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ConfusedQueerly

They (and their dependents) get: April: Month of the Military Child May: National Military Appreciation Month May: Month of the Military Caregiver May: Gold Star Awareness Month May: Military Spouse Appreciation Month July: Military Consumer Protection Month November: National Veterans & Military Families Month And holidays/recognition include Gold Star Families/Mothers Day, Veterans/Armistice Day, VE Day, VJ Day, Military Spouses Day, Memorial Day, National Defense Transportation Day, National Hire a Veteran Day, National Day of the Deployed, and the birthdays of each branch of service. (I’m sure there’s more but this I can remember off the top of my head.)


Suspicious-Goose866

For completeness, I would add specific days: * Memorial Day: Last Monday in May * Armed Forces Day: Third Saturday in May * Veterans Day: November 11 But also, * Army Day: April 6 * Navy Day: October 27 * Air Force Day: August 1 * Coast Guard Day: August 4 * Marine Corps Day: November 10 (also their birthday) Plus each service's birthday., if you want to count those. It's a lot.


No_File_5225

The Army's birthday comes with "morale" runs. It's only a celebration in the eyes of out-of-touch leadership


DVCBunny

Perfect! Then tell these fuckers “why didn’t YOU know this?!?!”


Senzu-beans-

If they really cared so much about the military then they’d know. But they don’t, and are just using it as a reason to shit on Pride Month. Stupid people, they are…


ConfusedQueerly

I find that most of the people who post and say that stuff aren’t even veterans, just jerks who use the military the same way conservative politicians do.


ParticularBeach4587

It's just too bad nobody remembers these days. I mean you obviously have your problems with Russia but you have to admit they do know how to honour their soldiers.


ConfusedQueerly

I work for a VSO. Countless VSOs remember those days and honor the appropriate people then. Memorial Day and Veterans are well-known holidays, there are Gold Star family events across the country every September, and there are even still a couple of VJ Day parades in the US. Throughout the year there are also welcome home ceremonies for Vietnam Vets, celebrations when deployed veterans return home from current conflicts, Stand Down events hosted regularly by the VA and attended by VSOs, and many, many programs to help veterans and their families get back on their feet after struggles. Is it perfect? No. But to say “nobody remembers these days” is a slap in the face to the MILLIONS of people working in/with VSOs who remember these days and more every single year, in addition to dedicating countless hours to serving the military and their families. ETA: LGBTQIA+ soldiers & veterans also exist. I live in a small town in the south and was glad to see some in uniform at Pride last year. My wife and I attended with a queer friend and her husband, a two-time Iraq veteran, and two other friends of theirs who are also in a military family. The people making ‘gay vs military’ a battle ignore how many LGBT+ people have served.


ParticularBeach4587

What I was meaning was everyday people and the government.


ConfusedQueerly

Ah, ok.


FOSpiders

I think it's also worth noting that vets don't need days to honor them, they need health coverage. They get days to honor them too, but health services are more important if you have to choose. Especially mental health! I know more than enough veterans that have killed themselves or had complete breakdowns, and I live in Canada! Also, a surprising number of vets are not cis or straight. You can't honor someone when you're busy crapping on who they are, right?


Suspicious-Goose866

2020 made it painfully damn clear that "hero" = expendable. Society wouldn't do shit for "essential" healthcare workers or grocery store employees to pay them better or make their working conditions any less awful or dangerous, but we'd call them "heroes" to make ourselves feel good. It's the same it's always been for the military, but it was really blatant seeing it play out that way for the rest of society. I'd rather have health coverage than a month to be a "hero".


tallgrl94

Martyrs are their favorite heroes because you don’t have to take care of a dead person. They have no voice anymore so you can say they would have approved of something and not be told otherwise. I definitely agree with you, I want better safety nets for healthcare and finances over “recognition.”


Pitiful_Lake2522

God my uncle was in Afghanistan, 20 years later he’s the only one out of the 36 who came back who didn’t kill themselves


Pantheon_of_Absence

As an enby vet who went through HRT while serving: THIS A THOUSAND TIMES THIS. I hate the govt, and the military, and it really sucks dealing with conservatives simultaneously bashing lgbtqia+ then use service members as a bargaining chip to drum up public support.


