There's a lot of sketchy "I was in the US Army and it was a good experience" posts in that thread that read exactly like recruiting copy.
I was in the Marines and it was a shit experience.
Tangentially related, one of the scariest moments of my life was being stuck alone in a barracks room with blackout drunk recruiter who's demons were popping off. Guy kept going on about kids he enlisted that had gotten smoked. Like, idk man... Maybe stop recruiting?
Oh, hi. I heard you like democracy. Would you like to fight for it?
You'd think pointing out the fact they're copying sonething that is satirizing the fact America is an anti intellectual fascist military state would cause some self reflection to kick in but if they were capable of that type of complex thought they wouldn't be a military recruiter in 2024.
Are army recruitment numbers in the US way down over the last decade? It seems to me that the illusion of the US military being a force for good in the world has been shattered in Canada at least, and anti war sentiment has also been spreading towards some right wing movements in the states. That’s gotta be reflected in the recruitment numbers right?
Yea recruitment numbers have cratered because anybody of the right age to sign up has only seen the American military as a failing institution that loses meaningless wars against farmers halfway around the world combined with seeing how we treat veterans for their entire life.
But also something like 80% of Americans couldn't pass the basic fitness test.
Yes.
I don't have specifics but I'm pretty sure every branch has missed their recruitment goals this year, likely several years.
20 years in Afghanistan is not a good look.
Everyone can see what a fucking scam it is now. Everyone knows or has encountered a veteran who is deeply mentally scarred by the experience. Nobody's falling for it anymore except the chuds who worship the military un the first place
I don't have numbers but here is some anecdotal musing from an American. Sentiment-wise, I don't know anyone who supports the military anymore that isn't super conservative. The unfortunate thing for many, though, is military is sometimes the best option for getting your college paid for and making money. I was lucky enough to not have to, but for many it's a sacrifice they decide is worth it. They basically gamble that they won't have to go to war, or at least won't be deployed anywhere too dangerous, during the time they serve.
It's sad honestly, because our military is so grossly over funded it can be the only good paying job option for some people depending on their circumstances.
The unfortunate thing for many, though, is military is sometimes the best option for getting your college paid for and making money.
This is what is called the "economic draft" and it is 100% by design.
"Well sure, fighting for democracy sounds cool. But how are you going to get me into the PLA?"
If you like fighting for managed democracy in your video games why don't you do it for real?
*managed democracy
I haven't heard from any recruiters since I told them I wasn't desperate enough to be a bootlicker.
Thats how I handled my last jury questionnaire
Lmaooo got em
Sometimes I wonder if the general populace is, whether by nature, material conditions, or education, too stupid for nuanced satire. Hell, not even actual nuance, but just anything not literally explaining the true intended message somewhere in the story.
I mean look what happened after Fight Club was adapted into a movie like two decades ago. Did people realize how alienated late capitalism is making us? Did they try to form new ways for men to connect with each other that broke the confines of toxic masculinity? Not in any appreciable way. What they did start doing is meeting up to beat the shit out of each other.
Kinda. It is well documented that a large portion of the American people have no functional reading comprehension skills. Like, we can read street signs but no abstract thought.
my friend who plays helldivers 2 told me there is actual story bits like emails and logs and whatnot that explicitly state how corrupt super earth is
I thought fight club was incredibly cool when I was 14 and definitely wanted to be the narrator lol. Look at how many friends he had!
Fight club is tough. Fight clubs are cool and fun. That is why boxing gyms exist. Constructing elaborate rituals to allow yourself to touch the bodies of other men is a noted popular activity. If Durden has been a red guard instead of black block we would have an entirely different interpretation of the story even though it could probably be functionally identical.
I think it's a frame of mind. Generally, people are not trained to view media as art, nor to interact with art in any meaningful sense. If you see a video game and subconsciously think "this exists solely for my gratification" then yeah, you're not gonna be thinking about it much.
On a positive note, Helldivers counter-propaganda is working as intended.
spoiler
if this game had Left 4 Dead vs mode, it would have my money hook line and sinker.
I don't know if this is true, but I was once told if the army mails you something that You're supposed to return and the postage is paid, you can tape it to a brick and mail it back and they have to pay for it. When I was a teenager, I used to tape it to all kinds of junk and drop it in the mail.
