice.
This is the natural evolution of all the things I enjoy learning and doing - sort of. I'll be traveling, learning all the time and fighting which are all things I love doing. At the same time it will be total control which is my least favorite thing. Still, after the next 4 years I'll have training, connections and experience that will prepare me for all the craziness coming in the next 10 - 20 years.
Everyone here who spends all their time saying fuck the man has my respect (mostly) but that's not my thing. I'm about actions, not words, and this is what I need to do to become my best self.

with all due respect my friend, you can do any/all of those things and more without becoming a jackbooted thug for those in power. let's meet up again in a few years and you can tell me how well it worked out for you.
 
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The Hiker

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with all due respect my friend, you can do any/all of those things and more without becoming a jackbooted thug for those in power. let's meet up again in a few years and you can tell me how well it worked out for you.
How? Where I'm going I'll be actually taught how to lead, plan, fight and do awesome shit without the cops/FBI coming after me for trying. I couldn't learn those things on my own anywhere near as efficiently
 
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Beegod Santana

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Oh man, you drank the cool aide bro. The recruiters are lying to you. You ain't gonna lead shit, you're gonna be a sheep with a gun. I've known a few marine snipers and they all had the same mind set as you before going in and they all regretted the shit out of it. Two of them killed themselves, the other one went crazy and is now on the run in Australia last I heard.
 

The Hiker

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Oh man, you drank the cool aide bro. The recruiters are lying to you. You ain't gonna lead shit, you're gonna be a sheep with a gun. I've known a few marine snipers and they all had the same mind set as you before going in and they all regretted the shit out of it. Two of them killed themselves, the other one went crazy and is now on the run in Australia last I heard.
You're not listening so fuck off. I know the recruiters lie about shit, I'm not doing this to serve corporate america and did I ever say I'm gonna be a sniper? No so either pay attention to what I'm saying or go bother someone else.
 
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Matt Derrick

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You're not listening so fuck off. I know the recruiters lie about shit, I'm not doing this to serve corporate america and did I ever say I'm gonna be a sniper? No so either pay attention to what I'm saying or go bother someone else.

don't get mad at @Beegod Santana for sharing their experiences just because you don't agree with him. there's truth there, and like he said, those recruiters aren't on your side.

also it doesn't matter whether you're doing this to serve corporate america, you now have no choice in the matter. they officially own you.

i just wish you would have reached out and looked at some alternatives before making this decision, i've worked with anti-jortc campaigns and you'd be shocked at what those recruiters aren't telling you. hell, ever recruiter my dad took me to swore i'd only play in the army band and never see a lick of battle and come out with more money than i'd ever seen before.

there's reasons people write songs about this stuff:

 
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the amount of dislikes and shit ratings in this thread is actually pretty eye opening how many fucking idiots we have on stp.

the united states military is not a cool place. its not a noble thing to join to kill for rich white peoples invested interests. you are not going to learn to be a leader or be given valuable life skills, you are going to learn to kill people a government that is currently ran by donald fucking trump says to. i truly can not believe that this needs to be explained to people on a website created and ran by anarchists.

@feral wanderer i dont know you, but good luck i guess.
 
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@SlankyLanky , I would guess that the subset of members of StP who were also members of the armed forces is not so big.

My experience with those who have served, is that many, if not most, do not regret it, overall, though they hated parts of it, for sure.You’re painting using a very broad stroke if you consider them idiots, kool-aid drinkers, Trump-Lovers, or other derogatory names for people who disagree with you. I don’t like name-calling(much !)

I’d also guess that the members who consider themselves “anarchists” vs those who do not, may be smaller than you believe here, but I dunno. I strongly feel that those totally committed to divesting themselves of a society and way of life they profess to despise, is pretty small, in fact they partake of it quite freely.

I feel strongly that those who are housed, in one form or another are the majority here. I would guess most of them have a lifestyle/housing situation that more closely resembles mine, which is housed and a satisfied capitalistic free market participant.

Gotta say, that using a derogatory term to describe those who don’t agree with a position that one supports, is used by both anarchists/non-anarchists, the housed as well as the unhoused. We have to admit that much.
 
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...ok boomer

edit: @Faceplant ill elaborate for you, im not mad, im just disappointed. does that make more sense to you?

it doesnt surprise me that yer experiences with people who are ex military have been mostly positive, but what yer failing to see is that (and i dont mean this as a pot shot at you) but you are vastly different from the people who are actually part of this community and who dont just happen to have had a friend who took em on a train.

the number of people who identify as anarchists on this site versus the number that arnt doesnt concern me, what does is when a actual member of this community (somebody matt said he knows personally and who has anarchist in his political beliefs in his fucking profile) decides one day to join the military. its a shame and forgive me if im not surprised that you dont understand why.

people being housed versus people being homeless has absoluetly zero to do with anything in this discussion.

and yes, i call people fucking morons when they dont agree with me because i dont sit on the fence on what i believe is right and what is wrong. if you join the united states military you are signing yer life away for a fucking lie. and thats a bummer.
 
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