# We're human too!



## dq6t9 (20 Dec 2005)

Here's what I DON"T get. At school I get made fun of because I am in _Army cadets_ like whatever. Hwy should they get all worked over it.Besides how should they know what Cadets is like if they nver tried it? I tell them that but NO they still make fun. Say I am just a soldier wannabe. It is getting so ANNOYING  :rage: Anybody here no any hot comebacks to them, or any help to injore them. Becuase it gets worse evrytime.

Thanx 
MAndee


----------



## winchable (20 Dec 2005)

I used to get the same thing when I was in cadets,

Ignore them, like anything else kids do if you ignore it they'll stop, if you use a comeback no matter how good it is they'll just keep at it and it will only get worse.
Have some confidence in yourself and rise above it.


----------



## ouyin2000 (20 Dec 2005)

As a cadet (especially in your senior ranks), you will learn patience. Alot of it.

The only effective way to deal with bullies is to simply brush it off, and don't give them any reason to razz you.

Show pride in your uniform, and what you have accomplished. Being a cadet is one of the greatest experiences you will have as a teenager.


----------



## Michael Dorosh (20 Dec 2005)

The ones most likely to call you a wannabe are the sad little people who have nothing going on in their own lives.  They make themselves feel good by putting others down.  Ask yourself what it is they have going on, then take comfort in the fact you have joined something that is bigger than yourself.  And then ignore them, as suggested.


----------



## TCBF (20 Dec 2005)

You have accoutrements with the word 'CANADA' on it, while your peers wear their hats sideways, talk gutter/rap english and emulate the culture of a disadvantaged social group in a foriegn country.

So who is the wannabe?



Tom


----------



## yoman (20 Dec 2005)

As everybody has been saying, ignore them. And slowly try explaining to them what cadets is about. Show pride in yourself and what you are doing and make sure you let them know when necessary.


----------



## Burrows (21 Dec 2005)

TCBF said:
			
		

> You have accoutrements with the word 'CANADA' on it, while your peers wear their hats sideways, talk gutter/rap english and emulate the culture of a disadvantaged social group in a foriegn country.
> 
> So who is the wannabe?
> 
> ...


Well said Tom.


----------



## ryanmann356 (21 Dec 2005)

I heard somewhere that like 50% of the soldiers who fought in WWII were former army cadets.  Tell them that if it werent people like you they'd be speaking German and eating strudel.  I never got made fun of at my school, in fact i think alot of people were fascinated by it and regretted not joining when they were younger.  No matter what people are gonna make fun of other people for something, thats life, so just suck it up buttercup.


----------



## c.jacob (21 Dec 2005)

Just wait a few years until after High School.  When there are endless opportunities for you and others are flipping burgers.  You'll find that high school doesn't mean a whole lot when you're out in the real word.  As far as popularity factors go anyway.


----------



## Burrows (21 Dec 2005)

ARMYboi69 said:
			
		

> PLUS, no where else outside of cadets will you see a 17 year-old being referred to as 'sir'.



Wow,  I didn't know that getting a superiority complex was a reason for joining cadets.  :


----------



## Burrows (21 Dec 2005)

Piper said:
			
		

> I head somewhere that 78.97% of statistics are made up on the spot. And I like eating strudel.



I heard it was 125.66%..which doesn't make sense but its a statistic!


----------



## Ex-Dragoon (21 Dec 2005)

I hope your are not advocating the position because you join cadets you are more entitled to respect, then someone for whatever reason, who did not join is?


----------



## Kaziklu (21 Dec 2005)

here is what you should do. 

March in a relaxed manner everywhere..
Check you arms anytime you go up steps of any kind
only hold things in your left arm and kept it tight to your body when walk. 
Always stand at ease when not movie but standing. 

That'll show them


----------



## foxtwo (21 Dec 2005)

I totally get the opposite treatment at my school. People are intimidated even though I'm a nice guy. The ladies get turned on too


----------



## sgt_mandal (22 Dec 2005)

It's always amazing; every day at least one person asks me in all seriousness if i've ever shot anyone "cuz im in da army" :, EVERYDAY.......ignorance, what a thing.


----------



## ryanmann356 (22 Dec 2005)

I always get asked if i'm going to join the army when people find out if i'm in army cadets.  And I always smile and say "yup"


----------



## yoman (22 Dec 2005)

mandal said:
			
		

> It's always amazing; every day at least one person asks me in all seriousness if i've ever shot anyone "cuz im in da army" :, EVERYDAY.......ignorance, what a thing.



