No, you can't have my beautiful daughter!

[Is It Fascism Yet]

Those damned marine recruiters called again for Roxie this morning, ruining my day, once again. Roxanne is my beautiful, bright and brilliant 19 year old daughter. She is the keeper of most of the brains and damned near all of the grace in this family, a serious straight arrow with flashing eyes, a dazzling smile and a perfect 4.0 gpa. She is happily ace-ing her way through a science heavy biology major at NAU, with med school in her sights. Her perfect grades earned her some merit scholarships, and her Dad takes care of the rest of her educational expenses, the government has not chipped in a penny in grants or loans. Nonetheless, these damned marine and army recruiters keep calling her over and over again. They never get to speak with her. I always intercept the calls and tell them my children will not be going to fight any unprovoked immoral oil wars for the Unpresident, and they should not call back. They always say "Yes, Ma'am" and hang up, but then they call my neighbors and bad mouth me. Yep. They called my neighbors and told them I was "UnAmerican in my attitudes". And then they DO call back, over and over again! I guess they are hoping Roxanne will answer one of these times. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I spell it out for these guys, I told one of them that I knew it wasn't his fault and I hoped he could get out before he was ordered to do anything more immoral then he was already doing. He was completely insulted. That was too bad, I persisted, telling him I'd send my kids when Shrub sends The Drunken Shrub Twins. Even then he called back several more times! These recruiter guys refuse to take "no" for an answer, they are like sharks in a feeding frenzy, and they think they are going to take all the kids from the "prole class". Other Mommies, please don't let your kids go, either. They want to draft our kids, against our will, against their will, and order them to die and if not die, then kill in unprovoked wars. They are over there sticking lit cigarettes in their prisoners ears, torturing them to death, and dying for nothing but another decimal place in Bush/Cheney's checkbooks. Don't let your kids go, even if they otherwise can't go to college, they are better off alive and self educated. The plan is to starve our economy until our kids can't find any other way through college except the military, and won't find any other work except the military either. Roxie's big sister got her bachelors degree last spring, but degree and all, she hasn't been able to find anything better than a min wage McJob. When the military sharks call, "just say no".

[fudge stripe cookays]

1. Next time ask them what recruiting station they're calling from....

If they tell you, let them know you have already spoken to legal counsel.

Tell them that if they continue to harass you or your family, they will be served with a court order in person, in front of their impressionable young recruits, ordering them to cease and desist.

FSC

[Is It Fascism Yet]

10. yeah? it'd be worth the legal fees! you mean a lawyer could put a stop

to this? really?

[fudge stripe cookays]

24. See , they don't really KNOW you haven't contacted one!

;-)

The threat of legal action will scare just about everyone. If you know anyone who is a lawyer (especially if you have friends or family members whose names you can toss around...), USE THEM!

I had to do this once with an asshole furniture dealer who tried to screw me on a bed. I didn't have a nickel to my name, but huffed and puffed. I sent them a very serious sounding letter detailing my problem, and at the bottom, typed (cc: David Roberts, Attorney-at-law, cc: Better Business Bureau). You just stand up for yourself, don't back down, and make them think you're serious as a heart attack. Trust me-- they'll get the message.

Now granted, this is a branch of the government you're dealing with and not some piddly retailer, but sometimes, the threat works just as well as actually doing it.

If they don't stop, THEN for real try to find a lawyer who won't charge you for the initial consultation. They usually advertise that in their yellow pages ad.

Good luck!
FSC

[Walt Starr]

34. I never need to find an attorney

I married one!

;)

[Is It Fascism Yet]

38. wow, if you are going to get screwed, on a bed is a very good place

LOL, I just love the "serious as a heart attack" part!

[knowbody0]

2. i agree with you and know your passion

like yeah, right, take my child. i fear the draft and am in the process of linking with my anarcistic friends in canada.

[Not_Giving_Up]

3. They call your neighbors and bad mouth you??

What a bunch of horse hockey. My kids aren't old enough for this to happen yet, but if it does, the callers will get an earful of me.

[Walt Starr]

7. That's a lawsuit waiting to happen!

It's slander, I tell ya!

[tk2kewl]

8. that sounds like libel to me, but i'm not a lawyer

:shrug:

[ohioliberal]

4. I truly agree with you

I have a 19 year old son who's also in school and he gets calls and letters all the time. I tell them that my son will never go to war for that insane bastard and I hang up. I have a fourteen year old and I'm sure it will start all over again, because I know for sure we won't be out of there in 4 years.

[Is It Fascism Yet]

15. yes mommy, protect those sons from the war profiteers, don't let them go

my girls need some nice bright young boys like yours to marry. it's really not fair what they plan to do to this generation.

[njdemocrat106]

5. They kept calling for me for about 4 years AFTER I graduated H.S.

Good thing I have Caller I.D.; I just let the answering machine pick up and I never returned their calls

[Is It Fascism Yet]

11. good for you

you are the brave one, under these circumstances it is much more noble to refuse than go.

