Do you have something on topic to add to this thread or are you just going to continue trolling and trying to derail the discussion?
At least 2,250 of Canada’s veterans are homeless due to alcoholism, drugs and mental
- Thread starter B00Mer
- Start date
Do you have something on topic to add to this thread or are you just going to continue trolling and trying to derail the discussion?
You may have noticed that my original post has six greens so far. The angry folks like to pretend I'm just a shyte disturber but clearly I'm not alone in my thinking.
I can see RCS's point. He is a vet, so when he sees 'homeless veterans,' it's normal that he will not see veteran homelessness as a separate issue from other veteran issues but rather see it as part of a wider problem conserving veterans.
You have had a personal experience with homelessness through your ex-wife, so you logically see veteran homelessness as part of the wider problem of homelessness generally.
I'd been homeless for no more than a day my entire life, and that was in the summer years ago. That said, I do suffer PTSD, OCD, and BPD, and so am aware of the daily struggle and how it could have led me to homelessness had I not had a support network to help me, and so tend to focus on the mental health aspect of homelessness.
I don't see that any of us are wrong. We're all blind men touching different parts of the elephant.
Jump to any conclusions lately? Check my other posts in other threads. LOL
I see a thread to that is supposed to be about Homeless Veterans, so I responded in turn. You asked very specific questions about the issue with veterans and I responded in turn. You asked how we can address these veterans issues and I told you of my own experience as an advocate and a veteran. It's not a matter of trying to separate the two, it's what the Op was about to begin with.
You asked questions some valid questions about the issue and I gave you some well thought out answers.
Cannuck might like to marginalize it and troll and say stuff he can't back up, but let's remember what the thread was about to begin with:
At least 2,250 of Canada’s veterans are homeless due to alcoholism, drugs and mental health issues.
He made the ridiculous statement that the rise in "homeless veterans" had nothing to do with being a veteran and then quickly danced away and refused to address the statement after being called on it. This is quite typical of his posting style, has been for years, you could extract the line share of his posts and see the recurring theme, but let's be honest.
Who the hell has the time?
If the thread had been about homeless immigrants and a member tried to state that the rise in homeless immigrants has very little to do with being immigrants there would be equal debate on such an obtuse conclusion.
And rightly so.
The thread was about a demographic of people at risk.
So, Machjo, I hope I cleared that up for you.
Cannuck's next move will be completely predictable.
Do you want me to find that post of yours stating that "greens" and "reds" don't mean anything one way or the other? Hypocrite!
If we limited ourselves to the thread topic, the range of discussion would be limited. Once we remove matters that apply to the homeless generally as opposed to homeless veterans specifically (addictions and other mental health problems, lack of education, poverty, etc.) and those that apply to veterans generally as opposed to homeless veterans specifically (compensation packages, veterans' pensions, veterans' medical coverage (both physical and mental), veterans' training programs for civilian transfer, etc.), there would be little to talk about. Most veterans' issues are not unique to homeless veterans, and most homeless issues are not unique to homeless veterans.
What is there to discuss about homeless veterans that does not go off topic in applying to veterans generally?
What is there to discuss about homeless veterans that doesn't go off topic to apply to the homeless generally?
I'm sure there is something but nothing comes to my mind at present, which may explain why everyone has chosen to expand the subject either to vetetans' issues generally or homelessness generally, both equally off topic but at least giving us more to talk about than whatever could possibly apply to homeless veterans and no one else other than to say that unlike most veterans they are homeless, and unlike most homeless people, they are veterans.
What is there to discuss about homeless veterans that does not go off topic in applying to veterans generally?
What is there to discuss about homeless veterans that doesn't go off topic to apply to the homeless generally?
I'm sure there is something but nothing comes to my mind at present, which may explain why everyone has chosen to expand the subject either to vetetans' issues generally or homelessness generally, both equally off topic but at least giving us more to talk about than whatever could possibly apply to homeless veterans and no one else other than to say that unlike most veterans they are homeless, and unlike most homeless people, they are veterans.
From my limited knowledge and even more limited experience I might argue with those 6 "green thumb" donors. We all know that before people join the armed forces there is VERY intensive screening. These people are accepted due to a clean bill of health and copings skills, and subsequent training to be able to contend with adverse conditions so it is evident to me that their compromised condition upon release just might be due to adverse conditions of extreme magnitude. To lump them in with waitresses and salesmen is just plain ludicrous.
You should make up your mind.
No I haven't. I stand completely behind every statement I've made. I've even offered stats and links to back them up. You have resorted to name calling. Clearly my opinion upsets you but what is more upsetting is your inability to counter it with anything but opinion. The FACT remains that Medicine Hat eliminated homelessness in the general public as well as the veteran community and they didn't treat veterans any differently. Since the homeless rate of veterans is less than the general population, you'll have to do a little bit better at convincing me that the government is doing such a horrible job.
So the demographics of Medicine Hat coincide 100% with the demographics of all the other places that have Veterans with issues?
Maybe today. Certainly not in '48 when my father joined. Not much more than a pulse was required.
These people are accepted due to a clean bill of health and copings skills, and subsequent training to be able to contend with adverse conditions so it is evident to me that their compromised condition upon release just might be due to adverse conditions of extreme magnitude. To lump them in with waitresses and salesmen is just plain ludicrous.
Are you saying that waitresses and salespeople can't have PTSD?
They don't have to
Well they certainly did in '39 when my Dad tried to enlist and was rejected because he had osteomyelitis. Of course in 1948 when your Dad joined there was no wars or anything particularly dangerous happening except for maybe painting the barracks.
Not too swift today, eh? Everyone can have PTSD but not necessarily caused by dodging shells and bomb!
From my limited knowledge and even more limited experience I might argue with those 6 "green thumb" donors. We all know that before people join the armed forces there is VERY intensive screening. These people are accepted due to a clean bill of health and copings skills, and subsequent training to be able to contend with adverse conditions so it is evident to me that their compromised condition upon release just might be due to adverse conditions of extreme magnitude. To lump them in with waitresses and salesmen is just plain ludicrous.
I'd joined the military quite easily. Physically, I was healthier than most on the team. In the interview, I played the holiwood card and said I wanted to serve my country.
Mentally, I found it very difficult to live with thirty other guys. Working together was one thing. Living together was something else entirely! The culture clash was too much. Due to a lack of other positions, I'd gone infantry, and to be honest, essentially joined the military because my father wanted me to.
Some of the guys had joined to 'kick some azz,' one dreamed of eventually going to the US to train the freemen, and n i g g e r and Jew and long haired greesy civvy intended as an insult were common. One of the instructors liked to collect Nazi-era paraphernalia, and another man on the base had 'skin head' a British flag and a Neo-Nazi flag tattooed on him, though ironically his immediate superior was black.
One of our officers was black too, but strangely enough we never heard a peep about the word n i g g e r when he was arround.
Drinking was the main passtime, and until I started drinking, I was pretty much ostracized. Looking back on it now, it was as if I had entered an insane asylum!
In the end they could see I didn't fit in and let me leave.
But to get in is the easy part. Living together with a group of strangers is a different matter.
It might just have been the batch I happened to find myself in of course and might not have been representative of other recruits, but that was my experience.