Liberal Workplace Discrimination Against Iraq War Veterans?
Over the last year I’ve received stories from Marines and soldiers about outright discrimination and other shoddy treatment they’ve received at the hands of anti-war employers and co-workers. In fact, I’ve heard all sorts of stories of liberals mistreating Iraq war veterans in places ranging from the classroom to the shopping mall.
As the MSM continues to highlight anything the military or administration may be doing wrong, they continue to ignore the stories of abuse against veterans, especially pro-war veterans, on all levels: work-related, educational, and sociological. No one writes about the unique challenges the people who actually allow the country to even exist in the first place, the members of the U.S. Military, face at the hands of those who oppose what they fought for and believe in.
This is a story I want to work on carefully. If any veteran of the War on Terror has information they’d like to share with me and the world regarding this issue, please contact me as soon as possible.
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Pat, this isn’t what you’re blegging for, but for what it’s worth, the guy who used to be my best friend won’t talk to me anymore after I told him I was joining the Marine Corps.
I’m not surprised. I look forward to making new friends in the Corps.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:35 pmSince I’ve sworn in, people (except my family) can’t stop asking me dumb questions. Here’s some real quotes from some longtime friends:
“The Marines? Do you have a death wish? I’m serious!”
“So after you work on computers for the Marines, you’ll be able to get a job at Best Buy.”
“They make you shit yourself in boot camp, you know.” (I sure hope so.)
“Why didn’t you go for an Army signing bonus?”
“You’re way to smart for the Marine Corps.”
And the number one question, “Why the Marine Corps?”
I used to say I’d need an hour and five beers to answer that one properly. Now, I’ve zenned this bitch out–either you get it, or you don’t. I look forward to boot camp, mostly so I don’t have to put up with these sorts of ass comments anymore.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:01 pmRumsfeld47
Thanks for your service, good luck at boot camp.
These returning vets should be given all respect due to them.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:49 pmThey should sue the crap out of anyone who would harras or discriminate against them.
Liberals will never appriciate the armed forces, no matter how many times they put their lives on the line to save this country and the rest of the world. They will never change and I fear for the day when they run this country. If any of them gain power we will be in SERIOUS danger. They are to afraid to offend anyone and are ruled by public opinion.
March 17th, 2007 at 8:46 amWell in the past, I have given some interviews and love to see applicants with military experience. Nine times out of ten, they turn out to be great and loyal employees. Many times it is hard to find employees that become a “part of the company.” However, I can think of several cases where military men and women thrive at this. So from a greedy perspective, I hope more ex-military personel go to military friendly companies and make them stronger than those who discriminate against them. Let the free market rule. If I was not joining the Army in a few months, I would continue this policy personally.
PS It helps that I live in the South where the vast majority honor and respect our country.
March 17th, 2007 at 10:56 amI was discriminated against academically a couple years ago; however, my school has cleaned up their act quite a bit since then. I am a conservative but still value a liberal/progressive education; as long as it encourages dissenting perspectives and a diversity in thought.
March 17th, 2007 at 4:53 pmrumsfeld47,
Don’t worry about your old friends. Once you earn the Eagle, Globe & Anchor you will have brothers that will last a lifetime.
Gramps (Marine 4 life)
March 17th, 2007 at 5:55 pmHey,
I stumbled upon a copy of your documentary on Liveleak and that’s how I heard of this site. I think you’re doing a great service to the American people by broadcasting the viewpoints of our brave servicemen over their, and how they feel about the War.
As for the issue about discrimination and bad treatment towards our soldiers and veterans, I think it’s about time someone does a story on it. The national news media and other Liberal agencies and their brainwashing anti-war propaganda are the reason the Sheep population (e.g idiots who believe everything on CNN) are turning against the war.
With the power of the Internet and viral video at your hands, you can help mitigate this problem. I thank you for your continued efforts to bring the truth about this war to light.
Jeff Shi
March 17th, 2007 at 8:14 pmUTexas at Austin
Pat-
I’m still in the Corps but here’s a little something on this. While I was stationed in 29 Palms, my buddies and I would go to San Diego everyonce in a while for a good time. We went down to the Gas Lamp District to do some good old fashioned drinking, and about 50% of the clubs and bars down there will not accept a current valid military ID. Also we visited sea world in SD and the ticket lady made all kinds of comments about how she was tired of handing out “Hero Passes” to the military. She asked what we had done for her to be considered heroe’s luckily i was with some close friends who noticed the veins popping out of my forehead and pulled me off to the side while they answered the question. I haven’t been discriminated against in the work place, but that’s because i signed up for another 4 years.
