For those who are arguing against, have you guys ever even been enlisted in the military? I'm just asking.
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America's Army and the use of media for military recruiting
- Thread starter User 43539
- Start date
I googled "We want the whole world to know how great the U.S. Army is" to find the game and this thread is second on the google search, ahead of Wikipedia.
Anyways, I'm d'loading it now. I probably will never join the army, and if anyone is influenced that much by a video game, by all means, join. we need some people in the military, anyways. I agree with what most people said. If we didnt have people volunteer we would have a draft, and either way, it probably wont effect me. If one of my friends try to join, I would talk to them and try to get a reason out of them, and if its a video game which is the reason I would try to talk them out of it. Theres nothing wrong with joining the military, inherently.
edit: actually, there isnt a mac version anymore, so screw it.
Anyways, I'm d'loading it now. I probably will never join the army, and if anyone is influenced that much by a video game, by all means, join. we need some people in the military, anyways. I agree with what most people said. If we didnt have people volunteer we would have a draft, and either way, it probably wont effect me. If one of my friends try to join, I would talk to them and try to get a reason out of them, and if its a video game which is the reason I would try to talk them out of it. Theres nothing wrong with joining the military, inherently.
edit: actually, there isnt a mac version anymore, so screw it.
I think recruiters should be allowed to present to high school, I wouldn't have nearly found out as much infomation as I did on career day. I was wondering what branch to join for along time it cae down to the marines. The average signer is of the age 17-18 as to be influenced to join is all in matter of personal views on the military.
After serving my time and getting sent home injured im more then happy to join.
AS for AA the first game sucked alot the second one was great and the third one blew chunks.
how is this even relevant?
this thread is about whether or not you consider the army's unquestionably manipulative recruitment tactics to be wrong. distance from the army is in no way detrimental to one's opinion/understanding of this issue.
i really don't see how anything in the OP is even remotely debatable. it could, however, be argued that such unscrupulous tactics are for the greater good.
I have no issue with the military recruiting, but when they are intentionally recruiting underage children in this manner then it is disgusting. On one hand our government decries violent video games and restricts their sale. On the other hand, they produce violent video games and use loopholes in the law to promote their sale. Sometimes I start to agree with the anti-tax crowd when I see how much of our money goes to things like this.
They should restrict advertising for the military like they restrict it for cigarettes. It should be ok to advertise, but you shouldn't be allowed to advertise to children. I'd rather catch my child with a pack of cigs than an army recruitment form any day of the week.
You're right, it's not relevant. But it is an interesting question. Are there any soldiers on Smogon? This is one of the few threads that would be better with an opinion from both sides.
They should restrict advertising for the military like they restrict it for cigarettes. It should be ok to advertise, but you shouldn't be allowed to advertise to children. I'd rather catch my child with a pack of cigs than an army recruitment form any day of the week.
You're right, it's not relevant. But it is an interesting question. Are there any soldiers on Smogon? This is one of the few threads that would be better with an opinion from both sides.
I never had recruiters come to my high school for anything other than for a job fair, in which there were tons of other "recruiters" doing the exact same thing: trying to convince or explain to young soon-to-be members of the workforce why they should pick their job. Never once did a recruiter show up to give an assembly to the entire student body by himself, and even if one were to, I wouldn't mind, simply because our public school system has no problem broadcasting any other agenda to the student body, such as having not-quite-yet-president Barrack Obama over to speak after school and inviting all the students to it via announcements and such.
Now, if the government were forcing kids to buy this game, then yes, I would agree with you. But there is nothing wrong with them making a game, and if it's as shitty as people say it is, what do you think the odds are of it actually convincing somebody to join?
From speaking to friends who have decided to join, as well as from my own personal experience, the reasons most people end up joining the military are varied but have nothing to do with a video game. Me? It's simply something I've always wanted to do. It's a (incredibly) viable career option, and if I decide to not stick with it, then I leave with valuable experience and many more job opportunities.
I'm not a soldier, but a sailor I suppose (I don't like that word much because it implies that I work and live on a ship -- something I don't plan on doing -- and right now my job would probably be more accurately described as military student), though I may end up going into the Marine Corps when I graduate. There are a bunch of options for me (EOD top choice, pilot/Marines/subs are all cool choices too that I'm interested in) and I could hardly go wrong.
For the answer to your question, simply read the post above yours. If somebody said that to my face...I would probably walk away because I'm very good at maintaining my calm but man I would want to fuck him up, and I have a number of friends that wouldn't even hesitate. It is so easy for those who have never been in the military (and I've only seen the surface of it as a midshipman) to bash it and say things like that, but you really have no idea what many of them have given up (and more importantly, are willing to give up) so that douchecocks like Asma can say what he's saying. E
Now, if the government were forcing kids to buy this game, then yes, I would agree with you. But there is nothing wrong with them making a game, and if it's as shitty as people say it is, what do you think the odds are of it actually convincing somebody to join?
From speaking to friends who have decided to join, as well as from my own personal experience, the reasons most people end up joining the military are varied but have nothing to do with a video game. Me? It's simply something I've always wanted to do. It's a (incredibly) viable career option, and if I decide to not stick with it, then I leave with valuable experience and many more job opportunities.
I'm not a soldier, but a sailor I suppose (I don't like that word much because it implies that I work and live on a ship -- something I don't plan on doing -- and right now my job would probably be more accurately described as military student), though I may end up going into the Marine Corps when I graduate. There are a bunch of options for me (EOD top choice, pilot/Marines/subs are all cool choices too that I'm interested in) and I could hardly go wrong.
