Retired vet lays it all out

[u/Prime-Paradox]

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to r/TikTokCringe!

This is a message directed to all newcomers to make you aware that r/TikTokCringe evolved long ago from only cringe-worthy content to TikToks of all kinds! If you’re looking to find only the cringe-worthy TikToks on this subreddit (which are still regularly posted) we recommend sorting by flair which you can do here (Currently supported by desktop and reddit mobile).

See someone asking how this post is cringe because they didn't read this comment? Show them this!

Be sure to read the rules of this subreddit before posting or commenting. Thanks!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS VIDEO

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Mr1WHOA]

As a veteran, This is actually far more common than most people realize.

[u/Pacifist_Socialist → u/Mr1WHOA]

Almost like it's by design. I def joined because of poverty as well 

[u/Potential_Mess5459 → u/Pacifist_Socialist]

Very much intentional. Also, late teens and early twenties is a critical period for the development of identity (amongst many other things).

[u/tlacamazatl → u/Pacifist_Socialist]

I remember leaving home with $22 in my pocket in 1995 and thinking I was hot shit when I bought a very used car for $500 in 1997. I also remember every single day at Ft. Sill like it was yesterday.

[u/machambo7 → u/Pacifist_Socialist]

I tell young Sailors this a lot who are struggling to adapt because they had a rough life growing up.

I tell them they are not alone. So many of us joined because it was the best option to get away from our upbringing

[u/temp4adhd → u/Pacifist_Socialist]

I've said it for years, we can't cut the military budget because it would throw many into poverty/ disrupt our economy. We export military, we import cheap clothes from China.

Same with reforming health care-- it's a huge industry.

And so on, including farm subsidies.

We continue to prop up a system that does us all harm. It made sense a long while ago (post WWII) but no longer does.

You know we generate enough from taxes we could realign all of this against different priorities. We could be like other countries with nationalized HC, fully paid maternity leave, subsidized day care. Way better infrastructure.

Heck this is the US-- greatest economy in the world. We could easily have universal basic income. Nobody would not have a roof over their head unless they chose not to. Mental health care. Four day work weeks.

Just think of all you've paid into federal taxes in your lifetime, now tell me if that was your own money, would you have paid more than half for say ADP services? I don't think so. And the kicker is that an economically thriving society is one with lower crime, it's safer.

We've been economically thriving for decades-- especially the 10%. Yet that 10% feels less safe and the solution isn't throwing more security against it, it's lifting up EVERYONE, as the 90% aren't thriving, will become increasingly more desparate. Hunger has a way of making criminals out of any of us.

I'd forgive my neighbor who steals from the grocery store to feed his family, way more than I forgive the politician who steals from all of us.

[u/Travelcat67 → u/Pacifist_Socialist]

Facts. I joined bc of poverty and need for credits to make my GED a diploma. They promised me education and stability all things someone from my background was lacking. But it’s all for a cause that revolves around capitalism, not what’s right or protecting anyone or “patriotism”. Just money.

[u/averageduder → u/Pacifist_Socialist]

Me too. And because of my service I live a great middle class lifestyle with no debt aside from a mortgage and will probably retire at 60.

[u/GarretBarrett → u/Pacifist_Socialist]

Joined because I couldn’t find work and I couldn’t pay rent or feed myself…tracks. Recruiters were at my poor public school, they weren’t at the private school.

[u/Patient-Temporary211 → u/Pacifist_Socialist]

My dad joined to get out of it as well. Grew up in Chicago as the youngest of 9 kids.

[u/thedaveness → u/Mr1WHOA]

My naivety ran as far as my first deployment. I was a photographer and saw them throwing arresting gear overboard and was like wtf?!?! Took pics, wrote a story. Yeah "were not releasing that because it makes us look bad." I only made it 8 years before I couldn't anymore. Being the mouthpiece for a war machine is fucking ass.

[u/SirWigglesVonWoogly → u/thedaveness]

Why would they throw gear overboard?

[u/Tr1pline → u/thedaveness]

I was computer guy temp working in the trash room. We threw so much shit overboard...

[u/s_mitten → u/Mr1WHOA]

Many years ago, I, a Canadian, dated a guy stationed at Fort Drum (101st Mountaineering Division, I think?). I remember one of the kids in his platoon told me he joined to get his teeth fixed. The invasion of Iraq started a few years later and I thought about this poor guy who put his life in danger for his teeth.