March 17th, 2007 at 8:57 pmWhen I first was out of the Marines after initially returning from Iraq in 2003, I applied for 21 different jobs. I was denied each one, hardware stores, even a janitorial position (I was told I lacked experience). I finally gave up and just took up drinking the money I earned in Iraq, away. The Corps finally called me and asked for Volunteers. I served again from 2004 to 2005 and returned to try to find a job again. Finally my friend got me a job at a local hotel. I’ve gone from a squad leader and Sergeant to a 13 dollar and hour Security Supervisor. It sucks.
March 18th, 2007 at 1:47 amI was on a job-interview for a big government communications company. My credentials and background for the job were flawless. I met every requirement and more. I had 5 interviews- all with good responses. I was told the job was mine. I filled out paperwork for a company car and company housing. I was going to receive a 15,000 dollar sign-on bonus. I was told my orientation meeting would be the following week. I arrived for my meeting 15min early. I had on a brand-new suit and I was ready. I waited in the lobby for almost an hour. I was told by a secretary that I would be meeting the system manager for the department. I went into his office confident and prepared. I sat down and immediately realized this was not an orientation meeting. The man looked over my paper work and was impressed with my resume. He wanted to know more information about a few parts that he deemed vague and inconsistent. I sat and waited patiently for his question. He wanted to know with my military experience being the majority of my background had I been to Iraq. I thought about this question before I answered it. I told him yes. He asked me if I saw combat… I didn’t want to answer this question but I did.
March 18th, 2007 at 2:57 amHe immediately began the “man-jealousy” ritual. Going from A to B with his thoughts on Iraq, the military, and why he never joined. I didn’t say anything for 15min. I listened attentively as he said everything that anyone in his position of the false alpha-male would.
After his speech was complete, he asked me a final question. He wanted to know if I thought American troops should be in Iraq. I hesitated and asked him tactfully, what this had to do with the job. He assured me it had nothing to do with the job, and that he just wanted a veteran’s point of view on the subject. I explained my philosophy on the war. It was pro-war. The meeting was over about 10min later. I was told I would get a call in a few days about my starting date. I never received a call. I made several attempts to contact the company. I was told due to cut backs the job was no longer available.
Any company who does this needs to be exposed. When the protests by illegals were going on in the US several places in the media listed those companies and we boycotted them and sent letters refusing to do business with them anymore. I want to know of any company treating our soldiers like this so we can respond to them.
March 18th, 2007 at 10:53 amIn my town here, of Corvallis Oregon, some black OSU football players beat up a guy in a club who was dancing with his wife. The guy was on his last day of leave before going back to Iraq, and they beat him because he was a soldier. The coach of the team got the police to release the players (arrested for assault, they really beat the soldier bad) into his custody to play in the ‘big game’ the next day. Last I heard, the whole thing got buried. Except for a soldier who was too beat up to spend his last night at home with his wife.
March 18th, 2007 at 11:06 amI hate to think that this is happening but where I work this is not the case at all. Out of 7 on my workgroup there are 4 vets (M,N,2xAF) and another Air Force dude starting next month. This is an enterprise level IT shop in a solid coservative town so it may not be representative.
Bottom line is that there are better companies out there and if you are hassled then maybe working in the company of moonbats is not something that you have to put up with. We would love to have you.
March 18th, 2007 at 5:57 pmThis type of discrimination and hostility towards our American heroes angers and disgusts me, although, sadly, I am not surprised to hear about it. It seems that a large percentage of the American public has become selfish, lazy, non-patriotic, ultra-left-wing idiots. I am a law enforcement officer, and I was at Ground Zero. I saw firsthand the reason why we are fighting terrorism around the world, and all the members of our armed forces will always have the complete and undying thanks and support of myself and my family. Thank You!
March 18th, 2007 at 6:16 pmUnfortunately, this has happened before. When my father returned from his second tour of Vietnam after 1973, he went thru several interviews where he was often treated with hostility.
The most frustrating point was when he was told that he would have been better off serving 5 yrs in prison than have Vietnam on his resume.
There is an unfortunate level of arrogance from those on the left who feel that they can bring a level of comeuppance to those they feel deserve it. Often it is those who serve honorbly and respectfully both in the military and civilian life.
