This is something that I have often thought about but struggled to put into words. I appreciate your examples of famous military personnel mocked and ridiculed by people that only saw them as useful props until their voices became their own. On a related note, I truly despise that many people can only see patriotism through the lens of cruelty and violence. Sacrifice comes in many forms and endless war doesn't have to be the only way to show it.
Yes. The moment that Walz was named, I said to my both my military and non military friends “and let the Swift Boating begin.”
I had a conversation around the election with a guy that I used to respect who was explaining to me why, in spite of the fact that Trump was a draft dodger, he was forced to vote for him.
I managed to not outright “what the fuck are saying?” him and asked him to elucidate. Which I have regretted ever since. He stated that “Walz was just pure evil.”
His monologue sketchily alluded to Walz’s “abandoning” of his unit (FFS, seriously?), but his primary focus was on how, as Governor, Walz was responsible for taking Minnesota children and young teens away from their parents so that they could complete their sex changes. Okay… even though I’m factoring in that you were an 18C, I’m gonna have to add you to the too crazy to ever talk to again list.
One of my closest friends wheeled out all of that week’s MAGA/Pravda/FOX patented talking points… false claims of rank, leaving his unit in the face of combat, etc. - and his disappointment as each one of them was found to be false was palpable.
Sadly, this shite will gut our force integrity - especially as soldiers are asked to follow orders that become evermore questionable.
I’m a veteran who appreciates your humor and precise description of maga tactics for diminishing and discrediting veterans that have that audacity to disagree
This post has popped up “from the archives” for me a few times now, so Substack clearly thinks I need to comment... I’ve met a lot of Democrat veterans, independent veterans, and full out left flank veterans, over the years; they’re generally quiet about their disagreement with the MAGA stuff; but they’re also unsure where they stand with anyone on the left because they were totally demonized during the Iraq war stuff, so a lot of them just don’t talk about their thoughts, which is a shame.
Hopefully the post makes clear that there are, in fact, plenty of Democratic and left-leaning veterans. Some are quiet about their disagreement with MAGA, others less so. And some are self-conscious around the left, or and turned off by the far-left messaging, as you note. I also suspect that many of them recognize that Iraq was a mistake, and understand that most on the left were more critical of the war itself, and the leaders choosing to wage it, than they were of the soldiers sent off to fight it.
You’re definitely speaking on something that needs to be spoken about; but your post came off as just being hypercritical of anyone who identifies as MAGA, rather than showcasing veterans on different segments of the political spectrum… I only know they exist because I’ve dated several of them, and met some of their buddies. Hardcore MAGA reaction to left-leaning veterans *is* a thing; but so is the far left’s hatred of manliness. There’s very few avenues for them to be themselves.
In California, at least, when I was with a Marine in 2009-2010, older Democratic ladies kept telling me to break up with him, because he’d be “broken and deranged” or would “kill you in your sleep”; so I’ve experienced firsthand that many *didn’t* distinguish between the war and the men. It was pretty awful for them to come home to that, especially if they were reservists
This is something that I have often thought about but struggled to put into words. I appreciate your examples of famous military personnel mocked and ridiculed by people that only saw them as useful props until their voices became their own. On a related note, I truly despise that many people can only see patriotism through the lens of cruelty and violence. Sacrifice comes in many forms and endless war doesn't have to be the only way to show it.
Yes. The moment that Walz was named, I said to my both my military and non military friends “and let the Swift Boating begin.”
I had a conversation around the election with a guy that I used to respect who was explaining to me why, in spite of the fact that Trump was a draft dodger, he was forced to vote for him.
I managed to not outright “what the fuck are saying?” him and asked him to elucidate. Which I have regretted ever since. He stated that “Walz was just pure evil.”
His monologue sketchily alluded to Walz’s “abandoning” of his unit (FFS, seriously?), but his primary focus was on how, as Governor, Walz was responsible for taking Minnesota children and young teens away from their parents so that they could complete their sex changes. Okay… even though I’m factoring in that you were an 18C, I’m gonna have to add you to the too crazy to ever talk to again list.
One of my closest friends wheeled out all of that week’s MAGA/Pravda/FOX patented talking points… false claims of rank, leaving his unit in the face of combat, etc. - and his disappointment as each one of them was found to be false was palpable.
Sadly, this shite will gut our force integrity - especially as soldiers are asked to follow orders that become evermore questionable.
I’m a veteran who appreciates your humor and precise description of maga tactics for diminishing and discrediting veterans that have that audacity to disagree
This post has popped up “from the archives” for me a few times now, so Substack clearly thinks I need to comment... I’ve met a lot of Democrat veterans, independent veterans, and full out left flank veterans, over the years; they’re generally quiet about their disagreement with the MAGA stuff; but they’re also unsure where they stand with anyone on the left because they were totally demonized during the Iraq war stuff, so a lot of them just don’t talk about their thoughts, which is a shame.
Hopefully the post makes clear that there are, in fact, plenty of Democratic and left-leaning veterans. Some are quiet about their disagreement with MAGA, others less so. And some are self-conscious around the left, or and turned off by the far-left messaging, as you note. I also suspect that many of them recognize that Iraq was a mistake, and understand that most on the left were more critical of the war itself, and the leaders choosing to wage it, than they were of the soldiers sent off to fight it.
You’re definitely speaking on something that needs to be spoken about; but your post came off as just being hypercritical of anyone who identifies as MAGA, rather than showcasing veterans on different segments of the political spectrum… I only know they exist because I’ve dated several of them, and met some of their buddies. Hardcore MAGA reaction to left-leaning veterans *is* a thing; but so is the far left’s hatred of manliness. There’s very few avenues for them to be themselves.
In California, at least, when I was with a Marine in 2009-2010, older Democratic ladies kept telling me to break up with him, because he’d be “broken and deranged” or would “kill you in your sleep”; so I’ve experienced firsthand that many *didn’t* distinguish between the war and the men. It was pretty awful for them to come home to that, especially if they were reservists