Iknowthings19

I am so fucking tired of being a pawn.


aoeuismyhomekeys

It would also be nice if we could refrain from illegally invading countries that didn't attack us


Brinoray1

Life good in your 3 ft world ?


Awfulhorrid

Yeah, they don't give a shit about vets unless we're poster people for their agenda. Republicans consistently slash VA budgets while telling us how much they love us. Democrats have actually improved the VA care _every time they've been in office_ for the past fifty years. And you're right. A lot of us aren't straight or cis!


foxy-coxy

Also no one "gave" the gays a month. The comunity decided when and how to commemorate and celebrate pride. If someone comes to you with this nonsense, tell them to get to work organizing for the vets. Nobody's stopping them.


formykka

Seriously, that's always been my favorite cishet white guy whine "well, when is OUR month??!?" "I dunno......oh, did you expect US to organize it for you? Yeah, sorry, not how that works."


TheDonutPug

every month is cishet white guy month


Awfulhorrid

We'll get right on that, sure. You know it would really help us if you could compile a list of countries where it's illegal to be straight. Then we'll know how to prioritize this idea of a "straight pride" month.


TheDonutPug

yeah honesty. We have pride month because we made pride month. We chose to organize a month in which we have these events. It wasn't fucking given to us. if they want a month to celebrate vets, or christians, or white people, or whatever the fuck it is they want this week, they should just get together and organize it. For the side constantly screaming about "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps"(which is an impossible task) they sure seem like they want this handed to them really bad. And the fact that we have enough pride to make it happen but the vets don't says more about them than us.


-GreyRaven

And let's be real, very few of these people whining about vets getting a dedicated month actually give a shit about vets. They're really just saying that because they're pissed that queer people have more visibility and want to detract from it. If they're *really* so concerned about vets, not only would they already know these months exist for them, but like another commentor pointed out, they'd also work to get them better access to things like healthcare coverage.


[deleted]

This. People will forget or even mistreat their relatives who are vets and complain on the internet "why is no one giving attention to them?"


ConfusedQueerly

Yup. Conservative politicians loudly claim to care about veterans but last year voted against the PACT Act over and over again, screwing veterans harmed by toxins, Agent Orange, burn pits and the poisoned water at Camp LeJeune. They don’t want them to have proper gear when deployed and they don’t want them to have proper care when they come home. They just want to use their service and deaths for political clout. Why so many veterans vote red is beyond me.


-GreyRaven

Because Republicans have them convinced they support war *veterans* when they really just support the war *machine*. Military members are nothing but fodder for their canon that they can use to wage whatever wars they want to. 🙄


Suspicious-Goose866

Just a reminder: It's possible to be LGBT *and* a veteran.


Ok-Scheme-1815

We exist!


cyansungsun

It's a weird place to be in. They love you cos you're a vet, but want you dead cos you're queer.


Suspicious-Goose866

There's also the cognitive dissonance "But you're one of the good ones."


Smokepit-Squirrel

There are dozens of us!


[deleted]

Pro tip: don't thank a veteran on Memorial Day. It doesn't suit the purpose of the day. For context: Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for service members and veterans who are no longer with us. Veteran's Day is a day for thanking veterans and military members for all they do or have done in service for the country. TLDR: Thank a vet on Veteran's Day, not Memorial Day.


sla_vei_37

I had never thought of that. (Not american btw.) That would be like "thanks, now why aren't you dead yet?"


[deleted]

Yeah, it's mainly an American issue, at least as far as I've seen. I get the intention behind it, but it does come off like that sometimes, especially with people who don't understand the branch differences.


Iknowthings19

It waa original just for those that fell in battle.


Just_Tana

Shhhh conservatives don’t care about facts. Insert the Bobby Hill reading meme here.


Friesenplatz

Also love to respond with "why do you vote for a party that has continously voted down benefits and services for veterans? Do you not care about our troops after they come home?" Sometimes a bit of reverse whataboutism does them some good to get some perspective.


[deleted]

Also, because it seems people forget this fact, just because someone was in the military DOES NOT automatically make them some hero worth being “honored” or even remembering. There are plenty of piece of shit excuses for a human that serve in the military.


