OT: Military recruiting at the amusement park ?

[JackB1]

I went to Six Flags Over Georgia this past weekend and was appalled
at a sign I saw. Hanging up in the loading/unloading area of one of the coasters was a sign that said something like "Liked that Thrill Ride?...Now try the thrill ride of your life". It had a picture of a Coast Guard chopper with someone sliding down a rope into the ocean. Does anyone else think this is horrible? Comparing a roller coaster to going off to war to kill people? It also belittles the military....comparing it to a thrill ride at the family amusement park.

Just wondering what you all would think if you had your kids with you at the amusement park and saw the same poster hanging up?

[GameSeven]

There are similar TV commercials using video games as the hook. I agree ads like these can be in poor taste and a more than a little misrepresentative. I suppose a completely voluntary armed services must resort to advertising to help fill its ranks and emphasizing certain points over others will be an obvious cornerstone of any campaign.

Comparing a roller coaster to going off to war to kill people?

For the record, I'd caution against this jump, as the ad in question referred to the coast guard and probably tried to depict an ocean rescue of some sort. Suggesting this ad likens a roller coaster to going off to war may, in turn, be misrepresentative. The military has many branches and serves many purposes that extend beyond going off to war to kill people.

[pk500]

Just wondering what you all would think if you had your kids with you at the amusement park and saw the same poster hanging up?

I would think that it's creative recruiting by an Armed Forces that doesn't have a draft to automatically resupply its ranks.

Plus I'd also treat it just like any other piece of advertising. If I believed in the product and the truth behind the ad, I'd digest the ad. If I didn't, I'd shake my head and say, "What a load of sh*t," just like any other ad, and keep walking.

A couple of further points. One, it's the Coast Guard. Not exactly the most deadly, aggressive branch of the service. And the Coast Guard provides vital service to civilians through waterborne rescues, drug interdiction, customs enforcement, etc.

Two, the military still is a damn good fit for some youth in America whether you agree with the current conflict or not. It provides structure, discipline and skill training for a lot of kids who otherwise would drift into trouble. Military service is not a bad thing. There should be no stigma attached.

If the kid is willing to risk combat and wants to serve his country, the military is a fine spot to learn skills -- both physical and mental -- that will serve him well for the rest of his life.

Plus no one is forcing that kid to join. If he's interested, and there still are a lot of kids who are willing to serve, then the advertising might pique that interest a bit more and cause him to look into military service. The military has a right to advertise, especially without a draft.

Do people get this offended by beer and cigarette advertising, to which kids of all ages are exposed daily? Drunk driving and lung cancer have killed a lot more Americans in the last 12 months than military conflict.

Take care,
PK

[dbdynsty25]

I think Jack just wanted to figure out a way to get in another Anti-Bush thread before the guy is out of office. It's a bit of a stretch and yet, not surprising at all.

[Wilk5280]

I'm much more appalled by this thread than I am about recruiting at an amusement park.

[Gurantsu]

As a vet myself I have to say I have no problem with it. We have a voluntary military. It needs young men to keep it strong. Young men hang out at amusement parks. It's a no brainer that they would advertise there.

Lets see, when I was in the Navy, it wasn't just a job, it was an adventure. Then we went full steam ahead. Then we accelerated our lives. Whatever hook they need to get guys attention more power to them. It's not like they are dragging young men into side alleys and throwing them on a bus to boot camp. You have to advertise where your target audience is. When an ad for the Navy comes on TV, I make sure to point out to my daughter that thats what her daddy used to do when "he lived on a boat". And I'm one of the guys who PK mentioned where it was a good fit.

The citizen soldier has been this countries strongest military asset. No reason to hide it.

[ScoopBrady]

I have to admit Jack, I'm struggling to see your comparisons as well as what's wrong with the military recruiting at an amusement park. I'm more concerned that the comparison you came up with was "going off to war to kill people" as if that is the primary responsibility of the armed forces. When you point your finger there's 3 more pointing towards yourself. I'm pretty sure 999 out of 1,000 people would draw the comparison that if you like amusement park rides you would really dig riding around in a helicoptor, not killing people.

[FatPitcher]

When I think of the Coast Guard, I don't really think about going off to war to kill people. I guess we are different that way.