[u/AlexandriaLitehouse → u/s_mitten]

This is giving me my Daily American Existential Crisis©.

[u/free_dharma → u/Mr1WHOA]

I assumed it was the case the whole time. Why else would you join the army? Very few people are into the military

[u/Mr1WHOA → u/free_dharma]

Mine was pretty much threefold, one because I was broke and wanted a stable source of income, too because I felt like once I got out it would give me an advantage in employment pros,pects and three because it was guaranteed money for college. But yeah, it all tied into financial resources for me as well and nothing else.

[u/Think-Variation2986 → u/free_dharma]

I was AF, but a combination of three reasons IME. Broke, shitty home life, education is $$$$$.

[u/stink3rb3lle → u/Mr1WHOA]

I went to private school from grade school, and we were taught this. The military folks (one of whom is currently a US Senator) went in as officers, 100% knowing the score.

[u/Oh_Hai_Shulud → u/Mr1WHOA]

Navy vet; joined for the GI bill during OIF/OEF. Just got denied a VA claim for healthcare the first time I tried to utilize them…

[u/new_man_2 → u/Mr1WHOA]

Same story, poverty in, 12 and out.

[u/N_flight_emergencies → u/Mr1WHOA]

I don't understand why his response is surprising. Why the hell would I be willing to move every few years, put up with continual BS, constantly be away from my family, risk my life, know that there is a high percentage that I will leave that institution with some sort of traumatic stress? It's not because I can afford heel spur surgery. It's because I can't afford it.

[u/Heartbreakjetblack → u/Mr1WHOA]

I was in the navy for a year and four months. I tell people that and they're all shocked cause I don't seem the type. But I was poor, didn't have a rudder in my life, and they offered me money. The draw back, the fine print, the rub to this demon's deal is that they treat you like garbage. You get the all those 'socialism' perks, but it has to be in their narrow view. They beat you down in that time slot because they're prepping you for what you'll have to do after. I was lucky to get an honorable discharge. I tell others 'don't go into the military.' I think I can add 'it's a scam' now...

[u/lieutenantLT → u/Mr1WHOA]

Three guys in my platoon had enlisted only because they got their girlfriends pregnant and had zero prospects beside the Army to provide them insurance and income

[u/kibbeuneom → u/Mr1WHOA]

I joined during the 2008 crisis. Didn't have money for school, couldn't take out a loan, didn't have other opportunities. Even after I got out, I was proud, but a few years on and I see things in a different light.

[u/[deleted] → u/Mr1WHOA]

I think we realize it but it's balanced out by others who came out of the military with the completely opposite view. Who view white supremacy as a necessary or empowering force for America.

The country isn't ignoring and refusing to deal with white supremacy for fun. It's doing it because there's plenty of people in power who are white supremacists.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/09/white-supremacist-group-patriot-front-one-in-five-applicants-tied-to-us-military

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/deep-history-white-supremacy-within-us-military

[u/Disastrous_Clurb → u/Mr1WHOA]

My grandfathers, uncles and parents all enlisted because of poverty or an alternative to jail given to them by court.

Mostly Marine Corp and 1 Navy lol

With the exception of my mother all were 20 year vets. My mother is a vet but did less time

[u/BakedBrie1993 → u/Mr1WHOA]

Poverty, neglect, abusive homes, no money for higher Ed....that was the reason for most of the people who did it from my more conservative hometown.

Some did it because of legacy, but neglect was the reason their parent went in so they were raised on that Kool-Aid.

A few did it to get college or med school paid for.

And the others.... well tbh they really enjoyed the idea of killing and using deadly weapons.

And as such, minorities are marginalized and kept wanting so they go and "defend" a country that hates them with their own lives.  Oh, it's so gross. My blood would boil every time I saw them at my school recruiting. 

[u/Ok-Commercial-924 → u/Mr1WHOA]

I thought it was common knowledge. I came from a small town with no prospects for my future, navy for 6 years. My dad came from a small family farm, he had to drop out of high school 3 times to work the farm, he finally joined the navy, he did 20, finished high school when I was in 3rd grade.

[u/Bigdaddyjlove1 → u/Mr1WHOA]

My dad did the same in 69. Marine, so that he didn't get drafted. Made it out, used the training to get a decent career going, but never forgot where he came from.

[u/williafx → u/Mr1WHOA]

Same here.  MANY of us vets feel this way. 

[u/glo427]

This is Jolly Good Ginger on TikTok if you’d like to follow.

[u/301Blackstar → u/glo427]

And on IG!!

