seeking Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 serious question: how are race relations in the military these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26SidedCube Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 http://mt.sopris.net/mpc/military/v/colin.powell.jpg'> Something like that. Editor's note: I'm not in the military, but from what my sociology teacher was rambing on about last thursday I'd say race relations are a pretty non-issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeking Posted March 22, 2004 Author Share Posted March 22, 2004 that's what i was assuming, but wanted some sort of first person accounts. and colin powell doesnt count, he's almost as white as jesse jackson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamblersGrin Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 http://www.lisarein.com/9-16-03-jessejackson-sm.jpg'> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xwibxonex Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 I have not seen any real discrimination in the military since I have joined. In fact in my job, promotion rates for women and minorities are higher than white males that would be "discrimination". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack Morris Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 plus also with being in the military, when you have to trust your life to those around you what color their skin is becaomes about as much of an issue as if they clipped thier toenails this week. <3, Zack Morris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheoHuxtable Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Originally posted by seeking serious question: how are race relations in the military these days? Race relations are actually pretty good in my opinion. Races will group with their own just like in the civilian world -- that's as far as it gets. And then it isn't uncommon to see multiple races chilling with each other. If there's any discrimination, it's gender and rank discrimination. Rank discrimination has been around forever in the military so that's not expected to change. Women however reap all the benefits. The shit you see on TV about military women getting "raped" and "discriminated" against are exceptional cases that probably represent less than 1% of what actually happens. Women get promoted by their superiors for sucking dick (literally and figuratively), they don't have to do as much work, they get off work for being "sick". If they get in trouble, the incident is usually brushed under the rug. There's this one officer on my ship that got to get off the ship permanently and go get some easy kickback shore duty even though her tour of duty here wasn't even halfway completed -- her excuse was that she's "seasick". And she's in the navy! Women who don't want to work on a ship a lot of times get pregnant and automatically are forced to leave the ship and take up a shore billet space that some guy who has been out to sea for 3 years should've gotten. Women in the military for the most part in my opinion take up space and manpower and the end result is that it makes it harder to get the intended task completed in a faster and easier manner. For example we're moving supplies to a certain location, we have to strain our manpower more because of the women who are taking up spots for males either don't have to do it, or will be slow and lazy and weak while doing it. Think of it as you having a basketball team of 5 players. You take away 2 players and put two armless individuals on your team. That just makes you 3 have to work harder in playing against the other team. Thank God I go back to civilian life in 2 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfreshsushi Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 i always assumed that people in the military saw everyone lower than them in rank as absolute scum, regardless of race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheoHuxtable Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Originally posted by gfreshsushi i always assumed that people in the military saw everyone lower than them in rank as absolute scum, regardless of race. Generally, yes, people do act as if they're either better than you or smarter than you or whatever if you're lower ranked. On the other hand a lot of higher ranking people are cool and will chill with you and are down to earth. Me personally will chill with anybody lower ranked than me. The thought of being all gung ho over some menial shit like that is retarded. I'm not into all that gung ho Joe navy shit anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeking Posted March 22, 2004 Author Share Posted March 22, 2004 what's your rank, if you don't mind me asking. i was living in an army town last year (ft. bennings i believe...whatever is right next to savannah), and just before half the state got deployed to iraq, you'd always see dudes of all races out chilling together. do most cats have a pretty decent sense of humor about racial issues? like, growing up, i had friends of all races; black, hispanic, asian, whatever, and of course it was non stop dissing eachother. of course we didn't mean it, and it was no different than making fun of your boy for his mom being hot or something, them being a slanty eyed gook, a spear chucker, or a rhythmless cracker just gave us a whole new world of shit to mock. i dont really know what the point of any of this is, i just decided i felt like asking today. how about this. are there any arab americans on your boat? if so, any different treatment towards them, or from them? oh, and i agree, women in any sort of direct combat role is just asking for trouble. if we had something dire to fight for, like the northern vietnamese did, and the women were really bout it, i'd have no problems with it, but i cant possibly see american culture breeding such women. we're too 'soft' here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG T Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Originally posted by seeking what's your rank, if you don't mind me asking. i was living in an army town last year (ft. bennings i believe...whatever is right next to savannah), it is Fort Stewart(3d ID (mech)) if you needed a lesson about the army you could have just called a nigga.......... actually call me anyways i lost your number when i broke my phone.... 