[pk500]

When I think of the Coast Guard, I don't really think about going off to war to kill people. I guess we are different that way.

Exactly. I think of a frogman dropping on a line from a helicopter to rescue shipwrecked sailors or officers intercepting a refugee boat from the Caribbean before it reaches the Florida shores.

Take care,
PK

[XXXIV]

When I think of the Coast Guard, I don't really think about going off to war to kill people. I guess we are different that way.

Exactly. I think of a frogman dropping on a line from a helicopter to rescue shipwrecked sailors or officers intercepting a refugee boat from the Caribbean before it reaches the Florida shores.

Take care,
PK

Im not so sure....I have been hearing rumors of a secret Bush Killer coast guard squad for some time now.

[fsquid]

I went to Six Flags Over Georgia this past weekend and was appalled
at a sign I saw. Hanging up in the loading/unloading area of one of the coasters was a sign that said something like "Liked that Thrill Ride?...Now try the thrill ride of your life". It had a picture of a Coast Guard chopper with someone sliding down a rope into the ocean. Does anyone else think this is horrible? Comparing a roller coaster to going off to war to kill people? It also belittles the military....comparing it to a thrill ride at the family amusement park.

Just wondering what you all would think if you had your kids with you at the amusement park and saw the same poster hanging up?

I'd probably think about it all of 3 seconds before asking what ride the kids wanted to go on next.

[Smurfy]

Actually, the Coast Guard was involved in the Vietnam War and served in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Here's one link from the US Coast Guard web site: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/Ira ... Index.html

Personally, Jack, I am allergic to all kinds of marketing. I am also concerned about the kind of culture that evolves around all these militaristic symbols we are exposed to.

However, I'd have to agree that Coast Guard recruiting is more like police recruiting than military recruiting. Nonetheless, I probably wouldn't even like the police recruiting at an amusement park.

But all things considered, I don't want to think about 2 million dead Vietnamese or amost a million dead Iraqis (I'm including the infant deaths during the Bush/Clinton sanctions era) when I go to the amusement park. It's better to believe that "I'm not afraid to for die what I believe in" rather than to believe that "I'm not afraid to kill for what I believe in."

On to the next ride...

[Teal]

sheesh...this particular amusement ride is starting to make me sick...sorry, Jack...severe political/whatever roller coaster fatigue.

[pk500]

Smurf, Jack:

Let me ask you this question: Would you still oppose the sign if America wasn't in a war of which you disapprove led by a president you detest?

If you saw the sign in 1998 during the Perjurer in Chief's reign, would you have been pissed?

The fact is, America has been a nation since 1776. Its forces have functioned on a peace footing a hell of a lot more than a war footing since then, so the vast majority of veterans did more than fire weapons to kill. They learned job skills, discipline, leadership and teamwork skills that they probably couldn't have received anywhere else.

Plus service in the Armed Forces has helped millions of Americans earn a college education through the GI Bill that they never would have received otherwise.

My grandfather was a truck driver for Nabisco; my grandmother was a stay-at-home mother. There's absolutely no way my father could have gone to college in the late 1940s without the GI Bill. He did, and that degree helped him become very successful in the sales field, which created a very nice life for my mother, brothers and sister and I.

So I can thank Uncle Sam and GI Joe for that. The military is so much more than a killing machine. It's an essential part of American society, regardless of whether a deluded imbecile like Bush is the Commander in Chief.

If the military is such a killing machine, then why does Switzerland -- which has been officially neutral since 1815 -- have an army of 220,000 conscripts, not volunteers? To lend its name to versatile knives?

Hardly. I'm sure many Swiss have gained valuable life and technical skills through their military service even though the chances of them serving in armed conflict are miniscule.

Take care,
PK

[sfz_T-car]

Does Switzerland have a Coast Guard?

[pk500]

Does Switzerland have a Coast Guard?

Hey, Lake Geneva, Lake Lucerne and the Bodensee can get damn choppy!

Take care,
PK

[Feanor]

When I see the constant military recruitment ads on G4 I can't help but think of the poster on the Simpsons: Hit & Run:

"Join the army. See the opposing army."