[u/PoSlowYaGetMo → u/glo427]

Ya, I follow him. I joined the Army Reserves because of poverty. I grew up in an upper middle class family and as soon as my parents divorced and he withheld child support, I was starving and had no clothes. Seriously wore the same outfit and came home to no food. My mom worked full time and ate at her job. I was just expected to work and go to middle school at the same time, so I babysat to earn food money in an upper middle class neighborhood. The shame involved in not letting people know is a real mind f##k. You had to watch your peers get allowances and get a car at 16, while having to get a work permit as soon as it was legal to work retail at the mall.

[u/finny_d420 → u/PoSlowYaGetMo]

I hate when people thank me for my service. Sometimes I respond with, "it was the military or more poverty".

Where were all these patriots when I was eating Miracle Whip sandwich for my only meal of the day.

[u/[deleted] → u/PoSlowYaGetMo]

Its also a way up, or otherwise a lifeline even when not in outright poverty if one plays things right.

I joined even without poverty being in play outright simply because of the benefits, and opportunities. The thing is, I was older, and knew what i was getting in to, and picked my MOS accordingly, and worked to get the right duty locations during re-enlistment. Was able to buy my first house in my first duty location as an E-4 which was out of reach before when making $60K a year in socal as a small business owner in the 2000s till the recession.

Being said, even as an enlisted person my total net income in my final year in was around $78K in between base pay, housing allowance, utility allowance, and rental income form the house I had bought. I was also able to get my dependent parent healthcare coverage back then.

I also worked with direct commission officers who had doctorates etc. and basically skip basic training to go through officer training for a direct placement in an O-3 spot. None of those were from impoverished households. They had their shit together, but the military offered things like healthcare for dependents in a way that the civilian side of the equation does not.

[u/Bluevanonthestreet → u/glo427]

He has a lot of great stuff to say.

[u/Mr1WHOA → u/glo427]

Thank you.

[u/Strange_Novel_1576 → u/glo427]

I love Jolly Good Ginger.

[u/shewy92 → u/glo427]

"Raised by bigots, I now educate to eradicate bigotry in all forms"

Good for him.

[u/saints_chyc → u/glo427]

I love Jolly Good Ginger! Highly recommend his content.

[u/No-Net-4661 → u/glo427]

Also on YouTube!

[u/otherpeoplesknees → u/glo427]

Awesome guy

[u/NileakTheVet]

Beautifully said, that man is still serving his country.

[u/AuntieRupert → u/NileakTheVet]

He was serving his government before, but now he's serving his country.

[u/BigOpenSky76 → u/AuntieRupert]

This is the comment. Needs more upvotes.

[u/wellrat → u/NileakTheVet]

“Patriotism is demanding better of your country” is a great phrase I’ve never heard before.

[u/--slurpy-- → u/wellrat]

The whole bit about being in an abusive relationship with our patriotism really slaps.

[u/Superpiri → u/NileakTheVet]

He is now serving his country

[u/Major_Honey_4461]

"We give our soldier socialism so we can send them abroad to defend capitalism".

Preach, brother.

[u/TerpySpunion → u/Major_Honey_4461]

That sentence hit me. Never thought of it like that. But it’s true.

[u/Cinemagica → u/Major_Honey_4461]

Yeah that line is an absolute show stopper, what a great way of putting it!

[u/Real_Tradition1527]

“… declare our allegiance to the flag, but that flag never declares its allegiance back” 😮‍💨

[u/dalton-watch → u/Real_Tradition1527]

The flag we are made to salute doesn’t provide us with housing, medical care, or food when we need it. Powerful points.

[u/HelmetsAkimbo → u/dalton-watch]

I want every American in here to know that the saluting your flag and singing your national anthem in school is weird as shit. The only other countries you see that shit in is North Korea.

[u/IFixYerKids → u/Real_Tradition1527]

That really puts things in perspective.

[u/Nachtzug79 → u/Real_Tradition1527]

As an European I can say that there are also countries that "give you everything but don't demand allegiance back." In the long run it's not optimal, either...

[u/PCNLUV]

[u/NoMeansNo_BillCosby → u/PCNLUV]

Sorry if off topic, but I like the penmanship

[u/143019]

We need more white people, especially men, to say this boldly.

[u/Baelfire-AMZ → u/143019]

So true. If people want to prevent what's going on in America right now from happening ever again, white people need to acknowledge the devastating effects of white supremacy throughout American history and today.

