Some people get it; some people don't

[Journeyman]

don't forget the child killer quip....that riles them up something fierce...  :nod:

No, there's lines that even I avoid crossing.



.....I usually recognize those lines after I've crossed them. 

 

[GAP]

No, there's lines that even I avoid crossing.



.....I usually recognize those lines after I've crossed them. 

Sooo.....it's fair that they call you that, but you can't .....don't seem fair...... :

 

[Journeyman]

Sooo.....it's fair that they call you that, but you can't .....don't seem fair...... :

....especially in restaurants and pubs  :nod:

 

[bridges]

A few people have recommended walking away... an understandable temptation, but that won't help the conversation - unless you're truly having one of those "if you can't say something nice..." moments. 

Outside of a few communities with large bases, many Canadians don't know any soldiers personally.  As you're finding out, you're now a spokesperson for the CF.  Be honest about your answer and it sounds like you'll do just fine. 

 

[HopefulA.B.]

That was going to be my question last week. .

Ya, a teacher i told said, "Why would you want to do a sily thing like that?" I wonder why does the military get disaproved alot? In my view anyways (My dad for one...)

 

[curious george]

Outside of a few communities with large bases, many Canadians don't know any soldiers personally.  As you're finding out, you're now a spokesperson for the CF.  Be honest about your answer and it sounds like you'll do just fine.

I find your first statement so true.  I read the book "FOB Doc" by Captain Ray Wiss, a reservist  medical officer (with an infantry background), who went to Afghanistan.  I put the book down and thought, "Every Canadian has to read this book."  He did such a good job of providing context and filling in the knowledge gap.  And it made me so proud to be Canadian!

 

[OldSolduer]

"Every Canadian has to read this book."  He did such a good job of providing context and filling in the knowledge gap. 

ummmm sorry....Dancing With The Stars was on......and Grey's Anatomy too.

 

[aesop081]

I find your first statement so true.  I read the book "FOB Doc" by Captain Ray Wiss, a reservist  medical officer (with an infantry background), who went to Afghanistan.  I put the book down and thought, "Every Canadian has to read this book."  He did such a good job of providing context and filling in the knowledge gap.  And it made me so proud to be Canadian!

I read it too.

You wouldn't happen to know a way i could get that time back, eh ?

 

[HopefulA.B.]

Time travel.

 

[DeEmEn]

It's all because those people watch too much movies, and think that the military is all about war and killing... It's unfortunate that the media has such influence with civilian.

 

[Waters81]

I find your first statement so true.  I read the book "FOB Doc" by Captain Ray Wiss, a reservist  medical officer (with an infantry background), who went to Afghanistan.  I put the book down and thought, "Every Canadian has to read this book."  He did such a good job of providing context and filling in the knowledge gap.  And it made me so proud to be Canadian!

I agree, it was an amazing book. His second one ("A Line In The Sand") was just as good. There are a ton of other books to read as well that would make people rethink their view on our forces. I could spit out a dozen titles...but I wont right now.

 

[bridges]

I could spit out a dozen titles...but I wont right now.

Ok... get back to us when you're ready.     

 

[Sizzle709]

I usually just tell people that they clearly aren't educated about the subject and that they aren't worth my time.

 

[Waters81]

Ok... get back to us when you're ready.     

Okay...I'm ready now,
"Tarnished Brass, Bastard Sons, 15 Days, Outside the Wire, No Lack of Courage, Fortune Favours the Brave,On Combat, On Killing"...
to name a few.

 

[Waters81]

I usually just tell people that they clearly aren't educated about the subject and that they aren't worth my time.

You're right which is why I read the books I did. Too many people I've spoken to have such misguided ideas and opinions on what the Canadian Forces are, what they're doing and what they've done, or they think that I don't know what I'm getting into. To an extent they are correct, but I'm not walking into it blind. One thing that no one can say is that I haven't busted my ass over the last 4 years to finally get accepted.

