Today at 11:oo I received a call from young woman who, without identifying herself asked to speak to my 13 year old daughter, who is out of town in Las Vegas at a family Bar Mitzvah (that's another story).
"No she's not here- can I take a message?" I said.
"Yes, tell her Tabatha is calling about opportunities in the army."
"The ARMY!!!???" I screamed, "Are you out of your mind- SHE IS THIRTEEN YEARS OLD! It's bad enough that you call ANYONE to try to get them killed but a thirteen year old girl? Don't you dare call this number again! You should be ashamed of yourself! What is your na-"
She hung up on me, but luckily I have her number and am pondering what to do with it. Legal action seems as appropriate against her as for a drug dealer or kidnapper who tried to reach my child. How did she get her number?
Almost immediately after the call, my 15 year old daughter, who is visiting relatives in New York called to say she had received an identical call minutes after the call I received. That meant that after screaming in her ear for five minutes the lady immediately called my OTHER daughter. As I have heard, they have no shame, are utterly desperate and lie easily to try to ensnare the kids they are trying to enlist. In the case of my 13 year old they are calling her five years before she can be enlisted so as to be able to work on her for that long. They had my other daughter's CELL PHONE, and did manage to talk to her without my knowledge or consent. "Are you interested in job opportunities with the army?" the woman brghtly asked my 15 year old.
"No I'm not!" She said. "Well, do you think any of your friends might be interested?"
"No!" she said and hung up.
I have just read that under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (I've just re-named it the No Child Left Alive Act) high school are required to provide military recruiters with their student's names and contact information unlss students sighn an "opt out" form. We, of course, never saw this form. I doubt if they realize that getting a call from the army for your 13 year old child is proably the most radicalizing event short of the death of that child.
The army is so desperate now that enlistment bonuses have doubled and now are up to $40,000.00. How many impoverised kids could resist that? The recruiters go to shopping malls and any place kids hang out and offer them t-shirts, frisbees, video games. They tell them that in the army they get free meals and gym membership. And the dangers of the war are drastically played down. In one tape recorded recruiting call the recruiter told the teenager "We are not really at war."
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2 comments:
There is a lack of judgment in military recruitment that shows we don't respect childhood, and that we consider military duty just a job. It is not a job like any other, and it has a special life of discipline and service to country. 13 or 15 years old is too young for military recruitment efforts, and adults calling underage children is a bad idea in any event. These are strangers, afterall.
I spent four years in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War and worked in an office as a computer operator. I can attest to many things good about the military life, including the uniforms and training. But afterall, the mission is war or defense of country. Let us remember these parts of military service, and that it can be an honorable way to participate in a way that contributes to our public lives. That is a better emphasis, though perhaps not so good a sales technique in these contemporary ways of recruiting for service in the military.
I don't think the recruiting techniques do honor or justice to their mission when we must talk to 13 or 15 year olds about our need to have soldiers or sailors.
Shocking! No cousins of mine are going into any army (especially ours)...
Hi Este!
I found your blog through the website of your church. Congratulations on the position! Grandma emailed me about having a Saturday brunch. I think it's a great idea and I look forward to seeing you guys.
Hugs
Shauna
http://lyric-road.blogspot.com
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