HAHAHA, So True! 12 Statements Veterans Are Pretty Damn Tired Of Hearing.
A couple of years ago, a bunch of my veteran friends and I came up with a list of things we hated hearing from civilians. Here's 12 of my favorites.
1. "I could never join the military. I hate when people tell me what to do."
Well, at least you know that about yourself.
2. "Ever kill anyone?"
Eh?
NEVER say this to a veteran. Ever.
3. "I totally get what you went through because I play 'Call of Duty' and that shit is HARD-CORE."
The best is when they make the "Pew! Pew!" sound with pistol hands.
4. "Isn't it like the movies? Like 'Full Metal Jacket'"
Your R. Lee Ermey impression is not better than R. Lee Ermey's.
5. "You know you're brainwashed, right?"
Yep, totally brainwashed. Because there's no way a normal person would ever want to do something bigger than themselves without being brainwashed.
6. "I would've joined if I didn't have [insert here: flat feet, bad back, asthma, etc.]."
7. "You went to Afghanistan? I bet you've seen crazy stuff, like, stuff you can't even talk about, huh? I couldn't even imagine doing the things you've done."
Why do you toy with me so?
8. "I would've joined, but I'd miss all my friends."
I know, right?!? I cried myself to sleep for, like ... never.
9. "I would've joined, but I like weed way too much."
10. "How are you a veteran? You're not even old."
11. "I would have joined, but I got into college."
12. "People in the military seem so stiff. Do y'all still get to have fun?"
Being totally snarky isn't really my thing so I want to flip this discussion. If you are a veteran or a service member, what kind of questions do you WANT to be asked? What are some of the best conversation-starters a civilian can offer that you don't find off-putting or clueless? Hit me up on Twitter or my Facebook page.
Men try to read the most disturbing comments women get online back to them.
If you wouldn't say it to their faces, don't type it.
This isn’t comfortable to talk about.
Trigger warning for discussion of sexual assault and violence.
in 2016, a video by Just Not Sports took two prominent female sportswriters and had regular guys* read the awful abuse they receive online aloud.
Sportswriters Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro sat by as men read some of the most vile tweets they receive on a daily basis. See how long you can last watching it.
*(Note: The men reading them did not write these comments; they're just being helpful volunteers to prove a point.)
It starts out kind of jokey but eventually devolves into messages like this:
Awful.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
These types of messages come in response to one thing: The women were doing their jobs.
Those wishes that DiCaro would die by hockey stick and get raped? Those were the result of her simply reporting on the National Hockey League's most disturbing ordeal: the Patrick Kane rape case, in which one of the league's top players was accused of rape.
DiCaro wasn't writing opinion pieces. She was simply reporting things like what the police said, statements from lawyers, and just general everyday work reporters do. In response, she received a deluge of death threats. Her male colleagues didn't receive nearly the same amount of abuse.
It got to the point where she and her employer thought it best for her to stay home for a day or two for her own physical safety.
The men in the video seemed absolutely shocked that real live human beings would attack someone simply for doing their job.
Not saying it.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
Most found themselves speechless or, at very least, struggling to read the words being presented.
It evoked shame and sympathy.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
Think this is all just anecdotal? There's evidence to the contrary.
The Guardian did a study to find out how bad this problem really is. They combed through more than 70 million comments that have been posted on their site since 2006 and counted the number of comments that violated their comment policy and were blocked.
The stats were staggering.
From their comprehensive and disturbing article:
If you can’t say it to their face... don’t type it.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
So, what can people do about this kind of harassment once they know it exists?
There are no easy answers. But the more people who know this behavior exists, the more people there will be to tell others it's not OK to talk to anyone like that.
Watch the whole video below:
.This article originally appeared nine years ago.