# On this board, are people who only know the military from SF always this tactless? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 3, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942 "2006-03-03T19:35:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/41 "2006-03-04T18:39:47Z")
[Otaku](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaku) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/42 "2006-03-04T20:12:50Z")
No offense, **Mo** , but you are talking about someone who gets his ideas about the military from science fiction. Sort of like Pitting someone for asking if the antebellum South is really the way it is depicted in Mandingo. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/43 "2006-03-04T20:24:01Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No offense, **Mo** , but you are talking about someone who gets his ideas about the military from science fiction. That is an extremely disingenuous representation. The OP of the other thread, **Brainglutton** , simply noted a reference to the military in a science fiction book, and asked whether or not it was accurate. Actually, the very fact that he chose to open a thread abot the question suggests that he does not simply get all his ideas about the military from science fiction. He saw a representation of the military that seemed odd, and decided to ask more knowledgeable people about it. Your suggestion that he “gets his ideas about the military from science fiction” is not supported by the evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/44 "2006-03-04T20:44:32Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > So? > > Rather like the military folks checking in, I couldn’t care less what some otaku wanker living in mama’s basement thinks of reality. Apparently, you didn’t read the original thread _or_ this one, because you’re charicterization of **BrainGlutton** is neither accurate, nor shared by any of the other “military folk” who have posted to this thread. Not even the OP, at this point. And kudos to **Mr. Moto** for recognizing that he’d over-reacted. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/45 "2006-03-04T21:37:31Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > That is an extremely disingenuous representation. No, it’s not. > [@](#): > > The OP of the other thread, **Brainglutton** , simply noted a reference to the military in a science fiction book, and asked whether or not it was accurate. That’s what I said, dummy - he got the idea from a science fiction book. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/46 "2006-03-04T21:43:55Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, it’s not.That’s what I said, dummy - he got the idea from a science fiction book. > > Regards, > Shodan Hey, moron, noting a reference (i.e., one particular idea) and being intrigued enough to ask about it is not the same as getting his ideas (implying all or most) about the military from science fiction books. You really are a piece of work. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/47 "2006-03-04T21:46:39Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Hey, moron, noting a reference (i.e., one particular idea) and being intrigued enough to ask about it is not the same as getting his ideas (implying all or most) about the military from science fiction books. Yes it is, you clown. He got the idea from a reference in a science fiction book, it was about the military, you have the IQ of dryer lint. QED. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/48 "2006-03-04T22:56:44Z")
And you’re a disingenuous piece of dogshit. I never suggested that this particular idea didn’t come from a science fiction book. What i took issue with was your implication that this was how he _habitually_ gets his ideas about the military. Your description of him as “someone who gets his ideas about the military from science fiction” strongly suggests a belief on your part that he somehow equates science fiction references about the military with the reality of the military, or that he generally takes science fiction references as an accurate portrayal of the military. If this is not what you were implying, then all you’re guilty of is poor wording. But your continued suggestion that your post made no such implication merely confirms that you have your head up your ass. And you can shove your “regards” up there with your head, too, you faux-polite ignorant hump. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/49 "2006-03-04T23:23:34Z")
> [@askeptic](#): > > I just thought your stories were dumb in a “Look at me I’m flyin over here” kind of way. If you don’t like 'em, why the hell do you read them? It’s not like they have stealth titles. > [@askeptic](#): > > BTW whats a scumbag from NW Indiana doing calling people “Otaku Wankers” It may shock you, but even us “NW Indiana scumbags” get out of the house sometimes. Some of us even travel to other places on a regular basis and therefore have some familiarity with slang terms invented after 1993. > [@](#): > > Dipshit. Goat-felcher 😛 Man, this thread is really going in the shitter, ain’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/50 "2006-03-04T23:24:37Z")
