# A concription poll for the ladies. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516 "2011-01-13T21:22:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/21 "2011-01-14T04:44:11Z")
I can’t really think how to bring down the hypotheticals. I’d never in a million years be let into an army to due my mental health issues- and for that matter I’m not that physically robust either. The me who would be facing this issue would have to be a me that doesn’t have severe anxiety and panic attacks. Maybe Hypothetical Me is completely fearless, and capable of being in deadly situations without whimpering in a ball on the floor; maybe Hypothetical Me is less viscerally empathetic and can stand to hurt people. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/22 "2011-01-14T04:59:28Z")
I’m a personal pacifist. I am absolutely committed to waking up every day and not trying to kill anyone. I don’t care what other people do, but no, not for me. Honestly, I’d probably try to get knocked up. My Mom wanted another kid anyway. I’d have to finish my education close to home, but I think I’d still be able to stay on track. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/23 "2011-01-14T06:43:30Z")
This is an interesting question for me as I am an ex-Jehovah’s Witness. Were you to ask me this when I actually _was_ nineteen years old, I would’ve voted go to prison proudly as any good little Witness would. But now, I voted to report for duty. Although I’d feel guilty about doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/24 "2011-01-14T11:56:48Z")
Present myself for the medical, where it would quickly have been determined that I was unfit for duty on account of being female. Back when I was in my late teens, the Spanish armed forces did not accept females. If they had, I might actually have considered a career in the military. ---
**Author:** ![Faelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c77e96/32.png) [@Faelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faelyn)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/25 "2011-01-14T14:46:46Z")
I would report for duty. I couldn’t do anything otherwise and be able to sleep at night. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/26 "2011-01-14T15:05:13Z")
I think the draft is unfair, period, regardless of the gender of the draftee. Do they have appeals for CO status? I honestly can’t imagine they’d reject me for that. I don’t even have the stomach to kill for food; I would be useless as a soldier killing for some politician’s hard-on. Even if the tribunal lacks compassion/empathy, I’d be a liability to my squad, and I can’t imagine they wouldn’t see that. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/27 "2011-01-14T15:15:35Z")
If the draft were somehow necessary (alien invasion, World War III, etc.) I would report and do my duty. However, the scenarios in which I envision a draft necessary are so far out there I don’t see this is likely. More likely would be an unnecessary draft, I would report and so thoroughly screw up all psychological exams that I would be quickly declared unfit for duty by reason of mental defect. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/28 "2011-01-14T15:35:49Z")
I answered “dodge the draft” as that is absolutely what my 19 year old self would have said. But that’s thinking in the context of the actual wars that have occurred since WWII. If the war in question seemed less like a bad idea than Vietnam or any of the messes in the Gulf, then maybe I would report for duty. Now that I’ve been pregnant a couple of times, there’s no way in hell I’d do that for any reason other than, “I really really really really really want to have a baby.” ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/29 "2011-01-14T18:50:20Z")
I dont believe in a draft, for men or women. If you want people to so something, like be in the army, then you should be willing to pay them to do it, meaning that the pay should be high enough for people to want to join. Furthermore, if the country is worth saving from a foreign aggressor, then the citizens should be willing to join up voluntarily in order to save it. If nobody wants to join up and save it, then it is not worth saving. The wars in Iraq and Afganistan are very questionable, extremely questionable, because **unlike WW2** , most of the country totally ignores it, no professional baseball/football/basketball/hockey stars are quiting to join up and fight in Iraq, no US Senator or US Congressmen are resigning to go fight, no business owners, no movie stars are quiting and joining up. Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Leslie Howard, Glen Miller, Ted Williams, et al all took WW2 seriously and quit their careers to join the army , in order for us to win. Until I see that happening again, then our “wars” are not real wars. Also, back in the old days of WW2, going in the army to fight in the war meant going in for the DURATION, i.e., STAYING in until the war is won. Unlike vietnam or the war in Iraq, in WW2 our soldiers did not stop fighting/quit the army after a 12 month tour of duty and come home, in WW2 our boys stayed in until the war was won. ( no wonder we dont win anymore) Lastly, any draft that excludes politicians, older people, sports players, etc is immoral. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/30 "2011-01-14T18:58:45Z")
