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The military has a reputation for a lot of heavy drinking. I wouldn't say it's the "cause", but it may be where it all started.
The military also has a reputation for outstanding people, is the cause the military or the person?
I would also like to know where you recieved your stats on "The military has a reputation for a lot of heavy drinking." Is this your own experience, or are you just blathering?
The military also has a reputation for outstanding people, is the cause the military or the person?
I would also like to know where you recieved your stats on "The military has a reputation for a lot of heavy drinking." Is this your own experience, or are you just blathering?
I don't understand. I spent 4 years in the Army and saved 78% of my income. Why can't other make the same GOOD decision?
It's nice to have something to fall back on, but then again I made the CHOICE to save. To save I had to actually forgo pleasures then so that I could have a better future now.
That concept is lost on a lot of Americans I think. I knew a lot of guys who came out of the Army with the same amount of savings they went in with. Yeah they came out with experience, but that doesn't get people (even veterans) very far in this economy.
I just hope everyone's putting that GI bill to good use getting a REAL degree or some real hands-on technical training.
I don't understand. I spent 4 years in the Army and saved 78% of my income. Why can't other make the same GOOD decision?
It's nice to have something to fall back on, but then again I made the CHOICE to save. To save I had to actually forgo pleasures then so that I could have a better future now.
That concept is lost on a lot of Americans I think. I knew a lot of guys who came out of the Army with the same amount of savings they went in with. Yeah they came out with experience, but that doesn't get people (even veterans) very far in this economy.
I just hope everyone's putting that GI bill to good use getting a REAL degree or some real hands-on technical training.
You, sir, are a responsible American. Too bad millions upon millions of people don't follow your lead. I, for one, appreciate your service and your focus on personal responsibility.
I think it’s easy to judge people for making “poor decisions†but often we don’t know where they’re coming from. We don’t know why they made that decision. There might be something immensely personal that shifted their decision. Or they might be going through emotional turmoil that leads them to doing drugs/alcohol etc. I am not saying it’s all roses and dandy and everyone should just wreak as much havoc as they please, but I don’t think it’s fair to condemn them and think of ourselves as better because of those decisions they made. Everyone makes poor decisions at some point in their life, either because they didn’t know any better, or because of some other reason. I made the decision to stay in an abusive situation because I sincerely at the time thought I had no other option. In hindsight, it’s easy to see all the things I could have done instead, but we often don’t carry that insight as we go through life events. So even if someone has made poor choices, I still feel that a sense of compassion and unconditional love is what they need. Sometimes people make poor decisions because they don’t love or trust themselves enough to give themselves something better, and so sometimes being unconditionally loved by someone else is just what they need to learn to love themselves unconditionally, which will they naturally lead to doing things that are good for them.
I also wanted to mention that a lot of veterans come back with severe PTSD, and turn to drugs and alcohol to numb that pain. My heart really goes out to them because I’ve had PTSD for as long as I can remember. I don’t do drugs or alcohol, but I have my list of coping mechanisms, including some addictions. I just consider myself lucky in that my addictions are all legal and not physiologically addictive. I think veterans that come back from combat really need support in a safe and loving environment. It’s so hard to live with flashbacks and anxiety, and when you have PTSD, you lose your trust for the world. You reality has been shattered. Anyone could hurt you. Any loud noise could be a sign of danger. You don’t sleep at night—you just relive the trauma. As someone who is totally blind, been totally deaf, and has severe chronic pain, I think PTSD is more crippling than all of those combined.
Even though I’m personally against war and the military, these people did make that choice and came back, many of them with PTSD. Our country pours tons of money into making soldiers out of human beings. Human beings have feelings, form trusting relationships, etc. If you have to kill people or be exposed to trauma, you have to numb yourself to everything. You can’t be human and be a soldier—you have to shove all the human parts of yourself into a box so that you can fulfill your duty. So when these veterans come back, a lot of them have a hard time readjusting to civilian life. We should be pouring just as much money into making those soldiers back into human beings—who can afford to feel again, and to feel safe and trust people and circumstances enough to function again. They need to be given the opportunity to reconnect with the parts of themselves they had detached from.
Leaving veterans on the street is not doing that. The streets are just another unsafe environment, where they have to worry about the next meal and where they can sleep at night. Even if some of these veterans have addictions or have falling into mental illness, that is not the environment they need to be in. Veterans don’t deserve our judgment, even if they did make some poor decisions. They deserve our compassion and support.
The military also has a reputation for outstanding people, is the cause the military or the person?
As one who drank and was outstanding, the answer is both. Think of it as a sort of co-dependent relationship.
I had the opportunity to witness a lot of young men and women who were lacking in discipline, or direction or knowledge, or any combination of that. They gained those attributes through the military, and then employing their intrinsic traits, built upon that to become successful individuals.
I would never suggest that the military is for everyone (I had to "chapter" a few troops now and again), but it is a good platform for many, at least a majority of people to learn culture, discipline, a skill, travel, interact with others, lead, follow (or get out of the way), and have a basic knowledge base on which to make decisions about their future career and direction in life, whether that is in or out of the military.
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mircea
Then what was she doing in the military?
I never heard of that. To the best of my knowledge, diabetics were rejected for the same reasons that others are rejected for prior injuries and other medical conditions.
I wonder if that happened after she left the military.
It would depend on career choice. There are other issues. I was in Honduras doing things that were illegal, unethical and morally wrong. I transferred to another unit, only to end up in Panama, and then ended up in Iraq.
I'm not really into stupidity (or committing criminal acts), so I left.
Obviously she isn't from Ohio. In Ohio there are only 2 reasons a woman loses custody: she's incarcerated; or there is real evidence that she is both physical violent and that also a threat to the children.
The fact that she is unemployed or "homeless" or an alcoholic or a drug-addict or a prostitute or emotionally abusive is not relevant.
If she lost custody, it's possible that a child protective services agency stepped in and took the child. If the father sued for custody, then there were would be court documents available for all of us to see (although access may be limited to some documents because of privacy issues).
It is not uncommon for military personnel to drink heavily while in service, but few continue to do so after they leave.
That would be her fault.
I'm curious as to why she is not seeking help.
The VA has numerous programs and she would get priority.
They have an in-house psychiatric program, an in-house substance abuse program, plus there is a VA Domiciliary in nearly every State (some have more than one and some have more than 2 or 3 eg Ohio as 2 such facilities) where "homeless" veterans can go. They run a PTSD program for all veterans ("homeless" or not), plus they run programs for veterans who are "homeless" due to alcohol or substance abuse and they run programs for "homeless" veterans who are homeless for other reasons.
Those programs are for male and female veterans.
So why is she "homeless?"
She shouldn't be and if she is, then it is her choice to be "homeless" which is the case for 99% of those who are "homeless."
If she has any income at all, whether it was VA disability, Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income, Unemployment Insurance or whatever, she would qualify for HUD-VASH, which is a program HUD and the VA run together, that pays for housing.
So why wasn't she on that? I mean only takes 4 weeks to get a certificate and then take the voucher any where you freaking want.
I mentioned these things before, there are plenty of resources for the, um, "homeless" and to use those resources, they simply have to want to use them.
What *******s refuse to understand is that the "homeless" are "homeless" because they want to be "homeless." It is a life-style for them, and I am under no obligation whatsoever to fund other people's life-styles.
Advocating...
Mircea
Citation please on the bolded red.
I used to think you were pretty smart. Lately, I'm starting to wonder.
You think homeless people want to be homeless? I"m gonna vote the vast majority wish they had a home.
Correlation does not imply causation...
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