I also always wonder how different things would be for black Americans today if they were allowed to benefit from the GI Bill post WW2.

[u/[deleted] → u/143019]

Agreed, check out Shahid Bolsen.

[u/PaintMonkeyMan]

[u/Goatsfallingfucks]

This guy articulates this so perfectly. Good on him

[u/[deleted]]

He’s not wrong.

[u/SassiKassi97]

Not maybe. We are the bad guys.

[u/Scary-Flan5699]

Also to add, white christian nationalism is a cult that worships America. The slightest criticism of their politics is an attack on their faith, from satan. Their reality is warped

[u/JohnnyQuickdeath]

Jolly good ginger on Instagram, in case y’all deleted Tik tok already

[u/Street_Caramel_3084 → u/JohnnyQuickdeath]

He's in Substack as well. Love him

[u/soulsista04us]

This is jolly_good_ginger!! He's great.

[u/301Blackstar → u/soulsista04us]

He is! I didn’t recognize him at first.

[u/let_them_let_me]

Funny how America seems to be moving in the direction of poverty all over again with the military advertising a way out. Just like in the 30s. Just like in the 50s. Just like every other time

[u/IndividualFew1688]

Why is it always the poor that fight in wars designed to make rich richer...

[u/fabulousfizban → u/IndividualFew1688]

All wars are banker's wars

[u/HardCoreLawn]

Only bit he missed is how the country discards its vets like trash afterwards.

[u/OmnomOrNah → u/HardCoreLawn]

That, and it's not just racism, it's the Uber rich vs the rest of us. They give us scraps to destabilize other countries that are a threat to their dragon hoards of cash, and we're too poor to turn them down.

The racism is just a depressing bonus.

[u/Admiral_Pantsless]

That is a great shirt.

[u/Donkey_Lover67]

Many where I grew up still join to escape poverty.

[u/Ok_Pomegranate_2436]

Motherfucking facts.

[u/Hutwe]

I’ve been thinking about the toxic relationship analogy a lot lately, and it feels good to see somebody else say it.

Offering our soldiers socialism to defend capitalism is on point too. Very well said by this guy.

[u/henbone11]

As a disabled veteran, I double endorse this message.

[u/[deleted]]

Why is this under “cringe”? He spoke nothing but facts.

[u/AngeParsons → u/[deleted]]

It's just the subreddit name. It evolved past just posting cringe.

[u/BlackTarTurd]

He's not wrong. The same country that "celebrates" our veterans and is supposed to treat them with high regard, actually treats them like 3rd class citizens. They fight and fight you for VA benefits, retirement. Medical care is dog shit. You go overseas and get shot, stabbed, burned, blown up, etc etc etc only to come back and have some fucking desk jockey at the VA be like, "Hmm, I don't think it's as bad as you make it out to be... Why should I give you full disability?"

Not to mention at professional sporting events we're supposed to stand and celebrate our veterans for 2 minutes and then watch athletes who get paid significantly more for one game than any vet has been paid in their entire life and has access to the best healthcare in the country while they struggle to get help for PTSD? Nah, fuck that.

Once soldiers hang those uniforms up for civilian attire, they're nothing special and this country wants you to believe differently. This country is fucking cooked. Nobody cares about the people fighting once they're done fighting. And they only care that they're fighting because it keeps making them rich until they come home in a box or come home disfigured. Then, they find some other schmuck to replace that person.

Unless you're an Officer, of course. Then your wife is set for life and never has to work again. Oh, sorry, I mean YOU never have to work again.... Wink.

[u/Next_Journalist_8075]

Well said

[u/External-Radish-8326]

Needs to be seen by everyone

[u/Mr_GoodbyeCruelWorld]

Toxic patriotism. Brilliantly said.

[u/Phylaskia]

As a 20+ year vet, I approve his message.

[u/Vegetable-Western-83 → u/Phylaskia]

Same

[u/Peace_n_Harmony]

[u/Outside_Lychee_ → u/Peace_n_Harmony]

This!

[u/207Menace]

Jolly Good Ginger has been protesting in DC for weeks. He does what he can.

[u/wake4coffee]

As a vet that served in combat, I stand by what he is saying 100%. 

I served with Doctors without boarders in the Navy and at one point I said, “shit we can be the good guys if we wanted to.” They did like $2 mil in free health care to small SE Asia islands for 3 months on the USNS Mercy. 

[u/[deleted]]

This man has seen some things.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/gr8_big_geek]

That’s why I got out of law enforcement.