I voted other for the same reasons as **Tastes of Chocolate**. My first instinct was to vote for dodge the draft but that’s because the Vietnam war was going on when I was 19. It really would depend on what the war was about. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/31 "2011-01-14T20:26:06Z")
I would report for duty. There is nothing on this earth that I would get pregnant to avoid (well, possibly death, but I’d have to think long and hard about it), and I wouldn’t consider running off to Canada to dodge the draft. Prison’s right out too. If I supported the war I would show up willingly–if I didn’t, I’d still show up, but grudgingly. I believe that both men and women should be subject to the draft, if we’re going to have one. I also believe that women should be allowed to hold any military job that they’re physically and mentally capable of handling, including combat positions (note that I’m not suggesting that they lower the physical requirements–as long as they’re reasonable–that would probably eliminate most women from serving in these positions. But if they can, they should be allowed to.) ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/32 "2011-01-14T20:36:21Z")
I had to go with " other", any army desperate enough to draft the real 19 year old me would already being running out of old men and 12 year old kids, and a hypothetical nineteen year old me healthy enough to serve would be a totally different person. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/33 "2011-01-14T20:36:54Z")
Run off to Canada to avoid the draft - so what are us Canadians supposed to do, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/34 "2011-01-14T20:53:32Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Run off to Canada to avoid the draft - so what are us Canadians supposed to do, huh? Eat poutine and say “aboot.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/35 "2011-01-14T21:34:41Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > Gotta go with other, because it would depend on the war. I believe that if there is the need or a draft, it should include both men and women, but there have been a number of US wars that I don’t support. So I would either report for duty, or end up in jail. Similar. If I had a deep philosophical opposition to the war in question, I might try to dodge or go to jail. But if my only opposition was that I didn’t want to get shot at, I’d need to suck it up and go. It’s part of the equality thing; there’s no good reason why teenage boys should have to register for the draft and teenage girls shouldn’t. I know my 19-year-old self thought the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/36 "2011-01-14T21:41:35Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > Report for duty. > > I actually enlisted at 17 (legal with a parents permission). Same, except I enlisted at 19. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/37 "2011-01-14T22:22:35Z")
I’m a dual citizen, and a conscientious objector who would be willing to perform public, non-military-based service to fulfill any SSA obligation. If that wasn’t good enough for them, I’d go live the country in which I hold said citizenship. Realistically, however, if I were 19 again, and in great physical shape, they still wouldn’t take me, so it’s kind of moot. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/38 "2011-01-14T22:40:21Z")
Quoth **Anaamika** : > [@](#): > > I say this knowing I will be called naive, but I really don’t believe the draft is coming back any time soon, UNLESS we really need it. Coming back? It never left. We still have the draft; it’s just currently inactive. And I won’t click on the poll since I’m male, but if I were drafted, I would consider it my moral duty, both as a patriotic American and as a human being, to both dodge it and to do whatever I could to help others dodge, too. Slavery is wrong, point blank, period. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/39 "2011-01-14T23:17:43Z")
Other: If the draft was starting, my number was low enough to make getting drafted reasonably possible (I’d look at my number versus that of people who lived in areas of the same general region and population density), and student deferments didn’t let me complete my degree, I’d just join the military. I’d either try the Air Force as a mechanic or electrician or join the Navy as a translator or some other flavor of military intelligence. IIRC, a conscript is pretty much going to be a foot soldier, but if you join on your own terms you may have more choice as to where you end up. As the daughter of a military officer (he’d have been still active when I was nineteen, too) I might have had an easier time navigating the bureaucracy. That would have been my answer even when I was nineteen. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516/40 "2011-01-14T23:25:01Z")
I put other, because it depends on whether I feel the war is a just one. If it’s not and I can’t be a conscientious objector, I’m going to suck it up and go to jail. If I feel like it’s a just war, I’ll go along and hope I get a position far away from danger. Because I’m not a warrior, but I can still help! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-concription-poll-for-the-ladies/567516.md?page=3)