It’s also not just a science fiction book, but a science fiction book _written by someone who used to be in the military._ That the book is science fiction is really incidental to the question. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/51 "2006-03-04T23:29:46Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > It’s also not just a science fiction book, but a science fiction book _written by someone who used to be in the military._ That the book is science fiction is really incidental to the question. Exactly. And the OP of the other thread specifically stated that one reason he raised the question was because he knew that Pournelle had been in the military. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/52 "2006-03-05T00:35:57Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > It’s also not just a science fiction book, but a science fiction book _written by someone who used to be in the military._ Not only that, but someone that writes in an _extremely_ pro-military style. Honestly, **Mr. Moto** , if you feel like trying science fiction, Pournelle’s books might be right up your alley. (As alluded to above, the Niven/Pournelle collaborations are mostly Niven’s ideas in Pournelle’s style. You might could try them too.) > [@Shodan](#): > > … He got the idea from a reference in a science fiction book, it was about the military, … And instead of assuming that the reference was accurate, he asked if the reference was accurate. Sheesh, **Shodan** , tie down your knee or something. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/53 "2006-03-05T00:42:35Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Man, this thread is really going in the shitter, ain’t it? Not to worry. Shodan is here now to set us all straight. We should have this thing settled by lunchtime. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/54 "2006-03-05T00:44:07Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Not only that, but someone that writes in an _extremely_ pro-military style. Honestly, **Mr. Moto** , if you feel like trying science fiction, Pournelle’s books might be right up your alley. And not only _that_, but one of Pournelle’s biggest influences was Russell Kirk, one of the legends of modern American intellectual conservatism. I imagine that the conservatives on this board (the more traditionalist, rather than libertarian conservatives) would be rather sympathetic to Kirk, and you can see some of the conservative influences in Pournelle’s own works. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/55 "2006-03-05T01:49:18Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Russell Kirk, one of the legends of modern American intellectual conservatism. And he wrote some pretty darn fine ghost stories, too. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/56 "2006-03-05T18:46:22Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Not only that, but someone that writes in an _extremely_ pro-military style. You consider the statement that good enlisted men are always stupid to be “extremely pro-military”? So the statement “only fools make good moderators” would be extremely pro-SDMB, AFAICT. > [@](#): > > And instead of assuming that the reference was accurate, he asked if the reference was accurate. Right- the reference to an idea, which was about the military, which he got from a science fiction book. Which is what I said. Then of course **mhendo** came along, pulled the words “all” or “most” out of his ass, stuck them into a post where they nowhere appeared, and then reacted to _that_ - and I am the one whose knee is jerking. Certainly some jerks in this thread, but they are not coming from anywhere near me. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/57 "2006-03-05T19:00:33Z")
So it’s totally out of question, **Shodan** , that an author of a SCIENCE FICTION book might be influenced by outside and possible “real life” attitudes and ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/58 "2006-03-05T19:11:58Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > You consider the statement that good enlisted men are always stupid to be “extremely pro-military”? Actually, if you fucking read the original GQ thread, you’d see that BrainGlutton interpretted the passage in question incorrectly. The book did not, in fact, say that enlisted men are unintelligent, but that some personality types would make lousy enlisted men but decent officers. It’s to BrainGlutton’s credit that his misreading still triggered his BS alarms and he sought outside opinions rather than taking it as gospel. You cretinous fuck. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/59 "2006-03-05T19:12:24Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Then of course **mhendo** came along, pulled the words “all” or “most” out of his ass, stuck them into a post where they nowhere appeared, and then reacted to _that_ - and I am the one whose knee is jerking. Sorry dickhead, you’re wrong. The fact that you don’t understand how the language works is not my problem. If you describe someone as “a person who [insert action here],” you’re making a statement about more than a single action; the implication is that the action concerned is habitual or common for this person. For example, if i describe someone as “a man who gets his ideas about relationships from watching porn,” the inference most reasonable people will draw is that he does this on a regular basis, and that porn is an important—perhaps the most important—place where he gets his ideas about relationships. They will not, unless they are a moron, infer that i’m talking simply about a single specific instance where the guy raised a question after watching a single porn film. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942/60 "2006-03-05T21:29:52Z")
> [@askeptic](#): > > Nice to see how you feel about Americas vets in general. I just thought your stories were dumb in a “Look at me I’m flyin over here” kind of way. But that comment reveals you to be a complete fuckstain. Hold it there… did you read **Broomstick** ’s original comments to mean military people were the otaku wankers? Sounds like she was calling \*_Brainglutton_ an otaku wanker and saying the military folk souldn’t care less. Which may or may not be accurate but does not sound like an attack on vets… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-this-board-are-people-who-only-know-the-military-from-sf-always-this-tactless/346942.md?page=4)