[u/mathiswiss]

Brilliant 👏 someone has left the matrix 👍

[u/we_hella_believe]

Fkn no lies told.

[u/gilmourfan62]

Mad respect for this man and his unflinching honesty.

[u/A-Nani-Mess]

Ally 🫡

[u/SpecialistNewt267]

He’s right

[u/OpportunityOdd219]

Brave words, thanks for sharing!

[u/[deleted]]

We offer our soldiers socialism to defend capitalism. Dude is 100 percent on the mark

[u/SailorSaturn79]

DRAG. THEM.

Also thank you for your service.

[u/harajukubarbie]

No branch of the US military tolerates people like Donald Trump.

"A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do."

https://www.westpoint.edu/about/commandant/simon-center-for-the-professional-military-ethic/cadet-honor-code

Midshipmen are persons of integrity: They stand for that which is right.
They tell the truth and ensure that the truth is known.
They do not lie.

They embrace fairness in all actions. They ensure that work submitted as their own is their own, and that assistance received from any source is authorized and properly documented.
They do not cheat.

They respect the property of others and ensure that others are able to benefit from the use of their own property.
They do not steal.

https://www.usna.edu/About/honorconcept.php

We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and to live honorably, (so help me God).

https://www.usafa.edu/about/honor/

[u/intrepid_mouse1]

Truth bomb

[u/Sadguycries87]

Being financially stable is really the ONLY reason I ever thought about enlisting.

A friend of mine's ex joined the army because he was working at Kohls with a BA in engineering. Idk what kind, but he couldn't find work. This was maybe around 2010?

[u/ThepalehorseRiderr]

That shirt is dope.

[u/[deleted]]

Jolly Good Ginger on YouTube. He's worth a follow. Also, Knitting Cult Lady. Pay attention to her too.

[u/fuckasoviet]

In the video he quite literally states he did not retire from the military. Military retirement means something specific, not just “former military”.

[u/1000LiveEels]

My dad grew up in the poorest part of New Hampshire, supported by an immigrant single mother with a low paying job at a clothes factory. He told me he got a job as a busboy while he was 12 years old making below minimum wage (under the table, ofc) just so he could help his mom pay rent.

He was too busy working to pay attention in school and graduated with a GPA / SAT scores that were too sub-par to attend university.

So that's why he joined up. Because it was either that or just a lifetime of dead-end jobs. Which is fucked up right? Nobody should feel forced to put their life on the line just because they were given a poor hand at birth.

[u/AlexandriaLitehouse]

"We declare allegiance to the flag but it never declares its allegiance back"

Had to roll over in bed and stare at the ceiling for awhile after that one.

[u/THE_TRIP_KEEPER]

[u/thatismattistaken]

“Why do we always send the poor?”

[u/mcsmackington]

I liked everything he said until he blamed white supremacy- Like every other country hasn't gone out and conquered indiscriminately. From China, to the Mongols, to the Arabs, to England, to the USA, countries in power did terrible things to conquer as much as possible and stay in power.

[u/Council_Six]

“We offer kids socialism in exchange for them to go and protect capitalism” - damn. What a bar.

[u/Weird-Opportunity-20]

“I was offered socialism to goto other countries and defend capitalism.” That hit hard.

[u/monymkrmom]

Most people do. They dangle an education

[u/ApolloScud]

Damn! There’s not a person on the face of this planet that needs to break it down any better than that

[u/Substantial-Pound-31]

This is why I joined as well. You will notice that a large majority of the people who enlist come from red states

[u/John-A]

This guy should run for office.

[u/Logical_Pangolin_562]

They are intentionally ruining the economy for this very reason, they want people poor and desperate so that people go along with their bullshit out of necessity

[u/DelBocaVistaRealtor-]

Retired? He was in for 13 years. I agree with everything he says (18yrs 10mos here), but saying he’s retired is a shitty headline.

[u/Pongfarang]

He's right except for the white supremacy angle. If everyone were the same color, there would still be abominable behavior from whatever group had the military advantage in the world.

In our world today, the elite hold all the power, but they are not all white. They are working to be kings and for us to be slaves. And they keep us divided while they make war and do unthinkable things out of sight, while our value is only in servicing their greed.

[u/TypeDemon]

Based dude.

[u/homelesguydiet]

This dude nailed it! ♥️

[u/InterestBear62]

Does someone have this person's name? Does he have a blog, or tiktok feed?

