Has anyone else completely lost faith in the military?

I think it is important to note that it would seem the very nature of the military would make this easier to deal with than in civilian society too. It is possible for commanding staff to assert a greater amount of control on their "employees" than it is in any other walk of life. Not that it is easy but they do have a built in structure for managing the lives of their soldiers and cadets.

True. But I don't think Matty was trying to compare it to other parts of society necessarily, just looking at the military alone. And, right or wrong, many have higher expectations of the military than they may have of other areas

And what kind of moron puts any blame on the media for this?

Acknowledged. But why look at the military alone? That's my whole thing. Absent any evidence that says rape and sexual assault happens in the military at a higher rate than it does in other parts of society, then I don't know why you wouldn't try to address sexual assault and related coverups more broadly as a societal issue, rather than single out the military.

Acknowledged. But why look at the military alone? That's my whole thing. Absent any evidence that says rape and sexual assault happens in the military at a higher rate than it does in other parts of society, then I don't know why you wouldn't try to address sexual assault and related coverups more broadly as a societal issue, rather than single out the military.

So feel free to add other sexual abuse scandals here. Let's just have one big sexual abuse scandal thread. Just like we did with Penn St., right?

Apparently if an issue is widespread enough discussing individual cases is off the table?

At the end of the day whether it's the military, the church, or a major university, it's pretty damn big news. These organizations single themselves out with these giant F ups.

I definitely agree. But the assertion in this thread that the military is just being singled out...as if to diminish the importance of dealing with the issue is absurd. I know AW isn't trying to sound like that but it really comes off as "Ehhh it happens everywhere so no biggie"

I would like to distance myself from AW in every way possible, because he just can't make a coherent point and discusses like a child. That's first and foremost.

The media latches on to the latest story and the latest trends and runs with it. Newtown Connecticut, 26 white people killed. Coverage out the wazoo, even national media like Brian Williams and NBC Nightly News descending upon the community. Guess what though, 26 black people are killed by guns in downtown Philadelphia every few weeks. That kind of gets glossed over by the media. Rightly or wrongly, it just does. Maybe it's because gun violence in poor areas is expected, and gun violence in a quiet suburban community isn't. I don't know.

But the media has latched onto sexual assaults in the military just the same. Because the cover ups in particular are outrageous. Yet there has been no evidence presented that says sexual assaults and subsequent cover ups don't happen elsewhere just as often.

The media finds a story, it's outrageous, they push it. People see it, get outraged, and have an emotional reaction. So the story gets even more legs, and grows and grows.

But if you want to have a serious conversation about stopping sexual assaults, it would be narrow minded to limit that conversation to the military and what it can do about it. If you want to affect change that will improve the most lives, you broaden the perspective. The military may be able to affect change quickly because of the chain of command as FRPLG mentions, but that shouldn't be our sole focus.

I would like to distance myself from AW in every way possible, because he just can't make a coherent point and discusses like a child. That's first and foremost.

The media latches on to the latest story and the latest trends and runs with it. Newtown Connecticut, 26 white people killed. Coverage out the wazoo, even national media like Brian Williams and NBC Nightly News descending upon the community. Guess what though, 26 black people are killed by guns in downtown Philadelphia every few weeks. That kind of gets glossed over by the media. Rightly or wrongly, it just does. Maybe it's because gun violence in poor areas is expected, and gun violence in a quiet suburban community isn't. I don't know.

But the media has latched onto sexual assaults in the military just the same. Because the cover ups in particular are outrageous. Yet there has been no evidence presented that says sexual assaults and subsequent cover ups don't happen elsewhere just as often.

The media finds a story, it's outrageous, they push it. People see it, get outraged, and have an emotional reaction. So the story gets even more legs, and grows and grows.

But if you want to have a serious conversation about stopping sexual assaults, it would be narrow minded to limit that conversation to the military and what it can do about it. If you want to affect change that will improve the most lives, you broaden the perspective. The military may be able to affect change quickly because of the chain of command as FRPLG mentions, but that shouldn't be our sole focus.

Point taken.

I don't think myself or anyone else is saying the military is the sole problem. But right now they are the big headline story, fair or not that's just how it goes.

Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media (http://m.guardiannews.com/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks)


U.S. government secretly collecting data on millions of Verizon users: Report (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/us-govt-secretly-collecting-data-millions-verizon-users-013542225.html)



I've lost faith in any government agency we currently have.

I know I'm biased because "the media" writes my checks but A) there's a whole other thread dedicated to media complaints and B) because it likely happens elsewhere doesn't make it ok for it to happen in the military (which is how I think some of you, one of you?, feel. Or at least you're coming across that way)

I know I'm biased because "the media" writes my checks but A) there's a whole other thread dedicated to media complaints and B) because it likely happens elsewhere doesn't make it ok for it to happen in the military (which is how I think some of you, one of you?, feel. Or at least you're coming across that way)

Yeah agreed, it absolutely cannot be shrugged off. If anything, it's an indictment of human nature. If the US military is even an environment where sexual assault happens and is covered up, then it can happen in any walk of life. Look at India with the gang rapes. Look everywhere.

It comes back to men. Men have to decide whether they want to be the answer to this problem. It's in our hands. We have most of the political positions, and we have most of the physical strength that puts a lot of women at our mercy.

Here's an absolutely outstanding statement from Patrick Stewart on this very subject. Worth sitting through.

TqFaiVNuy1k

Since the media is apparently....off the hook
Could the performance in these matters be a result of an incompetent, Commander in Chief?

Since the media is apparently....off the hook
Could the performance in these matters be a result of an incompetent, Commander in Chief?



sexual assault ,this should be good ,explain?