I am currently a senior in high school, and as such, I was called by the millitary recruiters. We were talking and things seemed to be going fine, but when I mentioned I had Tourette's Syndrome, I was told that I couldn't serve. Is this discrimination? and if so, is there anything I can or should do?
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Discrimination?
- Thread starter trader
- Start date
im not sure how the military's rules specifically function, but think about it logically. would you want to have a soldier in your unit who has tourettes syndrome? its not really discrimination in any sense, its just practical. it does seem pretty unfair, but truthfully, a soldier with tourettes is impractical, and impracticality is not what the military is after.
the american armed forces has a lot of requisites. "you can't get in if you don't have both arms" for example.
yeah it's discrimination.
no there's nothing you can do about it.
yeah it's discrimination.
no there's nothing you can do about it.
@Snorlaxe I can understand them not wanting someone blurting out words on a covert mission, but I can't get any job in the military, even a desk job.
@-Charmander- It's a bit more than just twitching, but I can hold it in most of the time.
@ballabrown I understand that, but you're thinking of coprolalia for shouting out random words. While associated with tourette's, they don't always go hand in hand. For me, it's usually just a slight yelp, like a dog.
@-Charmander- It's a bit more than just twitching, but I can hold it in most of the time.
@ballabrown I understand that, but you're thinking of coprolalia for shouting out random words. While associated with tourette's, they don't always go hand in hand. For me, it's usually just a slight yelp, like a dog.
While employers are generally not allowed to discriminate on the basis of medical issues, there are exceptions.
The general idea is that there is something called "bona fide occupational qualification", which allows employers to discriminate even based on legally-protected factors. For example, while hiring based on gender is typically illegal, it would be possible for Playboy to run an ad that said "attractive female redheads only", because if they were forced to hire fat bald men to model for their magazines they would be out of business.
I am not sure if this applies to the military in particular, or if other laws exempt the military from standard discrimination laws...but either way, what they did was legal.
So even if it's a protected medical condition, they can discriminate if it's in their best intrest?
What Objection said. Actually, the original meaning of the word "discrimination" is just "discerning differences", or "differentiating". It's only because of its historical use in the US that it has such a negative connotation.
Or even simpler, a construction site: "Erhm, you can't lift 40 kgs? ...ah, well..."
I wish people would stop being dumbasses by assuming that everybody who has Tourette's syndrome randomly yells out profanity.
It technically is discrimination, but they are just trying to make sure that they have the best people for the job, and while you might operate very well, there are in all likelihood a number of people who have severe detriments to their well-being and the well-being of their co-workers (if you can call them that) by having Tourette's.
Too long, didn't read - I figure it's a case of "better safe than sorry"
are you retarded
Chill Murray
get well soon jacoby..
More likely the issue is it's not a good idea to give a gun to someone prone to muscle spasms (or to have that same person in a combat situation where they are responsible for the lives of other people). It's discrimination, yes, but it's on the same order of denying a blind person a job as a bus driver.
Seeing as everybody else addressed your question pretty thoroughly...were you very interested in joining the military or were you more or less just mildly interested and made this thread to understand what they were thinking?
Yes, there is a treatment, but I'm eighteen and they won't do the operation untill your brain stops developing(in the mid twenties, iirc).
@Yaridovich It was a bit of both.
@Pharaoh It is very bothering that I can't get ANY job in the military, but at the time of this call, I did very much want to be in the Marines, though I have changed my mind since it is no longer a realistic option.