I work in medicine, and one of the hospitals in our system is the VA. I have literally no interest in serving veterans; people who fight in wars for America pretty much stand and act against everything I believe in. It's not necessarily that I think these people don't deserve great healthcare, it's that I don't want to be the one giving it to them. I would much rather spend my time serving people from my community who didn't spend large parts of their lives wrecking other communities.

Sure, some of my patients anywhere are going to be complete assholes. Sure, there are a lot of veterans who weren't involved in combat (but they did directly aid those in combat at least, right?). Idk, is there a perspective I'm not seeing here? Is it wrong for me to be morally opposed to working for the VA?

  • darkchapofantasy [he/him]
    2·
    4 years ago

    I just don't understand why the VA exists honestly. I don't understand why there's an entirely separate hospital specially for war fighting/supporting pieces of shit.

    I absolutely agree that there are a lot of people who get into the military because the military preys on poverty and the youth's ignorance... but idk, at some point I feel like there's gotta be a time to say "this is not worth the upward mobility, this is horrendous what we are doing." I realize how privileged and possibly ignorant that statement may sound, but c'mon. I wouldn't cut any slack for a cop who took the job because he felt he had to, why would I do so for a military grunt?

    • breadandcircuses [she/her]
      2·
      4 years ago

      this is not worth the upward mobility, this is horrendous what we are doing

      absolutely, but the VA serves people who are out of the military for whatever reason. i met a friend of mine organizing, and he uses the VA hospital since a few years back he got medically discharged* and has no other healthcare. he was only in the corps for a year. it's complicated.

      disregarding the VA if you sign up and do four years, but then don't reup because you realize it's fucked up, you're still forever a "vet" right?

      i feel like a lot of chapos don't really understand that living in the imperial core is complicated and dynamic and changes over time.

      *tw: rape

      spoiler

      discharged for PTSD after his superior officer raped him (she later got a promotion). therapy is part of his VA care.

    • MarxistHedonism [she/her]
      ·
      4 years ago

      We have the VA for the same reason we have the GI bill, tricare, barracks, etc.

      Without the appeal of getting your basic needs taken care of, far less people would enlist. If everyone had access to free healthcare, education, and housing why would people sign up?

      You’d only get the patriotic chuds and military families to serve, but the war machine is dependent on having hundreds of thousands of disposable bodies.