March 19th, 2007 at 5:56 amWow, Pat, you’ve really shined a light in a dark corner here. (For this young recruit, anyway.)
I have no idea how long I will stay in the Corps, but when I get out, I’m going to want to work for a defense contractor. Since my MOS will be Data Systems (combat networks), I think I’ll be in a decent position. MikeH makes a lot of sense; vets should know better than anyone the benefits of working with like-minded people.
This issue reminds me of your opening credits song (details please?). We aren’t like them, and accepting that has given this recruit some peace.
Gramps, thanks for your support. Semper fidelis.
Race Dulin, my father was a second lieutenant in the Army during Vietnam. He spent a great deal of time working in technology for a company that supplies Intel and others with silicon wafers. (Now he works for a DARPA consultant company, helping out defense contractors.) While he was a manager/headhunter at the silicon company, he told me he made every effort to recruit ex-military because “they understand what a mission is, and they understand that when you fail a mission, bad things happen.” He spoke particularly highly of former SEALS he hired.
Shining a light on this will probably help bring more like-minded people together. Great stuff.
March 19th, 2007 at 10:19 amBy the way, if anyone in the St. Louis area needs their lawn mowed, car waxed, mulch spread, anything like that, this recruit is available! You tell me what you want done and how you want it done, and I’ll do it!
March 19th, 2007 at 10:27 amMy dad was also an O-1 (later O-2) in the Army (in-country: 1970, C Coy./5th Bn./12th Inf./199th L.I.B. As such, many of his friends are ex-military, and one told me about how at Virginia Wesleyan College, he was called “baby killer”. The 60s and neoleftist radicals just won’t leave us, unfortunately. I think I cost myself I summer job at CompUSA by typing my interviewer I thought dropping the a-bombs on Japan were the right decisions (and I haven’t even served yet). Hell, one of my S.O.B. English professors replied to a student’s poor grade on her paper by saying, “hey things could be worse, you could going off to Iraq.” We all that a large portion of the academic world is hostile to military, likely because they want to among other leftist morons. After I serve, I will be looking for the employers that don’t show hostility towards those who served (we all know that those who discriminate against vets feel inadequate compared to servicemen anyways).
March 19th, 2007 at 6:54 pmReality Check time…
CPLSmith: You are not a hero if you demand to be called one.
rumsfeld47: You are not a Marine yet, so shut up and spend time with your family until you are.
CAPT
March 19th, 2007 at 11:32 pmI am amazed to read these stories. After my first son entered the Navy and came home for a visit it was mind bending to see him put himself to a task and complete it with lightening speed! Telling him that we were going to “shift fire” so to speak and take to the road he would disappear and reappear showered and dressed in under 5 minutes. My other son can’t tie his shoes in 5 minutes…
March 20th, 2007 at 3:20 amI would think that any former military with proper credentials would be an automatic hire.
Thinking free, this recruit spends adequate time with his family and is well aware he isn’t a Marine. I haven’t referred to myself as such, I haven’t put the sticker on my car, etc. And I’m currently unemployed, which means that in between freaking out about not having any money and PT, I like to discuss shit in places like this, since there are men who post here who know more than I do, and I know my ass from a hole in the ground.
I’ll stop posting, though, if it’ll make you feel better.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:37 amCPLSmith: You are not a hero if you demand to be called one.
rumsfeld47: You are not a Marine yet, so shut up and spend time with your family until you are.
CAPT
Where did CPL Smith refer to himself as a hero? It was some stupid ticket seller at Sea World who did that.
As for Rummy, he has never that I’ve seen refer to himself as a Marine. Always as recruit. WTF is wrong with that? Perhaps Capt, yer telling the wrong guy to STFU!
Gramps USMC 1961-1970 SSGT Disability retirement.
March 20th, 2007 at 3:05 pmGod bless you all. I go out of my way to hire veterans and veteran owned businesses when I need work done. I also go out of my way to boycott liberal owned businesses. I vote with my dollars. Companies that don’t support vets don’t get my support. Thanks for your service. It is greatly appreciated. I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors.
March 20th, 2007 at 5:02 pmThinking free in the USMC(Capt)
If you are a marine, perhaps you ought to consider separating. Dont confuse zeal with arrogance, you will lose too many marines under your charge if you do. Reality will hit rumsfeld for sure, but to succeed we need to be mentally revved up to do so. I was, then i was humbled. Its a good thing!