3ID for life baby, ROCK OF THE MARNE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iloveboxcars Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Originally posted by CILONE/SK I have not seen any real discrimination in the military since I have joined. (10years) In fact in my job, promotion rates for women and minorities are higher then white males. I work in a office with poeple from all services and out of 5 Army people in my immediate office 3 are black and 2 of them are women. When it comes to discrimination I think that alot of people are more prone to pull that card when they are not on top. The military is one of the best Equal Opportunity employers there is today. What happens to you in the military good or bad is up to the person and the actions they choose to take. I was under the impression you were 16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villain Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Check this out: 27% of the military is black, yet blacks constitute only 12.5% of the nations population. This is disproportionately high. I'm sure it's high for hispanics as well. The arabs have been having an especially hard time lately. The closer you get to combat arms the crazier the people get however... so I'm pretty sure discriminations are worse in those types of units. But you are right, it's pretty much like high school except we are ALL PACKING! Most races tend to chill with their own kind together on offtime. But depending on your unit too... Most Active duty units are more unified racially. It's the national guard units and some reserve units that are much like the cultural disparities in our country. I know of a pennsylvanian unit from around philly who went to germany recently to relieve soldiers positions who where deploying to Iraq, this unit is mostly black. It was attached to another pennsylvanian unit, this one from western PA, it was mostly white. From what I hear the C(ommanding)O(fficer) from the eastern PA unit was not there for some reason I forget, the XO was left in charge and was kissing butt to the western PA CO so did not stick up for his troops. The white unit thus using rank discrimination were able to abuse these soldiers with racial discrimination. There were racial skimishes occasionally but somehow rank always prevails in the military. This is just one example of the vast differences unit to unit in the military. These guys are telling you how alot of people have a different experience in the military, well this is a big reason why. Yeah you guys are right, most of the discrimination is rank and gender. Though what Theo said about the rapings and all that being not true is well, not true. I just read a report not even a week ago about how in the air force in just the pacific theatre there have been 62 rapes since the beginning of the year. That, my friends, is alot. There is only about 100,000 people in the airforce in the first place. I'm at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and MOST of the women here that I've talked to were raped. Rank abuse can get totallly retarded as well cause there is really no kind of mediation. You can go higher in the chain of command but that is like trying to get the president to talk to you. AND you can't sue the military so there is not much discipline as far as that goes. Then again this pretty much depends on your unit. I could really talk alot about this but I'm trying to sum it up pretty much. It's interesting being here in Medical Holding Company cause I get such a crossection of soldiers from all over the place to talk to. I could write a book about all the stories. Like how there are MORE dead than reported because they only report the people who die ON THE SCENE. I guess if you die on a plane or helicoptor on your way to a hospital your not a hero. Not only that but it is unknown from asking my direct superiors for certain but there are an estimated 10,000 wounded from the Iraq war. That is a huge number. There are about 400,000 people in the US army. They want every one of us to tour Iraq. I might be going there soon as well..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheoHuxtable Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Originally posted by seeking what's your rank, if you don't mind me asking. i was living in an army town last year (ft. bennings i believe...whatever is right next to savannah), and just before half the state got deployed to iraq, you'd always see dudes of all races out chilling together. do most cats have a pretty decent sense of humor about racial issues? like, growing up, i had friends of all races; black, hispanic, asian, whatever, and of course it was non stop dissing eachother. of course we didn't mean it, and it was no different than making fun of your boy for his mom being hot or something, them being a slanty eyed gook, a spear chucker, or a rhythmless cracker just gave us a whole new world of shit to mock. i dont really know what the point of any of this is, i just decided i felt like asking today. how about this. are there any arab americans on your boat? if so, any different treatment towards them, or from them? oh, and i agree, women in any sort of direct combat role is just asking for trouble. if we had something dire to fight for, like the northern vietnamese did, and the women were really bout it, i'd have no problems with it, but i cant possibly see american culture breeding such women. we're too 'soft' here. People in the military generally have a laid-back sense of humor concerning racial issues. No uptight shit for the most part. I was actually shocked when I first got in the military over 3 1/2 years ago and would hear white guys telling "nigger" jokes in front of blacks, and both races would laugh right along with it. And vice versa. Only on a couple of occassions have I seen shit get tense. That's only because this one white boy from Montana I felt was truly racist. He went a little far with the jokes. I can understand though -- he's from Montana. He probably never really saw black people until he got in the service. But I think he too became less racist over time because we all work alongside each other for that common purpose and goal. I myself came into the military with the general sense of