# Civilians pretending they're guarding recruiters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929 "2015-07-23T04:55:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/121 "2015-07-29T11:54:25Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Thanks for being offended for fat folks like me, **'toon** , but I didn’t call him on it because I wasn’t offended. I understand the fellow in question because I’d like to own a motorcycle, but I’d look cartoonish if I rode one. I could lose the weight, but I guess I don’t really want a bike that much. However, if I had seriously tried to join up and was turned away because of my weight, and if I sincerely wanted to help by participating in the war, I’d either lose it or put up with the catcalls. > > All told, please don’t fight my battles for me. I’ll let people know when they’ve pissed me off. I’m obese. I was fighting g the battle for myself, and no one else. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/122 "2015-07-29T12:00:17Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > I’m obese. I was fighting g the battle for myself, and no one else. Are you obese and sit around telling everyone how you could kick ISIS ass if only they would let you? Then it’s not about you. He was talking about a person (and I have met people like this) who are wannabe blowhards who are unwilling to even try to do what they constantly talk about. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/123 "2015-07-29T12:25:58Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > If only these people could find a military recruitment center in which they could sign up to defend their country for reelz. I have to imagine the recruiters roll their eyes inwardly at the 38-year old guy in size 52 camo pants who pulls up to the building in a truck with a NOBAMA sticker on it. And I imagine they get more than a few. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/124 "2015-07-29T12:40:31Z")
I imagine they _don’t_ - that would take more courage than most of those poseurs can summon. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/125 "2015-07-29T12:41:39Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Gee whiz … [does this guy _look_ dangerous](http://www.kezi.com/news/Vietnam_Vet_Guards_Military_Recruiting_Office_.html) … it’s free speech with a gun, the best kind. Heh. “I’m not out here for the glory.” ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/126 "2015-07-29T12:43:04Z")
I think I saw this on King of the Hill. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/127 "2015-07-29T14:22:10Z")
The punchline is this is in Eugene, Oregon … a community who diligently works to be the most extreme of liberalism … the bluest of the blues … Jesse Jackson country as it were. But we do like our guns … ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/128 "2015-07-29T14:37:40Z")
I’m a member of a couple of gun buying/trading groups on facebook, and immediately after the shootings someone proposed “guarding” the local recruiting centers. I tried to explain what a stupid idea it would be to suddenly appear outside of a recruiting center with a firearm, and was immediately lambasted for my lack of patriotism. Doesn’t matter that I joined the Navy during the first Gulf War, I’m not a patriot because I think it’s irretrievably idiotic to assume the local strip mall needs a bunch of armed dipshits loafing around. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/129 "2015-07-29T15:26:34Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > I always think to myself “self, the United States needs to be more like a third-world country, let’s have armed military roaming the streets.” I admire men like yourself who are willing to work to make that happen. When I think to myself, I call myself ‘Mike’. It makes it more interesting that way, kind of like a real conversation. My real name is not Mike. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/130 "2015-07-29T18:56:49Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > The Onion is generally a pretty silly site, which is good, because a lot of their stuff is hilarious. But the edition they published after 9/11 wasn’t really silly at all, and it includes what is, I think, in a lot of ways, one of my favorite Onion articles. > > [http://www.theonion.com/article/not-knowing-what-else-to-do-woman-bakes-american-f-221](http://www.theonion.com/article/not-knowing-what-else-to-do-woman-bakes-american-f-221) Off-topic and all, but damn, that’s the first time an \*Onion \*article has made me mist up. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/131 "2015-07-29T19:16:38Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Off-topic and all, but damn, that’s the first time an \*Onion \*article has made me mist up. Their coverage for the month after 9/11 was amazing. The one about [God clarifying that “if anyone tries to tell you I want you to kill someone, they’re wrong”](http://www.theonion.com/article/god-angrily-clarifies-dont-kill-rule-222) is the one that gets my tears going every time. The one about [the hijackers surprised to find themselves burning in hell](http://www.theonion.com/article/hijackers-surprised-to-find-selves-in-hell-1445) is hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/132 "2015-07-29T19:21:21Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Gee whiz … [does this guy _look_ dangerous](http://www.kezi.com/news/Vietnam_Vet_Guards_Military_Recruiting_Office_.html) … it’s free speech with a gun, the best kind. And from a link in a comment to that story, [a Navy recruiter accidentally shot himself with his own weapon in a recruiting center in Georgia.](http://www.cbs46.com/story/29573194/man) The irony, it burns. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/133 "2015-07-30T01:38:24Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Are you obese and sit around telling everyone how you could kick ISIS ass if only they would let you? Then it’s not about you. He was talking about a person (and I have met people like this) who are wannabe blowhards who are unwilling to even try to do what they constantly talk about. Nope. That’s not me. I’m a pacifist not an ass-kicker. I wish they did not exist but I don’t wish to murder people. Not even them. My apologies for zoning in on the weight aspect of your post. I do understand that it wasn’t about that. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/134 "2015-07-30T02:24:12Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > I’m obese. I was fighting g the battle for myself, and no one else. Well, I’m fatter than you. So there! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/135 "2015-07-30T02:29:53Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > And from a link in a comment to that story, [a Navy recruiter accidentally shot himself with his own weapon in a recruiting center in Georgia.](http://www.cbs46.com/story/29573194/man) > > The irony, it burns. Nah; in this case it’ll be the UCMJ that’s going to burn the moron, er recruiter who disobeyed a lawful regulation or lawful order. I’ll be interested to see if the recruiter’s commanding officer disposes of this case via Article 15 proceedings or with a court-martial. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/136 "2015-07-30T04:56:48Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Nah; in this case it’ll be the UCMJ that’s going to burn the moron, er recruiter who disobeyed a lawful regulation or lawful order. I’ll be interested to see if the recruiter’s commanding officer disposes of this case via Article 15 proceedings or with a court-martial. Monty, what is your military experience? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/137 "2015-07-30T06:04:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Monty, what is your military experience? 6 1/2 years, United States Army, Active Duty, separated at the rank of Specialist (5), transferred to the drilling Reserve. 13 months drilling with the Army Reserve, separated from Reserves upon enlistment into the US Navy. 13 1/2 years, United States Navy, Active Duty, retired as Personnelman First Class. What’s yours? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/138 "2015-07-30T09:56:15Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Bigotry against stupidity is no vice. And let me say, moderation in the mockery of bigotry is no virtue. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/139 "2015-07-30T10:22:46Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > 6 1/2 years, United States Army, Active Duty, separated at the rank of Specialist (5), transferred to the drilling Reserve. 13 months drilling with the Army Reserve, separated from Reserves upon enlistment into the US Navy. 13 1/2 years, United States Navy, Active Duty, retired as Personnelman First Class. > > What’s yours? Nobody likes a slacker. :D. :D. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929/140 "2015-07-30T11:15:01Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > 6 1/2 years, United States Army, Active Duty, separated at the rank of Specialist (5), transferred to the drilling Reserve. 13 months drilling with the Army Reserve, separated from Reserves upon enlistment into the US Navy. 13 1/2 years, United States Navy, Active Duty, retired as Personnelman First Class. You went from the Army to the Navy? Asking purely out of personal curiosity, but what drove that change? Or is changing services more common than I assume? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civilians-pretending-theyre-guarding-recruiters/725929.md?page=8)