March 20th, 2007 at 7:40 pmhey guys, i just want to say that not all liberals are like that.
March 20th, 2007 at 9:31 pmi consider myself very liberal but i also have deep respect for the military and i would NEVER discriminate against any vets.
i just want you guys to know that there are plenty of “liberals” who are pro-guns and pro-military.
also, we appreciate your service to our country .
many of my friends are liberals and we feel nothing but admiration for all of you guys. i just thought you might want to know.
Thanks, Gramps and TJ.
Before I swore in, I talked to more than a few Marines, current and former. I’ve heard remarks similar to Thinking Free’s before; “Shut up; you’re not a Marine unless you’re a ground-pounder,” “Shut up; you’re not a Marine unless you’ve seen combat,” “Shut up, you’re not a Marine unless you _______.” I find these sorts of sentiments understandable and juvenile.
I’ve sworn in; that alone seperates me from my civilian peers, even though I’m not a Marine. I don’t know how hard making the decision was for you, and I don’t give a damn. I had to put up with 6+ months (weight requirement) of “You don’t want to join the Marine Corps, you’re too _______” and “Oh God, you’re going to die in Iraq,” and “The Army/Navy is offering $35,000 signing bonuses,” and “The Air Force will respect your intelligence.”
NO ONE I KNEW SUPPORTED MY DECISION UNTIL I HAD MADE IT. EVERYONE TOLD ME I WAS CHOOSING THE WRONG BRANCH.
After my initial physical last August, I found out that my red/green colorblindness seriously fucked my MOS choices, even though I couldn’t have scored higher on my ASVAB (99). I had my heart entirely set on Combat Correspondent. And I found a different MOS, but I’m currently signed up as open-contract, and that doesn’t make me feel very secure. I didn’t enlist in the Corps to deliver mail, no offense to any mail deliverers.
I’ve PT’d ’till I puked and PT’d some more (and then puked some more, and then PT’d some more); I PT so much I avoid going up and down flights of stairs because it hurts like hell, I’ve gone from eating whatever the hell I want to feeling hungry every waking hour, I’ve lost my best friend over this decision, and I’m glad you reminded me I’m just a worthless piece of shit who has no right to say anything because he hasn’t “been there.”
Thanks for the morale boost, sir.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:37 pmrumsfeld47
here is your morale boost:
whatever branch you choose, whatever you want to do go for it. who cares what other people say, or think, you are doing what you want to do, you know what you are getting into (it seams like you do) you have determination and passion, its awsom, congratulations, you will go to boot camp and do great.
i am in the army, i served with marines, airman, and sailores. i respect them all the same, one cannot survive without the other, and every marine out there can say i am wrong and that they are the best,all the times they want. we have our traditional friction with eachoter, which promotes healthy competition, and what not. but i will tell you one thing for sure, and this is from my personal experience. you can be in the airforce, navy, army or marines, but in the face of danger i will pull you out of a burning chopper, and stick my hands in your artery for it to stop bleeding to save your life, and i know you will do the same. becuse under fire in danger, or any other given situation that you need help,we are all in the US armed forces fighting against the same enemy. my philosophy is, and i tell this to my plt when we work with the USMC “let the marines be marines, let them be what makes them who they are” we have our mission in my unit, and that is what we focus on, and what we do will help the armed forces as a whole. a marine wants to tell me i am a piece of shit because i am a soldier, that all i do to get promoted is push ups, and i dont do real work etc… i let them. and they have done so many times, but it comes a time when i have to help them out, and i never say no, and i know if i needed help, they wont say no either.
in your military life you will find a thousand people from your branch who will tell you and make you feellike a piece of shit, get use to it. there is always that know it all jerk who just makes your life miserable. dude, i’ve been there, done that, got the shirt fornt and back. been in iraq too, and got the mug, a bunch of shirts and took a bunch of pictures. met my friends that are like my brothers and sisters.
March 21st, 2007 at 12:05 amlive and learn.
dont get discouraged, whatever your family, friends, or anybody else tells you. you’ll find civilians who hate the military as well. dont let it get to you. drive on!