[Smurfy]

Actually, I didn't want to get involved in a non-racing thread. Politics should be left to the powerful few who know what they are talking about. But I also didn't want Jack to feel alone

[F308GTB]

I think our President is an idiot
I was never in favor of the war in Iraq (but now that we screwed it up, I'm in favor of fixing the mess we made for the Iraqi people)
I'm not a fan of many in the current administration
Did I tell you the President is an idiot?

I have ZERO problems with the advertising.

[Leebo33]

Just wondering what you all would think if you had your kids with you at the amusement park and saw the same poster hanging up?

I'd probably immediately think of my wife's cousin, a captain on the Army football team this year, look at my boys and hope that each one of them can grow up and be as smart, brave, strong, and noble as him.

My wife's cousin could have left West Point two years ago well after the war started. I guess he must be looking forward to killing people

[JackB1]

Ok - lets clear something up. I KNEW it was an ad for the coast guard, but the ad wasn't specifically for the Coast Guard...it was to JOIN THE ARMED FORCES in general. So it is conceivable that some young, impressionable lost kid, with no direction, gets off the roller coaster, sees that ad and thinks to himself..."wow, that looks cool, I want to do that" and walks into his local recruiting office and 12 months later is in Iraq, fighting for his life. I can't believe that most of you guys think that this type of recruting advertising is ok? It's totally misleading and inappropriate for a family amusement park. It just shows the lowest of lows that this government has sunk to to get new recruits. We wouldn't need to sink this low if we didn't have our whole damn army in a sh*t-storm Iraqi civil war.

[JackB1]

It's not "anti-Bush" per se. It's "anti sleazy recruting".

I think Jack just wanted to figure out a way to get in another Anti-Bush thread before the guy is out of office. It's a bit of a stretch and yet, not surprising at all.

[JackB1]

like I said, the ad depicted someone jumping out of a chopper into the ocean, but it read "JOIN THE ARMED FORCES".

When I think of the Coast Guard, I don't really think about going off to war to kill people. I guess we are different that way.

[JackB1]

PK......I am apposed to all war...period. I am not opposed to the military as a peace keeping force. We should have evolved as human beings more by now to realize that by killing more fellow human beings than they can kill of us, is not the best way to resolve conflict. When JFK decided to blockade instead of bomb during the Cuban Missle Crisis, he was on the right track and showed promise towards the future. Unfortunately we (and the rest of the world) still don't get it.

Bottom line is that it wasn't the proper place for such an ad.

Smurf, Jack:

Let me ask you this question: Would you still oppose the sign if America wasn't in a war of which you disapprove led by a president you detest?

If you saw the sign in 1998 during the Perjurer in Chief's reign, would you have been pissed?

The fact is, America has been a nation since 1776. Its forces have functioned on a peace footing a hell of a lot more than a war footing since then, so the vast majority of veterans did more than fire weapons to kill. They learned job skills, discipline, leadership and teamwork skills that they probably couldn't have received anywhere else.

Plus service in the Armed Forces has helped millions of Americans earn a college education through the GI Bill that they never would have received otherwise.

My grandfather was a truck driver for Nabisco; my grandmother was a stay-at-home mother. There's absolutely no way my father could have gone to college in the late 1940s without the GI Bill. He did, and that degree helped him become very successful in the sales field, which created a very nice life for my mother, brothers and sister and I.

So I can thank Uncle Sam and GI Joe for that. The military is so much more than a killing machine. It's an essential part of American society, regardless of whether a deluded imbecile like Bush is the Commander in Chief.

If the military is such a killing machine, then why does Switzerland -- which has been officially neutral since 1815 -- have an army of 220,000 conscripts, not volunteers? To lend its name to versatile knives?

Hardly. I'm sure many Swiss have gained valuable life and technical skills through their military service even though the chances of them serving in armed conflict are miniscule.

Take care,
PK

[Gurantsu]

When you sign up for the military, you pick the job you want after taking the ASVAB to see what you are qualified for. The Army could not guarantee me being able to fly helicopters, so I went into Naval Intelligence instead. There was no bait and switch, it was in writing before I went in. (As was the fact that once you sign up, you are NEVER out.)

Also, anyone who signs up now better not be surprised if they do end up in Iraq. I think I've seen something about it on the news now and then...