[Walt Starr]

6. Report them to a higher authority in the Marines

Get their asses busted. If they lose a stripe, maybe they'll leave you alone!

[Is It Fascism Yet]

13. really? thanks for the advice, next time, I will demand to speak with CO

[Walt Starr]

14. At the very least, tell the CO to never allow another call to your home

If the calls persist, then go to your congressperson and start making noise in the Pentagon.

[Is It Fascism Yet]

that won't work

i write to my congressman almost daily insisting he investigate voter fraud, repeal the patriot act, impeach The Son of a Bush, etc. But, you know, my congressman is Repuklican Rick Renzi, and my senators are Kyl and McCain two more of the "we have a mandate" persuasion. I write and call all three all the time. The have never given me even a passing thought but their staffs all have me on perm iggy.

[ignu]

9. the last time i got a recruiter phone call...

I was 19 and told them "I was just masturbating, and it wasn't over a girl."

There was about five seconds of silence, then I chickened out and hung up the phone.

They never called again.

[Is It Fascism Yet]

12. LOL, good one

maybe next time I get that young marine I'll tell him not to stop talking in that handsome masculine voice, please, until Granny is done!

[evil genius]

16. brilliant!

tell them she'll enlist but only if she can bring her wife, and their lover.

[Is It Fascism Yet]

17. you know they take lesbians though, they do

because my niece is a lesbian and she is doing her second tour of duty in Iraq. When she comes home, after "fighting for our country" she can't even marry her sweetheart. This poor niece sees right through the transparent fascade of "protecting america" and notes that the only thing they protected were the oil wells.

[Modem Butterfly]

18. They harassed the heck out of me

Kids in my high school were told we were required to take the ASVAB. Well, I scored high enough that the recruiters kept calling and calling. Navy, Air Force, Marines, Army, even the Coasties (I grew up near a Coast Guard station). Finally, I broke down crying on the phone and said, "Didn't you hear? My daughter died in a car accident this weekend," and mysteriously all the calls stopped.

[Is It Fascism Yet]

19. poor thing, yeah, mommies should tell their kids to flunk the ASVAB

yep that's what happened to Roxie too, high scores on the ASVAB thing and they won't leave you alone. I am so glad you finally found a way to put them off. They have a nerve forcing that test on you. Well, you might have to take it, but you don't have to pass it. Now we know.

[Modem Butterfly]

36. This was in extremely rural Southern Oregon in 1989 or 90

After the fact, I didn't really think about it until we saw Farenheit 9/11 over the summer. My parents were visiting and Will and I took them to see the movie over opening weekend. Will, who served during the last Gulf War, was appalled by the fact that recruiters in Flint are invited into the schools. It was only at this point that I realized that other people who had grown up in places where the military wasn't the only option didn't have to deal with this kind of harassment. It was something of a revelation.

[Xithras]

31. PARENT'S: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

This topic keeps coming up. Not only military recruiters, but PRIVATE COMPANIES regularly request student enrollment lists from high schools and colleges for marketing. These lists contain all of this information:

Student's name
Address
Telephone listing
Electronic mail address
Photograph
Date and place of birth
Major field of study
Dates of attendance
Grade level
Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
Weight and height of members of athletic teams
Degrees, honors, and awards received
The most recent educational agency or institution attended

If you DO NOT want this information given out, contact your childs school TODAY and tell them that you want to "opt-out" of their "student information directory" as is your right under the Family Educational Records Privacy Act. Make sure to specify that you don't want those records provided to ANYBODY without your written permission.

If you get your children off those lists, the recruiters won't bother you (neither will class ring and yearbook companies, university recruiters, credit card companies, or anyone else).

[mcscajun]

20. *This* sounds like a job for.... "Call Block" !!

Da-da-dah!

Yes, most any phone company offers this service, and usually it doesn't require signing up for anything or paying for it until you use it. Depending on how it works in your area, you don't even need to know the phone number; it works in a similar fashion to *69, but it uses *60. Check with your local phone company on availability and instructions.

[Is It Fascism Yet]

21. thanks!

I didn't know that!

[theboss]

22. They call your neighbors and bad mouth you?

Really?

I mean....really?

[Is It Fascism Yet]

39. yes, really, they really bad mouthed me to all my republican neighbors

Yep, I live in a small, rural Arizona town, where politics are so red even the democrats are sorta purple instead of blue. Within an hour of the recruitment call, in which I told the recruiter I'd send my kids when The Drunken Shrub Twins went, my neighbors had heard all about it. My daughter, Roxie, was at the supermarket, standing in line at the cashier, she hadn't even been home yet, and had no idea they had even called, but a neighbor behind her in line quoted the whole conversation. The neighbor told her all about it, saying the recruiter called for her son next, and that he mentioned how very "UnAmerican" my attitudes were, while he was at it. He quoted my "The Drunken Shrub Twins" remark. And oh, yes, the recruiter said that I was "Mean to the Marines!" If he thought I was mean, wait till he gets to Iraq. It's true, I said it all, every word, and when Roxie came home all embarrased, I told her, I'd be happy to say it to the neighbors also, just give me the chance.