I get that to time to time. It gets annoying but oh well.



			
				ryanmann356 said:
			
		

> I always get asked if i'm going to join the army when people find out if i'm in army cadets.   And I always smile and say "yup"



I get that everyday usually at school, so I tell them I tell them hopefully I will...


----------



## dq6t9 (22 Dec 2005)

To the people who talk about McDonalds like its Mc Dicks...I kind of work there...Funny thing is, is that my manager pretty much hired me for BEING in army cadets..Well thats what i think.....Thank you guys for being, er supportive?...Everybody needs a helpful handful of encourging words everyday....Thanks... and am I proud to be in cadets? Yes I am...my life revolves around, cadets, school and work at "mcDix" And the spare time is for my REAL friends...Thanks again 

Mandee


----------



## Cansky (22 Dec 2005)

I was an army cadet in school too.   Was always tease for it, but the ones doing the teasing were the ones who had nothing to do with thier time.   The sports players, the chess club, the ones who had jobs etc, never had time to tease.   Sure they asked questions, but they understood what it was like to belong to something they felt was important.   The party crowd who's life was drugs and crime, they pick on anyone who had some direction in thier lives.   Now 20 years after I left school I find that the people who picked on me about cadets still tease me about joining the army.   Guess where they are now, in jail, dead or on welfare.   So go and enjoy what ever activities you are interested and know you are a good person with lots to contribute.   In the end you will walk tall and have something to be proud of, maybe even go on to a successfull military career, become a doctor or what ever else you wish and they shall still be nothing.

Just my 2 cents worth.


----------



## Sh0rtbUs (22 Dec 2005)

I know a few guys i worked with in my younger years at an Amusement park, and can honestly say id prefer to work with some of those guys in the field than some i currently work with in my unit, solely based on work ethic.

Like piper said, Cadets arent something to be taken so seriously. We had plenty of EX-Cadets quit the Army shortly after joining...

Mandee, grow thicker skin. It will do you a lot of good in later life.

On a side note, I like McDonalds   ;D


----------



## c.jacob (22 Dec 2005)

I think some clarity is needed for those offended by the McDonalds employee remarks.  McDonalds isn't really lower on the social ladder if you're a student with a part time job for some extra cash.  I think it's to those who are 35 and are working there as a career.  Managing a part time job, school and cadets deserves some credit.


----------



## Fishbone Jones (22 Dec 2005)

Let's see.. what does McDonald's, or other fast food franchises, give you?
A uniform;
Work experience;
Responsibility;
Life Skills; 
Real penalties for goofing up;
Interaction with peers, authority and the public;
Structure;
A low stress introduction to the working world;
Some financial independance;  
A fair wage; and
A pretty good idea what you "DON"T" want to be doing the rest of your life because of a lack of education.

Cadets gives you:
A uniform (partly);
Responsibility (somewhat, at higher levels);
Structure (only if you take it seriously, and are not one of the goof off, spoiled brats, so often seen in Cadets);
Some money, if you attend summer training;
Some training, like how to use a compass, if you ever get far enough out of the city to get lost, and remembered to bring it with you.

If I had to hire someone based on the previous criteria, it would probably be the person who spent a couple of years, doing regular shifts three or four times a week, flipping burgers. If you think it's beneath you, there's always tomatoes to be picked or corn to be detassled, bathrooms in bars to be cleaned.......

Get off your high horses. A job is a job, until another one comes along. And most jobs are a stepping stone and training for a better one.

Cadets, while seemingly noble, equate to little nowdays. It pulls about as much weight as saying you spent three years as a Boy Scout.


----------



## yoman (22 Dec 2005)

recceguy said:
			
		

> Cadets gives you:
> *A uniform (partly)*



Last time I checked our uniform was a uniform. Care to explain a little please?

I agree that real work experience is valuable. I think a combination of cadets and a job would be superior.


----------



## Fishbone Jones (22 Dec 2005)

yoman said:
			
		

> Last time I checked our uniform was a uniform. Care to explain a little please?



Yup! I see lot's of Cadets, all the time. Wearing running shoes, civvie jackets, toques and various uniform accoutrement's, all at once. I'm sure it's not their fault, even the regs don't have sufficient quantities of all the kit they should have either.


----------



## Fishbone Jones (24 Dec 2005)

ARMYboi69 said:
			
		

> Last time I checked, cadets gives you the EXACT same thing, just in a different setting



Nope. Don't agree. The two can't be equated. Read my post and feel free to disagree. Bottom line, Cadets is a hobby, the other is a real, substantive job with a pay stub.


----------



## Ex-Dragoon (24 Dec 2005)

When applying for a job and filling out your resume who do you think will most likely get a job first. The 18 year old that has been in cadets for the past 4 years or the kid that has worked at McDonalds for the same period? My best is on the kid that worked at McDonalds.


