5 ms·

I cannot relate to any of this, but the clergyman’s approach / perspective definitely seems bizarre. Gaming has much to offer, as does the social scene at a ba

by dfee 9y ago

I cannot relate to any of this, but the clergyman’s approach / perspective definitely seems bizarre. Gaming has much to offer, as does the social scene at a bar. Where I’ve been these two aren’t at odds. I wonder why they have been in your experiences - maybe it’s the military scene (referencing where you said mess hall).

DoreenMichele 9y ago
My ex was a soldier. These guys were soldiers stationed in a foreign country. In the US, soldiers are mostly not locals and spouses have a hard time getting a job because everyone knows you will move again in two or three years. But they want your money. At our first duty station, the landlords were raising rent every three months until a General threatened to build enough on base housing to kill the local rental market. Suddenly, they had an agreement with the local landlords and the active gouging stopped. Another story I heard: They paid all the soldiers in cash in two dollar bills, then had a meeting with local merchants and suggested they count what percentage in their tills was in two dollar bills and rethink their approach to some things or get blacklisted by the base. In a foreign country, the degree to which a soldier is met with open animosity while everyone wants their money is typically more bald faced than in the US, where it is bad enough. These guys could not trust that local women were really interested in dating them for any reason other than their money or a green card. Going to a bar was not a very good means to establish social contacts. Or so I gather from what I was told.
- dfee 9y ago
  That context makes sense.
- e12e 9y ago
  > These guys could not trust that local women were really interested in dating them for any reason other than their money or a green card. Local German women interested in a green card? Sounds unlikely.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - Xylakant 9y ago
    There was a time when a green card was definitely something desirable. For some people it still is. Marrying a soldier was a fast and surefire way to get one, so I can quite well imagine that.
- forapurpose 9y ago
  > In a foreign country, the degree to which a soldier is met with open animosity while everyone wants their money is typically more bald faced than in the US, where it is bad enough. Where in the US are soldiers met with open animosity? The military and soldiers are glorified to an extreme, in my experience.
  - usrusr 9y ago
    Groups of young men who live in isolation are rarely given a particularly high default trust rating.
- kaybe 9y ago
  > the landlords were raising rent every three months That's illegal. Maybe it wasn't back then, since I have no idea what timeframe you're talking about, but it has been for some time.

by dfee 9y ago

DoreenMichele 9y ago

My ex was a soldier. These guys were soldiers stationed in a foreign country. In the US, soldiers are mostly not locals and spouses have a hard time getting a job because everyone knows you will move again in two or three years. But they want your money. At our first duty station, the landlords were raising rent every three months until a General threatened to build enough on base housing to kill the local rental market. Suddenly, they had an agreement with the local landlords and the active gouging stopped. Another story I heard: They paid all the soldiers in cash in two dollar bills, then had a meeting with local merchants and suggested they count what percentage in their tills was in two dollar bills and rethink their approach to some things or get blacklisted by the base. In a foreign country, the degree to which a soldier is met with open animosity while everyone wants their money is typically more bald faced than in the US, where it is bad enough. These guys could not trust that local women were really interested in dating them for any reason other than their money or a green card. Going to a bar was not a very good means to establish social contacts. Or so I gather from what I was told.

dfee 9y ago
That context makes sense.
e12e 9y ago
> These guys could not trust that local women were really interested in dating them for any reason other than their money or a green card. Local German women interested in a green card? Sounds unlikely.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- Xylakant 9y ago
  There was a time when a green card was definitely something desirable. For some people it still is. Marrying a soldier was a fast and surefire way to get one, so I can quite well imagine that.
forapurpose 9y ago
> In a foreign country, the degree to which a soldier is met with open animosity while everyone wants their money is typically more bald faced than in the US, where it is bad enough. Where in the US are soldiers met with open animosity? The military and soldiers are glorified to an extreme, in my experience.
- usrusr 9y ago
  Groups of young men who live in isolation are rarely given a particularly high default trust rating.
kaybe 9y ago
> the landlords were raising rent every three months That's illegal. Maybe it wasn't back then, since I have no idea what timeframe you're talking about, but it has been for some time.