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The only time I would give a military discount would be if you are a military member that meets the following criteria:
OR
If you fight for a professional army, you're a professional, and professionals don't need discounts because they're doing what they're paid to do.
I love people getting upset when someone says fuck the troops 🥰
make sure you mean metaphorically
I'm not from the U.S., but why would people from the military get a discount? If you do that as a store, why not doctors and nurses too? Why stop there and why not include firefighters, government workers or teachers?
And who compensates you as a business owner for these giveaways? If your store happens to be close to an army base, do you just accept the disadvantage of giving away part of your profit?
It sounds pretty stupid. People should get paid enough to pay full price for their stuff. Especially by the government. Especially in a country that allocates an enormous part of their GDP to their military.
"Land of the free, home of the brave", but with the caveat that those other professions don't qualify as brave enough is my guess.
Teachers did actually get benefits in my country until 2016. It was a pretty decent system.
If you are a landlord then having an operational school nearby increases local rent prices so you do get to profit from charging teachers less rent.
America fetishize military service.
It sounds pretty stupid.
America in a nutshell
If your store happens to be close to an army base, do you just accept the disadvantage of giving away part of your profit?
No they just raise the base price for everyone.
Many Americans have an uncanny reverence for the military and those who served. I guess that reverence seeped its way into many a retail store’s management.
I think it’s just about optics for the most part.
I could be wrong here... but around the George W. Bush administration + 9/11 and the government painting everything they do as something to protect "against the terrorists!!!!" that's when a lot of things started happening.
That's when the view of the military seemed to flip and it's just been stuck that way. Movies like Top Gun were made as a PR stunt to make the military look better. The same is for basically every cop show out there: make cops look like the good guys. Anywho, every company went out of their way to really show "how much they support the troops" by giving a discount. And every smooth-brain started saying "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE" every single time. The hero worship was/is real, and it shouldn't be, and it's a real problem. (Totally different conversation, but it's led to an influx of people joining the military, or trying to, who really shouldn't). Before Bush + 9/11, I don't recall military discounts outside of, like, businesses that were owned/operated by vets.
I've heard that some food joints would offer military discounts back when people were figuring out how bad Vietnam was especially with how many vets were coming back broken and homeless. Theres at least one place near me that's had a veterans discount as far back as '78, they also let folks camp out in their parking lot since it was a bit bigger to accommodate the firetrucks since they were in a more central location than the fire station at the time.
Rambling aside, veterans discount started out as a way to help conscripted veterans during and after the fustercluck that was Vietnam and then was hijacked at some point.
Maybe I'm weird, but I guess I don't care about military discounts. I probably just don't have much experience with veterans. But like we give senior citizens discounts some places, because it's expected they don't have much money. And there's lots of old folks who need it. Haven't military folks traditionally had a hard time reintegrating? Like isn't that the plot of "the forever war"? If it helps the ones who need it then good. Helping people in need is a good thing. I'm probably missing something so let me know what it is.
There are two ways to look at it, as I understand:
Many (certainly not all) vets have a chip on their shoulder and expect white glove treatment. Kind of like a less whiny Karen.
Many are of the belief that we should not reward people for aiding the government in its atrocities.
I think the meme is an exaggeration of those positions.
That's not what a military discount is or does. It's for active duty only, or full time retired, meaning you need an active and valid military ID on your person that matches YOU. Not your wife, not your friend Larry, not your brother Darrell, not your OTHER brother Darrell, YOU. It's one of the things that makes life harder for people who leave the military. And while your in it, it does you little good.
I know this because I've managed stores with military discounts. The only thing worse than having to say ''we don't do that'' is ''Yes we do'' Because the reality is that unless your talking to an old guy in a military insignia cap, or a surprisingly young enlisted person in uniform or military sweats, they aren't getting the ID. You got your shins blown off in Vietnam? Well fuck you, the discount is for active enlisted and CAREER officers. No one the fuck else. Guess how many dessert storm, Vietnam, Iraq, Korean War, or WWII vets like hearing that shit explained to them. They are LIVID. They want ass pats and bjs they don't want to hear they can't save $0.07 on a pile of lumber because they didn't make being drafted a career just got PTSD and forever shrapnel. I LOVE telling people no discount for anyone. It's fantastic.
I had an American ask me if he could get a military discount.
In Canada.
Actually that is not that insane. Canadian military often gets to take advantage to discounts in America.
That something happens in America is not an indication that it isn't insane.
I'm so glad I gave all of my 20s to get shot at on the other side of the world in a desert, and now live with crippling PTSD, anxiety, and gastrointestinal disorders. But really, it's all worthwhile because I get 10% off at the Gap.
Ah but you brought freedom and democracy to a bunch of dumb dusty people, right?
Lol no.
When I worked in a commissioned sales job (read: professional capitalist thief) a coworker told me how he loved to have hot chicks as customers and he would always give them a discount.
I was like man “these girls get everything for free and discounts everywhere they go. Ipso facto they have more money to spend. Stop giving them discounts. Charge them more “
The weird thing ; they respected him for it.
Not sure where I’m going with this.
Who respected him more?
I don’t see how this is helpful. I guess you’re trying to remove incentives for joining the military? But really you’re just punishing veterans with PTSD. Keep in mind the military, at least in America, recruits what are effectively kids and then makes it a crime to disobey orders or quit. I’m not saying soldiers aren’t responsible for their actions, but also that kinda feels like punishing the working class for the crimes of the ruling class.
makes it a crime to disobey orders
That's the opposite of the truth, if the orders are unlawful.
Getting an order proven unlawful in court martial is next to impossible. It's not like the movies. The order would have to be a long the lines of "shoot those pregnant women knitting socks for legless orphans"-level of evil in order to win the case.
It'll be years of court while serving your sentence, a guaranteed separation, and questionable as to whether you'd even retain your benefits like healthcare or GI bill.
You're probably better off pleading insanity than trying to argue an order was unlawful. It sucks but that's the way it is. The military is a machine made up of 100% expendable resources at this point.
But really you’re just punishing veterans with PTSD
Failing to give special treatment to someone is not punishing them. Especially when we're talking about special treatment for an entire category of people, most of whom don't have PTSD (estimates range from 6-27% of those deployed to a war zone, and not all veterans served in a war zone), many of whom are financially well off.
Maybe the VA and the federal government should do more for vets. Maybe the military itself should take care of the troops a bit better. But asking private businesses to prop up veterans at their own expense seems like a misguided approach.
None of this entitles them to a discount.
Idea for any leftist bakeries out there: charge military members even more, veterans even more still. Refuse to make them cake! Make a big deal about it. Enjoy your free national media attention. Send me a little cut.
A little cut, as in a slice of cake?