For the answer to your question, simply read the post above yours. If somebody said that to my face...I would probably walk away because I'm very good at maintaining my calm but man I would want to fuck him up, and I have a number of friends that wouldn't even hesitate. It is so easy for those who have never been in the military (and I've only seen the surface of it as a midshipman) to bash it and say things like that, but you really have no idea what many of them have given up (and more importantly, are willing to give up) so that douchecocks like Asma can say what he's saying. E
I really disagree with the brainwashing/farming comments. I highly doubt somebody is so easily manipulated that they will join the military only because of a video game; and to be honest if somebody is so extremely impressionable like that then they must be incredibly simple. People don't give enough credit to children/teens, they aren't retarded. They can think for themselves, and decide what is best for themselves. Some people in this thread are acting like they think on a similar level of a dog.
It's just a way to garner interest, and get people thinking about joining the military. Besides, even if a child plays this game and is "manipulated" by it, it's not like they can just sign up to have themselves shipped off to combat that day. They have the 18 year age limit for a reason- so people have to think about what they want to do until they become an adult recognized by society. If they still think that it's a good idea by that time, then that's their business. They are free-thinking mature people who can make the decision on their own.
Edit: Referencing Lee's post; this has been going on for years. The military has been targeting young people through whatever current popular media there is at the time. I'm not sure why people are up in arms about this so suddenly.
It's just a way to garner interest, and get people thinking about joining the military. Besides, even if a child plays this game and is "manipulated" by it, it's not like they can just sign up to have themselves shipped off to combat that day. They have the 18 year age limit for a reason- so people have to think about what they want to do until they become an adult recognized by society. If they still think that it's a good idea by that time, then that's their business. They are free-thinking mature people who can make the decision on their own.
Edit: Referencing Lee's post; this has been going on for years. The military has been targeting young people through whatever current popular media there is at the time. I'm not sure why people are up in arms about this so suddenly.
Was just asking, as I said.
Although jrrrrrrr's question is important. We need to also take into accounts the opinions of any members who are or have been enlisted.
i'm sorry but i would say probably ~90% of the population actually is dumb enough to be manipulated by something like this, which does make it a problem in my view. an army shouldn't be state-funded at all, let alone be able to do stuff like this.
yet i still find this hilarious, i guess because i have a pretty dark sense of humour
"the army is just like this, except you get to shoot at REAL people!!!"
yet i still find this hilarious, i guess because i have a pretty dark sense of humour
"the army is just like this, except you get to shoot at REAL people!!!"
I tried playing this game. Is there any sound? If so, how do I activate it because I can't hear anything.
Just be glad you're not in some place like South Korea where men have to go into military service for 2-3 years barring some very good reason not to. It's considered a core part of your overall duty to your country.
I think america should adopt the idea of everyone serving in the military barring medical condition's. But that's my opinion on it. It did good to me but for some of my friends they would most likely blow off their head for some of the shit I saw.
sorry but "core duty to my country" or not there is nobody who can make me shoot a gun at another person
Alot of branches in the military dont require you to go and shoot someone unless you decided to take the infantry route like I did. I dont recommend it thought.
i think you're just cynical. ;)
that's just retarded. you realize that there are thousands of jobs in the military in which holding, much less shooting a gun are practically not even present? would you rather have your son a) be a crackhead who gives out blowjobs to guys for crack or b) let him join the military? I'm not saying that those are the only two options but the way your stance is makes it seem like you would rather choose option a! My best friend's dad works for the military and he worked in maintenance. All he did was repair and check machinery and equipment to make sure it functioned properly.
I'm pretty pro-military in a sense. I think it teaches good core values like hard work and all that shit and literally working your way up from the bottom in a career field. I'm not military but my father and grandfather were so I was basically passed down their values via being raised in a military household. I think people should hold at least 3 jobs throughout their lifetime: restaurant, retail and the military, so that they are more appreciative of the world. If you have worked in any of these 3 fields, you'll know what i'm talking about.
I actually had a talk about this with my dad today when we were out driving back from dinner / shopping. He pretty told me cut and dry, "It's fun, you'll me some interesting people and it's a lot of hard work. But it's like every other job, there is a lot of bullshit that comes with it and you'll dislike parts of it as much as you love other parts." He also told me how he felt about politicians who basically use the military as a way to score political power points (i.e. Kosovo, the Middle East, etc), but then he digressed that, "as long as the public is largely against military involvement, than most of the time it won't happen because of the threat of political suicide."
if my kid would be happy either way, i would very much prefer them bringing joy to others than causing their deaths
personally, i wouldn't kill my child for joining the military (obviously...) but i would probably disown them and never speak to them again.
ps damn right i'm all kinds of cynical
If I may ask Dan, is your response based upon you following a pacifist lifestyle (which can be solved by the thousands of military jobs that do not require you to hold, let alone fire a gun) or something far more complex. I'm trying to figure out your distain towards it,
Personally, I'm all for the use of advertising. It's not doing any harm. And before you bring up the sending kids to their deaths. If we followed that logic, beer advertisements should be disallowed because they can lead to kids dying of drunk driving (which claims MUCH more lives than military deaths).
Also, if no advertisements significantly lowered the militaries numbers, we could accidently cause a reinstatement of the draft. Food for thought.
seems a bit harsh. Besides, the question is weather or not we think the military should be allowed to advertise, not weather or not we like them.
Personally, I'm all for the use of advertising. It's not doing any harm. And before you bring up the sending kids to their deaths. If we followed that logic, beer advertisements should be disallowed because they can lead to kids dying of drunk driving (which claims MUCH more lives than military deaths).
Also, if no advertisements significantly lowered the militaries numbers, we could accidently cause a reinstatement of the draft. Food for thought.