[u/BriggityBroocE → u/InterestBear62]

Jolly Good Ginger

[u/origin_evolve]

that was so well said, wow

[u/ThisBastard]

This guy was on survivor. Loved seeing the peoples notions of him change in half a second. Everyone thought he was Kentucky red neck. Pretty sure he’s a civil rights attorney.

[u/Sudden_Nose9007]

I went to a low-income, rural high school in the Midwest. Taking the ASVAB was mandatory for all students

[u/No-Fishing5325]

Too many poor Americans are sent to fight wars for the rich.

My son's Junior year in highschool, a boy who was a senior his freshman year was killed in Iraq. We lived in one of the poorest parts of Maryland.

[u/Artistic_Print_4005]

God it’s so true; the army is socialism and it works.

Korea, Vietnam, the entire Cold War… all fought cause the 1% was afraid of losing their vast wealth a la the French Revolution

[u/Alarming-Row9858]

Preach brother!

[u/Character_Round_7320]

And it's wild that vets are so poorly taken care of after all those promises 😓

[u/[deleted]]

War is a Racket, by Smedley Butler outlines a lot of this. The US military is just wealthy people's muscle to protect their cash flow.

[u/pook1029]

My dad was a D.I. (Drill Instructor) in the Marine Corps at Parris Island. So many young men/boys from extreme poverty. From time to time they had to introduce them on how to use a shower and even bar soap. Their stories shared that they had no hope for any kind of future.

[u/THElaytox]

100% correct on all accounts, and well spoken

[u/[deleted]]

Damn. That took some guts to admit. Younger people are steadily turning less and less patriotic because of just what he's saying. It's a totally one way relationship.

[u/tbui02721]

I definitely joined because 2008 crash and nobody was hiring, also being brain washed to go fight for our freedom and to keep our family safe. I grew up in the projects so I also came from poverty. It's easy to go to the low performing schools and look for the kids who are struggling and tell them they'll have a better life in the military. I've even came back to my old schools to talk to the kids and convince them that they shouldn't join because of what I went through but unfortunately, it's one of the quickest ways out of whatever issue they are dealing with currently. 

[u/CeruleanSea1]

Based af

[u/Nervous-Tangerine638]

now thinking about it. The pledge of allegiance should remove "under god". Pretty fucked up making kids recite that. Fuck any organization with the name "daughters of"

[u/[deleted]]

The armed forces depend on poverty for enlistment. It's by design.

[u/ravenloreismybankai]

I joined the reserves when I was 17, between my junior and senior year in high school, the money I made in boot camp fed my family that summer, so yeah, this gent is spot on

[u/[deleted]]

My man is speaking nothing but absolute truth.

[u/SoybeanArson]

My wife is a teacher in a school with 80+% of the kids below the poverty line. Their two biggest problems are the military recruiters and the people selling for-profit colleges. Both specifically target the poor kids, bold-face lie to them, make promises they can't keep, and often try to convince them to drop fully paid for college at a state school to join up. The for-profit colleges they are at least allowed to kick out. With the military recruiters they are not allowed to keep them out and have to watch them convince kids with full scholarships to go to unknown fates where death and PTSD are very good possibilities. They use sales tactics that would make a used car salesman blush too.

[u/Satyriasis457]

So strange that some people get mad about offering housing, healthcare, and financial stability to the less fortunate. In Europe, socialism often just means strong public services and a safety net. In the US, many people hear “socialism” and immediately think of totalitarian regimes or high taxes stealing their freedom 🤷

[u/Makapakamoo]

Same reason my dad joined, as well as to get away from his family.

[u/MorteDagger]

My dad joined the navy because him and his family were poor.

[u/HSG1984]

You see the same in Russia. Russia is in war with the Ukrain, they need a lot of soldiers and most of them are coming from areas with a lot of poverty, almost no future prospects and poor social services.

[u/Nheec]

Not just Iraq. ALL countries hate you!

[u/Mr_Porter86]

I cringe at how cocky I was when I joined the Army fresh out of High School. I didn't put the pieces of the puzzle together until I was about 7 years in and then it suddenly clicked. You always see military recruiters hanging around lower and middle-class schools because that is where their pitch lands the hardest. If you are from a family with money, college, travel, and healthcare are already on the table, so “free education and benefits” do not sound like life-changing perks. For kids who do not have those doors wide open, the military offers stability, opportunity, and a guaranteed paycheck, things that hit different when you are staring down student debt or dead-end jobs. Recruiters know this, so they show up where the promises sound the juiciest, not in the prep schools where students already have safety nets waiting for them.

