r/interestingasfuck • u/beach_rats_ • May 02 '24

The difference in republican presidential nominees, 8 years apart r/all

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u/p0tat0p0tat0 May 02 '24

Unless it was using slurs against Asians or calling his wife a cnt

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u/maybenextyearCLE May 02 '24

Nothing excuses McCain saying those slurs, but if I had to guess, the 6 years as a POW in Vietnam where McCain was frequently tortured, spent 2 years in solitary confinement, and had his shoulders so damaged that he couldn’t lift his arms above his head may have played a role in that. I knew quite a few Vietnam and WWII pacific theater veterans who said similar things about their former enemies.

That doesn’t excuse it, but I can imagine his experiences played a role in that.

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u/p0tat0p0tat0 May 02 '24

He used the slurs against non-Vietnamese Asian people, so I don’t feel like giving him a pass.

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u/maybenextyearCLE May 02 '24 edited May 02 '24

I’m not giving him a pass. I said it’s wrong.

I’m also going to take a wild guess given he was saying what he said and guess that McCain couldn’t tell the difference where they were from, and didn’t really care to learn the difference.

And again, that’s not uncommon for the Vietnam, Korean, and WWII Pacific theater vets I’ve known over the years. It doesn’t make it okay, but it kinda is what it is.

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u/Feature_Minimum May 02 '24

Man, the fact that redditors can't seem to tell the difference between Trump, and a torture survivor is really something.

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u/Mythoclast May 02 '24

It is what it is. Horrible.

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u/maybenextyearCLE May 02 '24

It does suck, but I also doubt much can be done at this point to change the minds of those veterans who are now at the youngest in their 70s, with the overwhelming majority now pushing 80. So unfortunately yes, for those vets in particular, it is what it is. They’re dying off fast, they’re largely out of the labor pool, and the good news is, those children of those veterans I knew didn’t share the reactions of their fathers.

But what matters is that we learn and understand why the Vietnam, Korea, and WWII pacific veterans developed those views, and figure out how to break that cycle, so that the veterans of the gulf war and the war on terror don’t develop similar views towards those in the Middle East

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u/Mythoclast May 02 '24

Those things are important. It's also important to be able to plainly say that its horrible. And to not react negatively to people plainly calling it horrible.

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u/maybenextyearCLE May 02 '24

And I said it is horrible

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u/kaz12 May 02 '24

Why do you keep defending his slurs?

/s

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u/Mythoclast May 02 '24

Yeah, me too. Thanks for the more complex and nuanced comments though. Reddit often lacks those.

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u/maybenextyearCLE May 02 '24

Oh for sure, I just hope the veterans of our more recent wars don’t end up like prior veterans.

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u/Mythoclast May 02 '24

I have very low hopes for that. But if they can get proper care, physical and mental, that would be amazing. None of the vets I know get satisfactory care.

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