 

[curious george]

I had another "incident" a week ago that I haven't bothered to post about, but since this thread is alive again, I will.  Honestly, I'm just trying to deal with it on my own by knowing when to filter and press the ignore button.  Here it is:

A guy in my neighbourhood tried to be "helpful" and wanted to leave me with some things to think about before I join the CF: i'm essentially a pawn, we had no business being in Afghanistan, 9/11 was not done by terrorists, and its all about the money.  Unfortunately, it really hit a nerve in me, and I had a really s****y day.  I got to work really angry. He went on and told me that if I really feel its my calling then I should just work with Doctors Without Borders.  Stupid me wasted my breath and energy trying to differentiate military nursing/soldiering versus humanitarian/civilian nursing.  In retrospect, if I ever meet someone like that again I will say, "You know, my dad gave me some really sound advice: don't discuss religeon or politics with anyone, especially people I don't know well".  I don't discuss those things with people, but this guy tried to drag me in it!  I could be wrong, but I think people like that take advantage of their freedoms (especially speech), but don't appreciate where it came from.

I'd appreciate any additional helpful comments or insights into the situation. Or perhaps you have your own story.

Plus, is there any legitimacy to what he says?  ie. do you see yourself as a pawn?  Do you bother yourself with what and who profits?  Or whether or not you should be somewhere in the world? And how the heck do you function if you do?

 

[Scott]

I had another "incident" a week ago that I haven't bothered to post about, but since this thread is alive again, I will.  Honestly, I'm just trying to deal with it on my own by knowing when to filter and press the ignore button.  Here it is:

A guy in my neighbourhood tried to be "helpful" and wanted to leave me with some things to think about before I join the CF: i'm essentially a pawn, we had no business being in Afghanistan, 9/11 was not done by terrorists, and its all about the money.  Unfortunately, it really hit a nerve in me, and I had a really s****y day.  I got to work really angry. He went on and told me that if I really feel its my calling then I should just work with Doctors Without Borders.  Stupid me wasted my breath and energy trying to differentiate military nursing/soldiering versus humanitarian/civilian nursing.  In retrospect, if I ever meet someone like that again I will say, "You know, my dad gave me some really sound advice: don't discuss religeon or politics with anyone, especially people I don't know well".  I don't discuss those things with people, but this guy tried to drag me in it!  I could be wrong, but I think people like that take advantage of their freedoms (especially speech), but don't appreciate where it came from.

I'd appreciate any additional helpful comments or insights into the situation. Or perhaps you have your own story.

Plus, is there any legitimacy to what he says?  ie. do you see yourself as a pawn?  Do you bother yourself with what and who profits?  Or whether or not you should be somewhere in the world? And how the heck do you function if you do?

If you listen, or give any amount of time, to every mouth breathing idiot who thinks they understand all facets of the Canadian Military's involvement in 'X' then you will go nuts. Be an ambassador, not someone's soundping post for rhetoric. Or at the very least, do yourself a favour and simply ignore it.

I feel like more of a pawn working private industry in oil and gas than I ever did in uniform. And some days we are treated that way. Fact.

But if I took it to heart every time some tree hugging arsehole told me how I am akin to Satan because I play on offshore rigs I would have gone nuts long ago, or would have been boarding rigs and chaining myself to them in Greenland instead of working safely and quietly, which is our best defense.

I am not trying to be a dink, but if you cannot handle this sort of thing without going to work angry and having a shitty day then you might want to stay on civvy side.

When we have dinner parties we always have one or two among the wife's friends who like to stir shit up with me. And I have a great time telling them, dripping with sarcasm, that I only killed X number of baby dolphins last trip because of seismic shots; or that some birds really can fly after swimming into an oil slick; or that Deppwater Horizon was really a Taliban attack. At least one will take me seriously and fucking near implode - it's brilliant! But most of the time I sit back and wonder what it's like to flap at the lips when you really know nothing about what you speak of. Then I smile at their retardation.

 

[Pte. Jay]

You can try and explain it all you want, and they might nod their head and say that they get it, but believe me, until they've done it themselves they'd never understand why we do what we do...

 

[aesop081]

but believe me, until they've done it themselves they'd never understand why we do what we do...

I actually just printed out the application form a few days ago!

Right.........

:

 

[Pte. Jay]

Really! I turn 16 in August, and the recruiter I emailed said that I could begin the application in February