PT until you die, enjoy boot camp, you will tell stories about boot camp forever!! you always remember boot camp. trust me, you’ll be in a tower somewhere in iraq for 12 hours, in an accuard silence you’ll say “this one time at boot camp…” trust me, it never fails.
i am in supply, and i was sure i will end up in an office somewhere in iraq, but instead i delivered mail, i worked the towers, i guarded everything that was worth guarding, i patrolled, search iraqis, searched houses, did every single MP job there is (worked in a prison and did every job there), did convoys, and yes i did got to work in an office which got mortared,drove all kinds of vehicles, been hit by IEDs, seen firefights, and is not something to brag about, is just what we do, is just what we deal with. and is so different that what you think it would be.
just remember this, the life of a soldier or marine is composed of long periods of boredom and very short periods of exitement. lost of hurry up and waite.get use to it, and understand it. because when the exitement comes, you want to know what to do.
good luck, keep you head up, stay out of trouble. as long as you know what you want. go for it. you will be a great marine, one of those we (army guys) love to hate.
by the way rumsfeld i have a sneaking suspician the officer in question is not really who he says he is. He wouldnt go out of his way to break a recruits morale if he were a real marine. He is either a jihadi or a liberal.
anyways those looking for work after war see this link:
http://military.nationalcareerfairs.com/index.php?
p=career_fair_details&id=6
This is from military.com
peace
March 21st, 2007 at 3:58 am“NO ONE I KNEW SUPPORTED MY DECISION UNTIL I HAD MADE IT. EVERYONE TOLD ME I WAS CHOOSING THE WRONG BRANCH.”
Well you could have joined the Army and been all you can be, but by joining the Corps you have joined the best
No slam against the Army, said tongue in cheek.
“He is either a jihadi or a liberal.”
TJ, I was sort of thinking wannabe
March 21st, 2007 at 9:41 amI’m sorry that being a vet is so hard-people should welcome vets, not treat them like dirt:(
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:34 amWhat’s the deal with everyone who has a dissenting opinion being labled a “liberal” or a “jihadist”? Thinking Free by telling Rumsfeld47 to spend time with his family is a good suggestion.
And his comment about CPL Smith is right on too. CPL Smith didn’t call himself a hero, but he got worked up over a comment by a lady who works in a ticket booth. It sucks that a lot of Americans are ignorant and run their mouths, but that’s the first amendment. It’s hypocritical to defend someone’s rights one moment and then tear them down the next.
Here’s a real question for everyone: Is the word hero being overused? Everywhere I go, everyone is a hero. I don’t like the idea of mil discounts being called hero passes, because quite frankly, most people in the military arn’t heroes.
Addressing the main topic: I don’t have any personal examples from the workplace, but academic discrimination is fierce. Universities and colleges are dominated by liberal professors. These profs (in my experience) will give lower grades to well-formulated arguments if they’re not in line with the leftist agenda. I’d be pissed if I lost a job because I was in the military.
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:03 am“What’s the deal with everyone who has a dissenting opinion being labled a “liberal” or a “jihadist”? Thinking Free by telling Rumsfeld47 to spend time with his family is a good suggestion.”
What right did he have to tell Rummy to shut up? Merely because he claims to be a Capt?
“And his comment about CPL Smith is right on too.”
How was he right on about that? Cpl Smith NEVER said he was a hero did he, yet Thinking free intimates that he did. Seems to me that Thinking free has a reading comprehension problem, and that’s one reason I doubt he’s a Capt, let alone any officer, or even in the military.
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:15 am“What right did he have to tell Rummy to shut up? Merely because he claims to be a Capt?”
Agree with you on that one.
“How was he right on about that? Cpl Smith NEVER said he was a hero did he, yet Thinking free intimates that he did. Seems to me that Thinking free has a reading comprehension problem, and that’s one reason I doubt he’s a Capt, let alone any officer, or even in the military.”
I interpretted the comment as: who cares what other people say. We all know what we do and what we don’t. That’s my take, I could be wrong, I could be right.
March 26th, 2007 at 8:38 ammy buddy and i are roommates now back home here in massachusetts. he was with 2/4 and i was with 3/7. we went to high school together. hes a marine. im a corpsman. we got the shit kicked out of us last night by the cops. my heart is broken. we got heckled all night by various patrons at various restaurants around town. the only thing we did was wear our boonies out. i feel as helpless as i did on the worst day of my life, feb.25th 2006. you know what i mean. everyone has a date/s. i just got a job with this place called amercan veterans remodeling. its owned by an army guy. i was supposed to start tomorrow. but i have to be in court. so much for trying to get back into the swing of things.
April 8th, 2007 at 7:17 pm