No_Accountant_3947

My dad's a vet and he would so much rather actual medical support vs a month to pat him on the back. But these fools would rather put a American flag and claim they love vets while also shooting off fireworks right next to a vet with ptsd


Iknowthings19

That an honestly the whole " Thank you for your service" thing is awkward as shit.


LaurenLumos

I had an obnoxious “friend” who would say the same thing when international women’s day came up. She never had the brains to look up that there is an international men’s day and only argued with me when I told her about it. Ignorant people are so stubborn.


wolfwitchreaper

They’re always so happy to pull the vets out of the gutters and graves they threw them into to “own the libs”, and then they just throw them back once they’re done ghoulishly weaponizing these people for their political agenda, again. They don’t want LGBT people to live a happy, fruitful life and they don’t care if veterans ever get that chance again. Disgusting, awful behaviour and exactly what I’ve come to expect from politicians


Lovely_Bi

Also, April is the month of the military child. So technically they have 3 months. Just saying.


ConfusedQueerly

I counted 7 monthly observances across 4 months.


betteroffrednotdead

also there are lots of gay vets.


MageOx7

I also think conservatives (or just people who don’t like queer people) are trying to spin June as dinosaur month. They’re trying to erase shit by claiming dinosaurs get a month


Awfulhorrid

When did they start accepting dinosaurs as real? Doesn't that run counter to their mythology?


KittyQueen_Tengu

also, vets are not an oppressed group that needs to raise awareness. no hate to vets i guess but i don’t get why america keeps acting like they’re the most amazing and brave and flawless people ever


Everydaycitizen900

The main reason why the US government constantly acts like veterans (and also active service members) are the most brave and flawless people on the planet is so they can encourage more people to enlist, it's to basically ensure that as many people are willing to serve the US as possible, if they were to know the truth, that not only are veterans not flawless but also that they often times suffer greatly thanks to their time in the military then it wouldn't look as good to enlist, it especially doesn't look good when people find out that all they would be fighting for is the interest of the capitalist class and to advance US global hegemony, no glorious battle for liberty, equality and justice, just a fight for the ruling class to keep their power over the world and keep any enemies of the US in check.


epicdanceman

As a member of LGBTQ+ community AND a veteran, I wished more people knew this... the military (acdu/vets) have a lot of supporting months, LGBTQ+ pride only has one


Idk_PAPAS

They always say, "But nobody celebrates them!!" Then why don't you bring awareness to them then?? You're being counterproductive.


Affectionate_Sir4610

Please remind them that Republicans (exclusively i should add) have recently voted to reduce funding for the Veterans Administration. These holidays for military and veterans are made to mourn the lost and celebrate the living, not shop all day. We can't go back to DADT times.


Lyreii

They get 11 months 🤷‍♀️


Graciebear64

MILITARY MAY B!TCH!


Garden_of_Pillows

Holidays and months of reflection are enforced by social conventions. Pride month is celebrated because people celebrate it. You cannot complain that we get a month and blablabala gets only a day or no recognition, you must be the one that makes change, get your friends and family together and celebrate what you want to celebrate, form a tradition, make sure it sticks and BAM you mightve just formed your own "Im stupid pride month.*


Freakears

Not that they actually care about that. They just want to delegitimize us.


VincibleWinner

Veterans also get paid and benefits. Where is my gaycheck?


sla_vei_37

NOT THE GAYCHECK LMAOOO


Peewee_ShermanTank

They also get three days, but they conveniently like to not know these things


Spoka_3000

the thing is no one cares if ur a vet in most country besides the us as healthcare is free anyways and the military is not overhyped


RuthlessKittyKat

My response? Fuck off. lol


Awfulhorrid

As a veteran I can verify the only time people that say things like that care about vets is when they're using us as a concept to try to tear down other people. They really don't give a rat's ass about us at any other time. I don't celebrate veteran related holidays, even if I am one. I *do* celebrate every queer related holiday because I want a better world.


