Andy Rooney insults, well, basically everyone

[Albinonewt]

I used to think this guy was funny.

When i was 12.

Andy Rooney Article

[ramennoodles]

yeah i sort of agree but also i don't on something. it wasn't really comedy though, or at least if it was trying to be it wasn't funny.

[MayAMonkeyBeYourPinata]

I am very thankful for what the soldiers are doing, but it is true that a good number didn't excpect this kind of combat, after enlisting in the reserves. And would gladly leave if they had the chance.

[FactsOfLife]

Originally posted by MayAMonkeyBeYourPinata
...but it is true that a good number didn't excpect this kind of combat, after enlisting in the reserves. And would gladly leave if they had the chance.

Where'd you come up with this nonsense????

[vf-xx]

Originally posted by MayAMonkeyBeYourPinata
I am very thankful for what the soldiers are doing, but it is true that a good number didn't excpect this kind of combat, after enlisting in the reserves. And would gladly leave if they had the chance.

I don't doubt this, however it's a known, if remote, possibility that they must be prepaired for.

Personally I didn't find anything insulting about that article. I don't neccisarily agree with everything but it seems to be laid out in a calm rational manner.

[Restola]

Andy Rooney can **** a duck.

[shartley]

Originally posted by MayAMonkeyBeYourPinata
I am very thankful for what the soldiers are doing, but it is true that a good number didn't excpect this kind of combat, after enlisting in the reserves. And would gladly leave if they had the chance.

[kenndogg]

Originally posted by FactsOfLife



Where'd you come up with this nonsense????

hmm..well after being in the reserve myself and still maintaining contact with many of whom I consider friends...thats how I came up with that "nonsense."

[Rooster]

They sign up with the army and they didn't expect to go to war? They have only themselves to blame for being morons. Did they think they were learning rifle skills to hunt deer? They got their education paid for, and they got their check, exactly what they signed up for.

[kenndogg]

Ever talked to a recruiter? All they push nowadays is money for college and only serving on the weekends. I remember when I enlisted and was told that since I'll be joining the reserves that the chances of going to war would be remote. Same goes for the Nation Guard recruiter I talked to recently.

[1stdeadeye]

He is a bitter old man now who sticks his foot in his mouth at EVERY opportunity!

[oldsoldier]

I currently serve in the NAtional Guard. The one major problem is, yes, we all expect to be deployed, especially at a time like this: however, they are stretching the military, and the reserve force in particular, way too thin. You now have reserve units that have spent more time active duty than most active duty units. I speak from personal experience. Since 2001, I have been deployed, both stateside and overseas, since september 2001. I have spent 6 months at home in 3 years. I am NAtional Guard. I got out of the active forces for a reason. Yes, alot of reservists are bitter. They DO have a right to be. We still do our jobs though. Every day, like every one else in the military. However, WE have left OUR homes, jobs, lives, everything, not to augment the active duty, as originally intended...but to BE active units. This isnt something that the reserves were supposed to be doing. It will cause adramatic decline in soldiers re-enlisting, for fear of being deployed for yet another two years. Speaking for myself, I will be out when this is finished. I am throwing away 12 years of duty, because I can no longer afford to be deployed. I have missed out on promotions, bonuses, family, everything that people take for granted. Now, I am not whining...just merely pointing out that the national guard are "citizen soldiers", where, recently, the "citizen" part has been removed.

[Halliday]

VERY well said oldsoldier.

[Restola]

I understand what oldsoldier is saying as much as any non-military person can. I never really understood what reservists/national guardsmen were going through until I saw my friend deployed (he's national guard). He's in college, engaged, getting his life organized, and bam, he's shipped away to training for 3 months and then Iraq. Everything in his life is being put on hold. Everything.

[Jeffy-CanCon]

I have to agree that I don't think this is particularly insulting. It's not very nice, and it's got a serious anti-war slant, but it's not outright insulting.

He's right that not all soldiers are heros. But they are not all victims either. Maybe these guys didn't all volunteer to go to Iraq, but they all volunteered to join the military, and that involves a certain acceptance that you may get sent to dangerous places.

I think that all soldiers, sailors and airmen that we send overseas to do our countries' bidding deserve a lot respect. Whether US or UK troops in Iraq, or Canucks and other NATO troops in Afghanistan, they are all doing dirty, dangerous jobs, and doing them well.

I was a little miffed to see some of Rooney's "five questions" though...

3. Do the orders you get handed down from one headquarters to another, all far removed from the fighting, seem sensible, or do you think our highest command is out of touch with the reality of your situation?

4. If you could have a medal or a trip home, which would you take?

5. Are you encouraged by all the talk back home about how brave you are and how everyone supports you?

While I've fortunately never been in a war, I've read enough military histories and memoirs to predict that the answers to those three questions would be the same for most any soldier in any war. Posing them here makes the exsperience of the soldiers in Iraq seem unique, when it really is not.