----------



## Fishbone Jones (24 Dec 2005)

armyboi69,

You place to much importance on yourself and your hobby. None of this was meant to demean Cadets, just to give some insight into what constitutes work and experience from an employers point of view. Lot's of us were in Cadets and were proud to do so, but it's not real world experience, and if you think it is, you have a very large culture shock coming. I'm not going to 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 with you. Suffice to say, I hope you take off the rose coloured glasses before your obvious ego takes to big a hit. Have a good day.


----------



## Ex-Dragoon (24 Dec 2005)

> Being at McDonald's for four years does not GUARANTEE that they learned anything.  However, cadets is GUARANTEED to give you leadership experience, time management skills, physical fitness, and peer interaction because that's what it's based on.



Thats a big *BRAVO SIERRA*! I have seen cadets that come into the CF that have _*none*_of those traits whilst kids that have worked at Tim Hortons having them all and vice versa. Stop perpatrating the myth cadets gives you all of those, it can only if the person is receptive to it.


----------



## Scott (24 Dec 2005)

Armyboi,

You're getting good advice from others here, please, heed it and get off the high horse. 



			
				Piper said:
			
		

> So in essence, what you get out of an org you are with equates to the effort you put in.
> 
> However, there is a difference. Having a job shows maturity, you can hold down a steady job, make money etc etc.
> 
> ...



Read the above again and again until you get it.

Cadets guarantees you nothing but a passtime. Just because you go through five years of it does not mean you exit a finely polished leader, nor does it mean that you even have what it takes to become one with practice. There are many kids out there who have zero desire to be in the Military yet they are in Cadets and they make great Cadets, how do you explain them?

Actually, forget my last question, steer this thread back on topic, please.


----------



## sgt_mandal (24 Dec 2005)

ARMYboi69 said:
			
		

> However, cadets is GUARANTEED to give you leadership experience, time management skills, physical fitness, and peer interaction because that's what it's based on.



Hey guess what, I'm going to agree with everyone else about this.....nothing is really guaranteed out of the CCM.......that said......does there really need to be so much cadet bashing to prove your points?....i know that it seems to be a favourite passtime for some but, can one request for a little less of it? or is that asking for just a little too much?...again...not ALL of us are on high horses, but it's a little disheartening to read all this bashing....


----------



## Fishbone Jones (24 Dec 2005)

mandal said:
			
		

> Hey guess what, I'm going to agree with everyone else about this.....nothing is really guaranteed out of the CCM.......that said......does there really need to be so much cadet bashing to prove your points?....i know that it seems to be a favourite passtime for some but, can one request for a little less of it? or is that asking for just a little too much?...again...not ALL of us are on high horses, but it's a little disheartening to read all this bashing....



It's not our favouite past time... and no one is bashing Cadets. Try to read and fathom a little. Just saying it doesn't equate to employment in the grand scheme of things. You guys need thicker skins.


----------



## c.jacob (24 Dec 2005)

I've what I've learned.  How well an employer see's a cadet for a job usually depends on any cadets that have worked for him in the past.  If a cadet has worked there before and was an excellent worker that employer usually has a high opinion of cadets and would hire another one no problem.  But if he's had a cadet work for him and he was lazy and useless, it would be the opposite affect.  It's true that there's no guarantee in cadets to make you a good leader or a good person by any means but I've never seen any harm come out of this hobby.  Are you saying that all cadets are wasting their time?


----------



## Fishbone Jones (24 Dec 2005)

Jacob said:
			
		

> Are you saying that all cadets are wasting their time?



Nobody said anything of the sort. Quit getting bent. You guys gotta simply read what's written and quit trying to infer or extrapolate something that's not there. My God, no wonder people get cranky when dealing with you. Your inferiority complex is near as large as some of your egos. Just go back on your happy go lucky utopian ways, I'm outta here. It's not possible to hold a reasoned discussion, without you guys thinking the world is against you.

Kyle, I don't know how you deal with it sometimes.


----------



## Scott (24 Dec 2005)

Well, when it degenerates to this we deal with it by locking the thread, just like so many others in the Cadet forums. 

Take heed to the advice given, how many times must it be said? 

Kyle, if you want to unlock this after a while feel free, otherwise, unless someone can give me a very good reason why I should let it continue the downward spiral it is over.

Some need to grow a thicker skin, some need to stop taking themselves so seriously. Ever think that's why some of you get teased? Wasn't that what this all started with?

I am through with this, as mentioned, give me a very GOOD reason via PM and I may open it back up, otherwise it's up to Kyle.


----------