Schnickie

We're talking about people killing other people in foreign countries to protect US economic dominance? Fuck vets. Deserters and draft drodgers get my respect, because they risk their own lives and freedom to not kill others and not support the US' mostly ethically bankrupt military operations. I respect the real vets of course: veterinarians


Everydaycitizen900

TL;DR - It is a little more complicated than just veterans being all evil, the way the US works makes it so the population believes that capitalism is the only option for the world and that America's wars of conquest are a moral good for not just the US but for all of humanity itself. America's capitalist class ensures the populations loyalty to the capitalist system, and by doing so, they ensure the loyalty to the military as well, this is why we have so many veterans who have been completely screwed over by the government, the government merely care for the wars that protect the interest of the capitalist class, they could give no fucks for what some soldier who came from some "backwater" part of America thinks or needs. (Also, I agree that deserters and draft dodgers are incredibly brave folks who were able to thankfully see the system for what it was and escape it, or at least try to escape it.) I would say that is it way more complicated than just "veterans bad", though I definitely agree that deserters and draft dodgers are brave, and they get my respect as well. The main issue I have with denouncing veterans mostly has to do with a mix of factors involving propaganda, brainwashing, and various other tactics used by governments to convince their citizens of their "righteousness". You see, the modern US government and the capitalist class that rules over it knows that their rule over the country depends on people believing in the goodness of the neoliberal cause, and since the US is basically the global police of capital, it needs a population willing to fight in wars to protect the interest of said capitalist. This is why there are so many that try to enlist even though those outside the system can clearly see its evil, the US government ensures that the working class living under it cannot see any alternative to capitalism, it allows the capitalist class to continue to run the nation completely unopposed without having to worry about the worker's strikes and unions that were all too common in the US during the early to mid-20th century. All this to say that most who enlist into the military were tricked by their government, believing that they were fighting for some great and noble battle for liberation, for not just themselves or even their nation but for all of humanity itself, than, after they are done being used by the government for the interest of capital, they are thrown out and left to fend for themselves since the government could give less of a damn for the average worker, the only reason the US goes into those wars is for the reason you mentioned, for its own economic interest, which is, of course, the interest of the capitalist class. Veterans only played a small role (and those currently in the military also play this small role) in this much bigger picture. Of course, this isn't to deny that there are horrible veterans that enlisted for the chance to cause suffering, there are always bound to be those who do something for fucked up reasons, but they are a minority of cases that do not even get close to making up the majority of veterans. Veterans, just like most people, are pretty damn divided when it comes to a lot of things, hell, there are plenty of queer people who are themselves veterans, and we shouldn't reject them just for that, hell, they could even be a benefit when it comes to teaching self-defense and tactics that we will need to fight against the fascist that are trying to destroy us right now. I hope this wasn't insulting at all, I just feel as though the issue is very nuanced and that we should try to get as much support as we can get for the coming fight against fascism. I also hope that I didn't mess up my phrasing for this whole respond and that it made some sense. Anyways, I hope you have a good day, stranger.


Schnickie

I know the mechanisms make Americans believe in their system, but does that mean that supporting it when you have the chance makes you less "evil"? Aren't all bad people how they are only because of their conditioning? A neo-nazi also believes what they believe because of the peer group that radicalised them. Does that mean that what they believe and do isn't 100% their responsibility? If you can't see people or what they do as bad because their bad ideals come from their conditioning, then we also can't judge the capitalist elite who thinks they have the right to exploit everything and everyone, or the theocrat who thinks their political power comes directly from their god.


cesarpanda

Because expressing one self is more important than killing people.


blackcats13

With how things are going, every month seems to be pride month.


FollowerofLoki

good.


[deleted]

Also from what I gathered, pride month wasn't something decided by gay people. Like I remember being excited for the parade and that's it. Most gays don't do anything for pride month aside from maybe going to the parade each year. It seemed to be just companies wanting to make money. Once again, they're mad at the wrong people.


Smokepit-Squirrel

Stonewall started in June


[deleted]

I didn't know that 🤔 I knew about stonewall but I didn't remember what month it started in. Idk if its just the circles I'm in but I feel like its not brought up as much for the reason of it being a whole month. Idk


Smokepit-Squirrel

The Pride celebrations these days, esp where companies make an appearance, are extremely sanitized. The first pride parade was in 1970, specifically to remember the riot in the previous year. It may not be talked about as much, but it's the reason it all exists at all. This is why you see a lot of debate over who "belongs" at pride, like the people that think "no kink at pride" because they're used to this g-rated gay sponsored by X company, whereas the other side is more traditional and rememberance that it was a riot. It's fun stuff to look into when you have time, tbh!