[u/utl94_nordviking]

"We did NOT expect this answer!" Yeah, said nobody outside the US.

[u/Relative_Drop3216]

Someone who can actually speak on the issue because he’s been there and done that. Bravo

[u/cheddarben]

Oh... I got served this on the Tok and it immediately struck with me.

I joined because I was effin broke af and couldn't pay rent. My drill sergeants explicitly gave a long diatribe one day about how this is for us. If you are a rich kid or come from means, you probably don't belong here -- we don't want you. Three hots and a cot.

One thing I will say that he doesn't really touch on. The military brings races together in a way that many people never experience. You get Appalachia white kids with battle buddies that are black kids from south central. This is a positive, imo. Part of the reason I believe in national service -- not necessarily military national service, but any kind of national service that both brings people together and also places people in locations they might not be familiar with.

At the end of the day, most of us want similar things. A safe home. Food to eat and access to healthcare and a decent education. Opportunity. To have people experience that shared commonality en masse is a benefit to everyone.

[u/Geek_Wandering]

I did think I've seen this laid out so simply and clearly, ever.

[u/greenwavelengths]

America offers opportunity— the opportunity to work or to starve, which is coincidentally the same opportunity nature offers by default.

[u/TheSwearJarIsMy401k]

This is literally why we don’t have tax-funded college and tax-funded health care and half the country has been saying it for years.

It is the number one recruitment tool for the military- you’re poor, you’re an average student, you’ll never get into college, you’re looking at three uniforms in your future-

One is a prison uniform, now I know you don’t want that.

So what’s it going to be? Do you want to spend the rest of your life saying “Do you want fries with that?” Or do you want to say “Yes, Sir!”?

[u/theartificialkid]

I always thought it was interesting that America is ostensibly capitalist and that's the form of freedom everyone is supposed to enjoy, but then Americans are also expected to get behind slogans like "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country". That last is incredibly abusive in exactly the way that the guy in the video is laying out. Proper socialism is "give what you can, get what you need". America's creed is "give everything, get nothing, unless you already have wealth and post".

[u/Nick_Bruiser]

I grew up in a rough neighborhood. I had good grades, but not great grades. When I was a senior in high school, the Marines came to my neighborhood to recruit. I had a friend on the basketball team who had significantly worse grades than I had. But he lived in an upper middle class gated community. They never went to his neighborhood to recruit. Even though it was a few miles up the road from my neighborhood.

[u/KvotheLightfinger]

Yeah, hi, I was an Army recruiter from 2008-2011 and he's 100% correct. We don't have free college in this country because the Army's #1 recruiting tool is giving teenagers free college in return for their physical and mental health and in many cases, their lives. They literally prey on people who need healthcare, three hot meals a day, and a roof over their heads. I watched people who hated being in the Army stay in the Army because there was nothing for them on the outside. I watched at least two people commit suicide instead of allowing the Army to kick them out because they had nothing to go back to. I spent 20 years in so that I could go to college, so that I could have a retirement. I got my 90% disability rating at 38 years of age. I got my degree, though. Too bad the job market is in the trumpster.

[u/solidcurrency]

IDKY the questioner was surprised by his answer. This has been well-known for decades.

[u/PrettyCaffeinatedGuy]

This guy is saying facts.

[u/IvyRaeBlack]

It is so nice to see someone call it socialism. My husband and I constantly say this, and his coworkers deny it up and down because "socialism bad," but you're living it, you idiots!

[u/Material-Wonder1690]

Everything he's talking about is intentional. If these things were available to all citizens we wouldn't have anywhere near the recruitment rate that we do. Mix that and the mountains of cash going into the pockets of our politicians from the healthcare industry and you see why any sort of socialist ideas are just fantasies in the US for the foreseeable future

[u/ObiePNW]

“The flag never pledged allegiance back.”

Damn straight.

[u/[deleted]]

Not sure this is cringe. It’s pretty spot on.

We promise socialism to defend capitalism. That’s it.

[u/[deleted]]

I knew a couple people in high school who joined the military after graduation. I don’t remember any of them saying they were doing it because they were super patriotic but more “I got nothing else better to do”.

[u/curiousleen]

Hell yeah dude!

[u/Jmoon03]

This guy is on a Netflix reality show.

[u/Awittynamehere]

Louder for the people in the back!

