I am now 18. Signing up for the Selective Service was the most discomforting thing I've ever done.

xynomaster · 2015-05-16T03:15:41+00:00

Yeah, I totally get this. I felt the same way.

If EVERYONE had to sign up, it wouldn't be so bad. It would feel like we all have a duty to protect our country and band together to defend it.

When you single us out for being male and force us to sign up, you're telling us that our lives are worth less because of our gender, that we're a disposable demographic. That's what hurts.

TwerpOco · 2015-05-16T03:03:40+00:00

What state are you from? I'd say write your local congressman and your senator. It's one of the first things to do, though there's probably a lot more you could do. I know that one of my senators (Mark Warner, Virginia) had this "Request a Response" thing when I wrote a rant to him about his using false stats about rape on college campuses and how that was incredibly offensive to myself. I need to redo that actually because his office called me one day and I was in the middle of my busiest week of college thus far so I never got a chance to call back. And I asked him a question when he did a Q&A on Facebook and he did not respond properly and he called false accusers "victims".

Yeah, I need to go do that. And get the email for my congressman. Who, while he is a Republican, I would like to talk to because he's always asking my father about how I'm doing at school...

quantum_gambade · 2015-05-16T04:22:37+00:00

We don't have this in Canada. We did take a whole bunch of draft dodgers over the years. We had over 45,000 women in non-nursing full-time roles during WWII. And women make up over 15% of our current armed forces (all branches). I'd be interested to see what happened if Canada ever had a draft.

KingGoogley · 2015-05-16T16:32:47+00:00

worst part is, i only signed up for for a fasfa, but 2 years straight i got denied fasfa even though i was 18-19, had one parent working >30k.

white-male privileged is so superior.

Spoonwood · 2015-05-16T17:59:52+00:00

N.C.F.M. has an ongoing lawsuit against the Selective Service System: http://ncfm.org/2014/06/action/ncfm-files-opening-appellate-brief-in-ncfm-v-selective-service-system/

I encourage you to write a letter to your senator.

You could also write a letter to your student newspaper.

jakelove12 · 2015-05-16T10:59:41+00:00

I remember literally crying myself to sleep at night as a little kid, thinking that I was going to be sent off to war and murdered because I was a boy.

SweetiePieJonas · 2015-05-18T15:07:30+00:00

The fact that we haven't had a draft in a long time is irrelevant. If another major global conflict on the order of the World Wars, or widespread civil unrest in the US, were to break out (and frankly one or both of these are likely to happen this century) the draft would come back faster than you can say "forced conscription." (EDIT the emergence of drone warfare may possibly have changed this calculus, but let's assume for the moment that a large conflict would require lots of boots on the ground.)

Something to note: The national draft in the US has only been used five times: the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Protests against the draft and draft riots occurred for each of these conflicts (most notably the Civil War, WWI, and Vietnam).

yuckyuck13 · 2015-05-20T20:24:37+00:00

Even though I was diagnosed with arthritis in both my hands at 16, a condition that bars me from joining the military, I still had to apply for selective services. Either you sign up or go to jail. If you're a US citizen you should be required by law to sign up regardless of your gender. The few countries that require military service don't turn away people based on gender because every citizen is legally required to serve. I would assume they also have health conditions that bar certain people.

Tmomp · 2015-05-16T14:44:09+00:00

Look up War Resisters League. Their view isn't about gender, but they oppose the draft.

If you've already signed up, you can't unsign, but to others, you don't have to sign. You may face consequences, but you may be able to handle them, often by just signing later if you feel you have to then. It depends on your situation. You have to learn and figure out for yourself, though.

SporkTornado · 2015-05-16T04:53:57+00:00

Granted we haven't had a draft in quite some time.

WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam. So far it works out that America has been instituting the draft on average about once per generation. I would not be surprised if America instituted the draft again soon.

MRSPArchiver · 2015-05-16T02:48:38+00:00

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TwerpOco · 2015-05-16T04:15:12+00:00

[permanently deleted]

Diesel-66 · 2015-05-16T05:56:22+00:00

Of all the fucked up things in the world, why are you worrying about a non issue ?

if we somehow got into WWIII, everyone would be either drafted or nuked.

Title	I am now 18. Signing up for the Selective Service was the most discomforting thing I've ever done.
Author	TwerpOco
Upvotes	57
Comments	43
Date	May 16, 2015 2:48 AM UTC (11 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/364oq3/i_am_now_18_signing_up_for_the_selective_service/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/i-am-now-18-signing-up-for-the-selective-service.980131 https://theredarchive.com/post/980131

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