[Wisc Badger]

23. My Son and Daughter want no part of the Military

They have seen what it did to me (I have a service connected disability).

All they want to do is live in peace and to prosper as much as their skills will allow them to. Not to much to ask if you stop and think about it.

BTW: I am in no way bitter about my service or disability, but it I had to do it again I would not.


Still respect the men/women in uniform especially the Guard and Reserves (They are mostly deployed against their will). They serve with honor even if the leaders who have put them in harms way have not.:hi:

[lolly]

25. They've been calling here too

For my 18 year old daughter, who is not army material at all.

I haven't been answering (I have caller ID), but maybe I should

Maybe for all of us our standard answer should be "I'll let you talk to my child when Jenna and Barbara are on the front lines in Falluja" and hang up.

Or maybe "when the National Guard finally forces the SOB who started this war to complete HIS service in Falluja."

[northzax]

26. the reason they keep calling is because you won't let them talk to her

she is an adult and therefore you cannot prevent them from talking to her. next time they call, give her the phone. let her tell them to stop calling. Once she does that, they should stop. if they don't, she can complain up the chain of command. Your daughter is an dault, and therefore capable of doing this for herself, I trust.

She could say something like: "I am not interested in hearing from you., please stop wasting my tax moeny calling someone who has no interest in joining the military. The next time you, or someone from oyur office, calls here, I will contact my congressman about this harrassment. You are wasting your time and taxpayer money on me, please stop it."

[Walt Starr]

29. Sounds to me like it's not her daughter's phone number

sounds to me like the person paying for the phone is the parent and that parent has every damn right to tell the recruiters to pound sand!

[northzax]

32. if it's not the right number

seriously not the right number, then say that "Jane no longer lives at this number, I will not take a message for her, please stop wasting your time and taxpayer money calling this number."

[Is It Fascism Yet]

40. exactly my sentiments

[nascarblue]

27. Thats the best post Ive read on here...

Good job Fascism!

[Is It Fascism Yet]

41. ty!

[nascarblue]

28. Oh btw... the myth of women NOT being on the front lines? FALSE!

My girlfriends roommates sister was on the front lines.

[TheKingfish]

43. There are no "Front Lines" in Iraq n/t

[Jacobin]

30. Call the police and report the harrassing phone calls

Then get an unlisted phone number.

[roguevalley]

33. use the call blocking after they call. don't let the f'ers through.

[MadHound]

35. Sounds like you need a whistle, a loud, penetrating whistle

One of police jobbies would do nicely. Next time one of these fuckwads calls, let him get to the point of introducing himself as from the Army, and let loose with a blast. Then hang up. It is simple, effective, and will make these people think twice before calling you again.

Oh, and if they are slandering your good name to the neighbors, get a lawyer and sue. Even the threat of such could shut these MFers up.

[cmd]

37. Tell them she is majoring in women's studies

That stopped all calls for my daughter.

[Jim__]

42. The problem is ...

... even though you say you won't let your kids go; it's not up to you. It's up to the kids. And they're young, inexperienced, and, chances are, when they're talking to these recruiters, they're talking to someone who is an expert at what he does.

My guess is that your daughter knows what the war is about; and unfortunately, what our government, and even our country is about right now. How do we change this?

[Is It Fascism Yet]

44. Yeah, yeah, she's an adult and all that, but if she wants to talk

to the Marines, she's going to have quit making those great grades and get a job so she can buy her own phone. They will not speak to her on my phone, because I don't pay a phone bill in order to enable sharks to stalk my daughter. She doesn't want to talk to them, but, if they reached her she would politely listen. As I said, this is an unusually straight arrow, this child, who would never be rude to any authority figure, she is one of those kids who never had a behavior problem, one of those who always respected her elders. I know they are good at what they do, and I know if they get her on the line, they will try to make her feel guilty for the money her parents, (really, her Step-father) have to lay out for college. They tried to guilt trip her about this while she was still in high school, telling her she shouldn't burden her parents with tuition when she could earn it in the military. They already got their chance to brainwash her when they swooped down on her high school graduating class during class hours. They made her believe it would be an unfair burden on her parents. Even so, she didn't want to go, because she is very politically aware, and so, she accepted it when I told her it was a lie, that with her scholarships we could afford her education just fine. Upon receiving further encouragement from her step father, she did tell them "no" herself, last year. Still they persist, hoping she will change her mind. If they ever speak to her again, it will not be on my phone.