A friend of mine joined the army in 97 or 98 after he got laid off from the aircraft factory he'd been working at. He's a helicopter mechanic so he had to enlist in 6 year blocks instead of 4. For all sorts of reasons, some similar to that one, some related to them not granting him two days leave (while not deployed or anything) to go to the funeral of his grandfather, who raised him for a lot of his childhood and was the only real father he had since his biological father ran off early on and his mother just went through a series of abusive partners after that. I saw him 6 months before he was due to re-enlist (at that point he'd been stationed for a year in Iraq, a year in Korea and a year in Afghanistan, not in that order necessarily) and he couldn't get out of the army fast enough, he was completely disgusted with it and was opposed to the war. Around 3 months before the deadline to reenlist his superiors started in on him, convinced him there was no life for him outside of the military, and pressured him in to reenlisting again despite his better judgement.

He's still there. Last time I saw him in person he was talking about the souvenir DVD-R full of thousands of snapshots of "dead terrorists" that he had been given when he completed his first tour in Iraq.

He voted for Trump.

My friend got out, and much to everyone's surprise, married a brain surgeon. ( He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, you know? ) But he ended up OK.

The US armed forces have developed probably the worlds best system of indoctrination and programming out our natural tendencies for humanity and compassion.

I'm surprised so many people manage to actually get out and still be functional.

There's a podcast, I might have learned about it here, about how the Armed forces after WWII effectively figured out how to train and condition people to shoot to kill, almost instinctively.

It mentioned that in the previous world wars, if opposing forces happened to come across one another, away from the frontline, they'd be more likely to throw rocks and yell obscenities than to kill each other. They also stated the kill rate for shots fired was incredibly low, because soldier would routinely aim over the heads of their enemies. This is all due to people generally not wanting to kill eachother. I think the USA pioneered the work-around.

I'll try to remember the podcast, it's really interesting.

Then, after burning out the very essence of what makes a person capable of existing in a densely packed, civilized society, they are cut loose without support or explanation of what's been done to them. You can tell where the vet's live on my road as you walk it, multiple layers of fencing, "My dog will kill you" signs and nooses tied to mailbox, etc etc. Mind you, the only thing out here that's remotely threatening ( besides the other vets ) are the coyotes.

You can take the boy out of the war, but you can't take the war out of the boy.

Was it a Dan Carlin podcast?

I don't think so? I thought it was Radio Lab, or some NPR joint.

A google search found this - http://tinyurl.com/mjtzrza

Which might just be the same author reiterating a lot of his points. I don't remember ever listening to "The Art of Manliness Podcast," but I think it's the same guy.

Lindybeige has a video talking about soldiers and shooting to kill.

http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=154359

Oh, there it is.

I would be shocked if they have not studied and implemented ways of abusing and/or rewarding soldiers in such a way as to make them mentally dependent on the military and hopeless about any life outside it. Probably by studying cults.

Because it's expensive to train a soldier and it is a lot cheaper to retain them than to recruit and train new ones. And you all know just how much certain people love applying business practices to every branch of government.

You guys must really know what you're talking about

Not directly, just the aftermath. Half the people on this road are vets, for example. They're all suffering from PTSD in some form. My partner won't take these clients anymore, too difficult and resistant to treatment. Part of it is the training.

But do tell us. I know you've seen some action. Let's hear your story.

Oh yes, no doubt you are familiar with the specific action my old running mate was part of, but for those not,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_of_Death

No thanks, I think there's enough ill conceived opinions and unverifiable hearsay for one thread.

On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
by Dave Grossman

I had as much of a bond with my military aquaintance, he provided security for a mining operation, he was fierce to his military code and indifferent towards the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. He went as far as to launch pre emptive strikes against their sacred monuments to destabilize their enviroment. He ended up sprinting around in advanced prototype body armor with a huge bowie knife trying to kill one of his fellow soldiers (crippled). He went as far as to try to slit the parapalegic guy's throat in a fit of blind aggression rage, but a courageous surviving native snuck up behind him and garroted him with a bone jaw. This is all true, and though I'm secretly saddened that he did not commit suicide, I take secret solace in the fact that he has been reduced to a legally blind man who lives alone

Fair enough, Doc, but nature abhors a vacuum and you see what fills it... It's a shame EvilHomer is no longer with us, as he is both a vet and working at the VA. He was quite fearless about wading into such waters, a quality I much liked about the cat.

Better you should take a whack at what you think is the most egregious misunderstanding above, no need to bring personal details into it. Obviously some of the above is exaggerated, but the basic thrust of the discussion ( that the armed forces are a kind of cult ) is something you should at least consider. There are many parallels, including the claim that either you are in the thing and can understand, or you aren't and you can't. It's not that the claim is false, it's that the claim is incomplete. For it's opposite is also true.

Clearly this is a false flag operation set up by those dirty liberals who oppose slavery in Kuwait so that the government with abolish it.

nobody just gets into the position of hanging out of a seven story window. It's not like your shoe laces becoming untied or accidentally biting your tongue.

Oh, I really should have read that article kamlem posted.

On a more positive note, slaves of old were often killed when they tried to escape. Baby steps, as DQL sez below.

My first reaction was that of the internet of condemning the filming woman, but after reading more (and do consider the odd context), I kind of understand why she filmed. The maid/slave survived with injury and admitted to climbing out there herself. The boss/owner/filmer said she was filming because the woman was being so erratic and she didn't want to be accused of throwing her out.

If someone you were in an argument with climbed out onto a ledge or hung from a window, would you rush to their side? I might be scared they'd try to pull me out or just down with them.

I feel bad having their opinion but there it is. Maybe the best thing would have been to leave the camera running but set it down and get some kind of tool she could climb out on, but it was just a few seconds.

Server lag.

Jesus. ******

Jesus? I didn't see him. What time?

Talk about steps being made after we hear the death toll.

death toll will be highly dependent on financial status of the parade goers.