sigh-my son just told me-he's taking a job with KBR

[w8liftinglady]

Yes...the same one I was ecstatic about being discharged from the Army last week.They will pay him 80K tax-free to fix trucks in kuwait.What's a mom to do....I hugged him.He knows how i feel about Halliburton/KBR..which is why he waited to tell me,I guess.

[derby378]

1. Aw, HELL no

On the brighter side, best of luck to your son. But if he sees a bottle of water bearing a Halliburton label, tell him to stay the Hell away from it.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. Somebody nice ought to get something out of the whole mess.

I wish him all the best.

[IndyOp]

3. Sorry, but working for KBR is, IMO, not a moral option.

I suspect that when you posted this you knew someone would drop by with a critical take on the KBR job opportunity.

I am very glad that your son has been discharged. I've followed your posts and I am really relieved he is out.

And I disagree with parents who support their children when their children make bad choices.

KBR 'internalizes' massive profits by getting the US military to do their dirty work and by stealing the US taxpayer blind. KBR has provided contaminated water to troops in Iraq - what makes anyone think that they don't abuse their employees? This company is making our world worse not better. Supporting a company that is making our world worse is short-sighted at best.

Every choice we make is political -- what do we want for our world?

Think globally and act locally, personally.

[w8liftinglady]

4. you think I'm happy about it?

What's a parent to do?Disown their kid because he does something you find morally reprehensible?After everyone was so kind last week,I felt it would be dishonest if I just "went along"...But...I still love him,and am glad he'll be relatively safe.

[IndyOp]

11. I am glad he will be safer, too. Sincerely. I know he is young

and I am relieved he is out. And, of course, you still love him.

Are we daring, am I, are we all daring, to speak boldly and persuasively, about what we know, what we think, and how we feel at this point? Telling someone else what they can or can't do is worse than useless. Telling them what we know and think and feel with passion is critically important, IMO.

I've personally talked several college students out of joining the military and CIA. We've got to stop feeding the 'machines' that put us in danger.

I wish you peace.

[jbnow]

15. Of course you aren't happy

and I hope he does stay safe.

But as bad as Halliburton is, trucks need fixing.

What is bad about the company...well many things. But if they actually did a really good and honest job they wouldn't be hateful.

If your son does a good and honest job it is not reprehensible.

[derby378]

5. Eighty thou a year will buy a lot of beer

The appeal of a paycheck like that is very strong, indeed. I certainly don't make $80K a year, and I'll wager most American mechanics don't, either.

[XOKCowboy]

7. Uhhh $80K TAX FREE

That's upwards of $120K taxed.

A lot of guys I grew up with went to the Middle East for the huge tax free salaries. None of those guys would ever have worked for Brown and Rat though. They were union welders, diesel mechanics, heavy equipment operators and pipeliners. Most of them lead very comfortable lives now thanks to spending a few very hard years building the Mideast.

[shance]

13. A few years in the Middle East and all it takes is a second for their

lives to be irreversibly changed/altered.

Having a target on your chest is not worth the cost.

[XOKCowboy]

14. It was different back then...

we had presidents who knew attacking a mideast country would put us all in danger. Oh for the old days.

[Jigarotta]

6. I have a so called extrenutatied 'relative'.

working for Halliburton in Dubai.
mom in law thinks that so cool and 'successful'.

but mom in law knows the ropes in politics and life and she generally sides with my ugly liberal thoughts.

That 'success' thing I will have to work on with her. But maybe not. I love her to bits and I know where she's coming from in the things of her life. Hub and me are like the Big Lebowski, her other living son has a house with 6 bathrooms for two assholes.

[me b zola]

8. Oh no!!!

I know how hard it is to be the mother of a strong-headed young man, we see the pit falls that they seemingly wish to leap into; they never seem to realize how they are ripping our hearts out of our chests. I know some of the things that your son is going through because of your posts, and I can't help but think that that is clouding his desicion making.

How I wish things were different. I wish your son all the best. Be strong, w8liftinglady, I am here for you. :hug:

[shance]

9. W8lifter, have you shown him the info on the law suit being brought

by the families of Blackwater troops that were killed in Fallujah?

I think that could be a sobering account of what is happening.

The job description may be defined that he's going to fix trucks, but once they are over there, the truth is that anything goes.

That is what happened to some of these troops who were working privately. They were told they were going to be doing one job and they wound up in Fallujah, not where they were told they were going to be stationed.

Something to think about.

[peace13]

10. You don't have a choice but to love him.

I hope it works out for him. I'm so sorry. Peace and love, Kim

[Scoody Boo]

12. Is this a 6 month or 12 month contract?

I did 2 6 month contracts with a security company in Iraq. He will be pretty safe in Kuwait. Hard to hook up with an $80K job right out of the Army. It is a pretty good opportunity to make some money and then set himself up in a business or his own shop when he gets back. Years later he is going to kick himself if he passes this up because he won't get another opportunity like this.

My daughter is pretty right wing in her politics, but her choices are her own. I respect her right to make them. I would rather she do what she feels is best for her and not what makes her feel good about herself. Our kids can learn on their own in time. She is a lot less enthusiastic about * than she used to be. If she comes around, she will come around on her own, she will NEVER come around because I demand she does.

Let your son make his own choices. He will learn soon enough if they are the right ones.

[riffraff]

16. tough choices

Our children don't always do what we think is best. "Experience is a harsh teacher, but it is also the best teacher." (shameless ripoff).

[newyawker99]

18. Hi riffraff!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Jed Dilligan]

17. Tell him they are a big corporation,

so they will find a way to fuck him out of his supposed salary somehow. They have whole floors of skyscrapers full of lawyers trying to figure out how to do just that. That ought to get him thinking.