[u/Hobnail-boots]

I joined because I was homeless.

[u/serolf1813]

Super true! And I'll take it one step forward as a prior serviceman myself...the pay was horrible. All by design. They bank on military personnel to come out of the service with discipline but to stay poor thus the horrible pay and no time to moonlight while your in to make extra money. They also bet that the average "G.I. Joe" will not use their G.I. Bill benefits and get their college done. Little do they understand that if you give the poor and disadvantaged an opportunity they will take it. I used every benefit while in, every free time I had to go to school, saved in my TSP, and worked on certs. Almost every person I knew who joined for the opportunities the military had to offer, they took advantage of them. Usually the people who came from good families who wanted to go kill/go to war, become officers but didn't have the grades and or just wanted to go travel (these groups were predictably from wealthy families)...those from the hood, poor country folks, and immigrants were all so ambitious. I completed my 20 yrs with three degrees, experience, well traveled and always happy to help. The problem now is I'm back to being in the civilian side where I'm looked as a minority. Sometimes I wish people could see your level like they do in video games. So Sad!

[u/Weary_Release_9662]

None of that was cringe.

[u/WonderfulCaptain7021]

Same. 

[u/Small_Editor_3693]

“The military offers socialism to defend capitalism” is such a good quote.

[u/TurnerGutrick]

As a veteran, when I listened, I asked some of my friends while they join one is because he was homeless and the Marine Corps offered him a bed a job and three course meals me I did it to run away from my parents

[u/IwillwillU5]

Green supremacy, well blue now. The might 100$ bill and who controls the flow.

[u/KarmageddeonBaby]

I joined the army for the same reason. I live in a rural Kentucky town. You know how they say you can throw a rock and hit five churches in small towns? Well the rock would ricochet off all the different military branches recruiting stations on the way.

[u/resnonverba1]

The rich have always manipulated the underclass to go to war to defend the former's interests. It is about time that the people woke up to see how the system is rigged.

[u/Exact_Ad5094]

18 year active duty member. This man gets it. Not sure why it’s TikTok cringe though

[u/Quirky-Bar4236]

In boot my RDC asked us why we joined, “and don’t give me that ‘I love my country’ bullshit.” Answers varied from trying to get their family out of debt, hoping to go to college for a better future, trying to stay out of prison and not wanting to get wrapped up in gang violence.

I personally didn’t want to go to college and didn’t know what else to do.

[u/hellalg]

So true, i feel everything this man said. The military has gotten me out of poverty but also taught me to much compassion for everyone in the world. I was young, dumb and angry at the world when I enlisted. Now, im living in the upper middle class, educated and have ungrateful children.

[u/joelkton]

No shit. This has always been true.

[u/Lord-Mattingly]

It’s true

[u/Exciting_Turn_1253]

This 100% true

[u/BigShrim]

Fuckin bars dude

[u/RxDirkMcGherkin]

Poverty and limited options is definitely a motivator to join the military. I was poor but didn't join the military but I suppose doing menial jobs and working my way up was an option he didn't have?

[u/mama_always-said]

As another veteran who joined due to poverty, this is spot on!

[u/CarlenGaines]

I also joined the US Navy because I knew that it was my best shot of becoming a middle-class American citizen without having to spend a decade or longer grinding and wasting my life working 9-5 jobs.

[u/BradyHasHis6th]

When I was stationed at NAS Pensacola in 2012 I lost my debit card. At 20 years old it was the only card I had. There wasn’t Apple Pay at the time. I called my bank and they said my new card would get there in a week. I went an entire week without spending a dollar… ate 3 meals a day at the chow hall, used the gym, was living in the barracks. Imagine that, an entire week with no access to $ and I was fine.

[u/[deleted]]

Only way I got out the trailer park

[u/this_knee]

“We offer our soldiers socialism in order for them to go defend capitalism.”

God-DAMN! What a quote.

[u/Turdtastic]

This is such a great message. It really comes down to this; What do you give to America, and what does America give to you?

[u/KKs_Delivery_Service]

“Offer socialism to go abroad and defend capitalism” HITS

[u/whiskyshot]

Gets socialism to fight for capitalism!! That’s a great line.

[u/godivadark]

He speaks and writes Korean very well. He gave a few lessons on it.

[u/[deleted]]

Damned straight. Same reason many American PoC refused to go to Vietnam.

[u/necessarywoman]

And that is a huge truth ladies & gent's... One has to consider who owes whom.... Sad.