A conservative co-worker does not think military

[ikojo]

recruiters target lower income high school students. I've had this conversation with this guy a couple times about kids joining the military because they see no other option for themselves in rural areas with few job prospects or they come from families that cannot help with education expenses. His retort is that the military is all volunteer and that kids are not forced to join (true). I then tell him that kids who come from towns with few job prospects often join up hoping to learn a skill. I also said to him that recruiters target lower income schools. This guy graduated from a Catholic high school back in the 1980s and since there were recruiters at his school THEN he doesn't believe they target only low income schools NOW in 2006. BULL!

He also said that kids who live in poor rural areas can always move to the suburbs and the city and find jobs.

How does one counteract such an argument?

[NMDemDist2]

1. none are so blind

as those who will not see

:shrug:

[Freedomofspeech]

8. Your idiot co-worker....

has never spent a day in a rural high school. I just retired from one, and the recruiters were there everyday. They would be in the cafeteria all three lunches, and had pamphlets and signs all over the school. Many of my students signed on to get money for college. Now two of them are minus a leg, and one of them also blind. The high school is in a poor rural area, and for those who weren't going to college, there was no other way to escape. I bet the recruiters in his catholic school were there to recruit for ROTC.

[NewJeffCT]

2. Yes, because the suburbs are so cheap compared to

poor rural areas... I mean, here in Connecticut, the poor folks in rural CT that live in $100K ranches are just breaking down the doors to pay nearly $1 million for that same ranch in Greenwich or Westport.

Or, to pay exhorbitant rents for just a studio apartment or loft.

[FUGW]

3. Who cares, shove a stake in his heart and move on.

:D

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Ask him how much money it costs to make a move.

That's Limbaugh thinking. If you can't make a living on $10.00 an hour, get one for $15.00 an hour. Never mind that the Republican party does not support increasing minimum wage; nor that, covertly, they believe in allowing a flow of illegal immigrants into the country because they do work on the cheap, which depresses wages for everyone else; nor that they support outsourcing the best paying jobs overseas...Somehow, a 23 million dollar paid pundit, can convince all of his stupid listeners, that getting a better job in America, is a piece of cake.

For 23 million dollars, even I might be convinced to spew hate talk.

[Selatius]

5. You've got to bring up studies or facts to back up the claim

Google...is your friend.

[zalinda]

6. Apparently, this guy has never had to start over

Getting an apartment is not a cheap proposition. You have first, last and a deposit on any apartment that you find. Then some do a credit check, and if he has no credit, he doesn't get the apartment, that may also apply to the job. More and more employers are running credit checks. So, even in the best circumstances, finding a job and a really cheap apartment, he's talking $1000 to $2000 just to live before the first paycheck.

Maybe he should see the "living on minimum wage" episode on "30 days", or read the book "Nickled and Dimed".

zalinda

[iamjoy]

7. Change The Way You Argue

First, don't use words like forced or "oh, these poor kids have no other option"

Compare the military to any company trying to sell something (avoid disparaging comments about what they are trying to sell). In this case, they aren't really selling a product or service, but trying to get recruits, much like a company tries to get customers. Any smart company is going to direct its effeorts where it thinks it will get the most bang for its buck (pardon the analogy).

Now, the truly fervent and eager to serve (regardless of their income level) are going to seek out the enlistment office, not wait around to be recruited. (this is to refute the potential "patriotism calls all income levels to duty" argument). So, who is most likely to be persuaded to join the military? The kid who is on track for a Harvard scholarship or the kid from a poor or rural area where there are fewer convenient opportunities? The military recruiter comes in to tell them about money for college, job training, etc all the stuff they'd have to figure out on their own if they moved away.

Abandon the idea of trying to persuade him the military "forces" these kids. The military is smart, they have identified their target market and are concentrating their efforts there.

[mitchum]

9. Beat him over the head with a tire iron...

it won't cause any more brain damage than he already has.

[Tulum_Moon]

10. Then he may stay away

from those poor low income areas.

[elehhhhna]

11. Once he enlists he'll have more info.