suspicion towards white people. I chilled and rolled with a few whites as a civilian but still my thoughts of whites generally being "racist" and/or "oppressive" was there. I directly link that to my upbringing. My father, aunts, uncles, and grandfather grew up in a time when white institutionalized racism in this country was rampant. My uncle is a proffessor/activist who currently speaks/teaches at universities and was a former member of the Black Panther Party in Los Angeles during the 60's. My grandfather often told me stories about the Tulsa Race Riots he endured in the 1930's in the South (it was when whites rioted and burned down black businesses and homes). So all this influenced me. But that all changed after the military, because I was shocked when I was befriended by many and I in turn did the same for them. To see them talk to me as an equal and not look down on me as something other than human with less intelligence was envigorating for me. Graff changed that a lot as well since it eliminates a lot of social/cultural/racial boundaries but that's another story... I chill with as many whites now as I do with other people... *Oh yeah my rank is E-5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villain Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 What's up sergeant? Or whatever they call it in the navy? Senior seaman or whatever.. hmm.. Yeah the military in a way does force us to work together depite our differences. I am often awed at how they got this diverse bunch of people to work together.... I mean even extremists come through the military. Everything that is not supposed to be in the military... gangsters, racists, felons... whatever.... I saw one guy in airborne school he had a swatztika tattoo all huge on his right pectoral.... I'm like how the hell he get by with that one.... Well they didn't say shit about my Anarchy tattoo either... Haha.. My recruiter is like "Just tell them it's "A" as in "army!" Hahaha.. I'm still laughing about that.... I've seen other guys with anarchy tats too. Haha.. it's silly. wtf like omg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheoHuxtable Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Originally posted by villain What's up sergeant? Or whatever they call it in the navy? Senior seaman or whatever.. hmm.. Yeah the military in a way does force us to work together depite our differences. I am often awed at how they got this diverse bunch of people to work together.... I mean even extremists come through the military. Everything that is not supposed to be in the military... gangsters, racists, felons... whatever.... I saw one guy in airborne school he had a swatztika tattoo all huge on his right pectoral.... I'm like how the hell he get by with that one.... Well they didn't say shit about my Anarchy tattoo either... Haha.. My recruiter is like "Just tell them it's "A" as in "army!" Hahaha.. I'm still laughing about that.... I've seen other guys with anarchy tats too. Haha.. it's silly. wtf like omg An E-5 in the navy is called a "2nd Class Petty Officer". Are you in the army right now? When did you join and where you stationed at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villain Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Originally posted by TheoHuxtable An E-5 in the navy is called a "2nd Class Petty Officer". Are you in the army right now? When did you join and where you stationed at? Oh I joined back in 2001 and I'm at Fort Meade MD right now... it's between DC and Baltimore. One of the better places I've been. Here and Walter Reed that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telo Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Originally posted by iloveboxcars I was under the impression you were 16. I was thinking the EXACT same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26SidedCube Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I'm gonna be talking to my friend in SEAL's training over the next few days; I noticed his name popping up on AIM and it turns out he's on leave until Thursday. Dude's white, but if any of you have any questions about anything SEAL's training related or shit like that I'll ask him. I don't know what you might want to know but you all come off curious as fuck about this military shit half the time... this kid's down as hell, too. We used to get up to some evil shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Priest Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 http://www.creature-corner.com/graphics2/hellboy.jpg'> Couldnt say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheoHuxtable Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Man CILONE, you made E-7 quick. The Navy for the most part has a faster advancement rate than all 4 branches, and even that is fast by Navy standards. I don't think I've come across a Chief Petty Officer in his 20's. Maybe early 30's at the youngest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorldBench Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 "Youre 13" "No im not" "yes you are" "No im 25" "well youre not in the army" "yes i am i am blah blah blah" "no you arent" you guys act like youre 12.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telo Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Originally posted by CILONE/SK ALRIGHT EVERY BODY LETS GET TOGETHER AND GIVE COMMUNIST A GREAT BIG FUCK YOU AND THE HORSE HE RODE IN ON. FUCK YOU COMMUNIST! happy now cilone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorldBench Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 :lol: :lol: well thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeking Posted March 23, 2004 Author Share Posted March 23, 2004 Originally posted by BIG T it is Fort Stewart(3d ID (mech)) if you needed a lesson about the army you could have just called a nigga.......... actually call me anyways i lost your number when i broke my phone.... 3ID for life baby, ROCK OF THE MARNE haha. i'll be getting in touch. things are kind of hectic right now, but soon. villian, seriously dude, who the fuck are you? having known (either first hand, or through friends) just about every 'serious' writer in the city, i can't possily fathom who you might be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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