Comments on: Good to see they’ve got their priorities straight

By: Support our troops. All of them. « Majorityminority

Support our troops. All of them. « Majorityminority — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:23:05 +0000

[...] The war from within the military rages. What must the soldiers think, as they are being held down and abused, as they are subjected to unwarranted searches into their sexual lives? [...]

By: SunlessNick

SunlessNick — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:07:40 +0000

Sparacino, an Army truck driver by training, said some women do express interest in army weapons, vehicles “and jumping out of planes,” but she said she doesn’t make that assumption from the onset as frequently as she would with a male recruit.

I find it hard to imagine that people drawn to the army have no interest in such things, even if it might not be the sort of interest they’re used to confessing (or if they’re sort of people, ie women, in whom expressing such an interest is deemed a confession).

By: GallingGalla

GallingGalla — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:08:27 +0000

Dear Army: It has come to my attention that when women join the army, they wear fatigues, just like everybody else who joins the army. Please make a note of it.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:13:46 +0000

CNN actually put up a similar story (to the Chicago Tribune one) today:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/31/military.sexabuse/index.html

The more coverage, the better. If more people know, then more people can demand better from the department of defense.

And incidentally, it gives me more ammo so that I don’t have to spend as much time convincing idiots on the comment section for the local paper that “yes, military women get raped, and no, they weren’t asking for it.” For some reason these guys never take up my offer go to the university campus computer lab and look up X,Y & Z peer-reviewed journal studies, but a press release or story from a major media source? Much more instantaneous response on the “read this” list of links.

By: morganp

morganp — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:30:07 +0000

Wow. Pretty enfuriating. Just as my parents’ failure to reinforce my femininity didn’t make the army seem any more hospitable to me, this gracious offer guaranteeing tolerance of my propensity to wear teh purty dresses doesn’t really sway me. Maybe it’s, uh…the prospect of getting blown away while killing people for no reason?

By: Roger Rathman

Roger Rathman — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:47:55 +0000

Having to co-exist with a bunch of males suffering from severe arrested development must be the struggle of a lifetime – but I have a suspicion that a lot of young women choose the military out of economic necessity.
Roger
http://www.unratedunfiltered.blogspot.com/

By: Lemur

Lemur — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:07:19 +0000

Yes, I know the only thing keeping me from dying for a country run by a total idiot was the possibility of breaking a nail. Otherwise, hey, I’d get to shower with a bunch of butch women (who’d then beat me up for being gay and throw me outside to be raped and mutilated)! Good times!
…If only they’d let me wear stilettos.

By: Cara

Cara — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:03:13 +0000

Exactly, Anna. You know, when I was a senior in high school and the recruiters kept calling me, a lot of thoughts went through my head: I don’t know, I hate nationalism, don’t believe in war or really any violence, can’t stand being around guns let alone shooting one, am not a fan of physical activity, don’t feel like dying, don’t feel safe in such a male dominated environment, and don’t do well with that type of extreme authority.

But in the end, what it really came down to is ew, I don’t want to wear those hideous combat boots!

By: Kristen

Kristen — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:43:26 +0000

Yes, because my three female friends that are in the air force and navy are most concerned with the color of their uniform and whether they are still “feminine.” They are not concerned at all with the culture that requires them to be complete assholes (their description not mine) just so that they don’t look “soft” on their subordinates. Or that they feel they have to dress even more carefully and severely than their male counterparts to avoid gender discrimination and unwanted attention.

Nope…it’s all about the lipstick.

[Actually, one complaint I have heard recently re: purses is that they changed the navy uniform regs recently to restrict the type of purse you can carry, so that there is basically only one purse you can use (and must use) and its incredibly expensive.]

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:34:41 +0000

I know the only thing keeping me from joining the military is the lack of pink. Can I have a pink camo uniform, too?

*sigh*

Why would I want to work for any organisation that so obviously loathes me and my “kind”? I might start taking photos of women in the shower, after all.