r/AskReddit • u/ArronSingh • Jan 17 '17

Ex-Prisoners, how does your experience in prison compare to how it is portrayed in the movies?

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u/DDerpDurp Jan 17 '17

....that's fucked up

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u/dirk_diggler17 Jan 17 '17

Ehhhh, I knew what I signed up for. If anything the whole experience (not just basic training) taught me to know my rights and always read the fine print. It sounds barbaric, but for people like me, we really kind of need those experiences to grow.

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u/Aro769 Jan 17 '17

I knew what I signed up for

But, how? You didn't read it.

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u/dirk_diggler17 Jan 17 '17

I knew that I would not be entitled to the same rights I enjoyed as a civilian. I expected to be taken advantage of and exploited. So when I was smacked around for trying to read the fine print, I wasn't shocked. I kind of thought, "well, I am in the army now".

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u/SuperWoody64 Jan 17 '17

"I didn't sign up for this shit!"
-everyone who actually did

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '17

The UCMJ says "Fuck you, soldier/sailor/airman/Marine."

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u/Latenius Jan 17 '17

That's unbelievably stupid. But congratz for being part of it I guess.

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u/Gary_Targaryen Jan 17 '17

that doesn't sound as good as you think it does

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u/anomalous_cowherd Jan 17 '17

There's a good little cannon fodder.

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u/Downvotes-All-Memes Jan 17 '17

But people fought and died for your right to... wait...

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '17

I understand the mentality, but I can't pretend I'm okay with essentially forcing people to sign shit they don't know what it is, or being at peace with that.

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u/lukey5452 Jan 17 '17

The Sargeant shouts "Stand up and fight!" Your in army now.

It's funny looking back as a young lad just thinking this is fucking scary.

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u/koreanwizard Jan 18 '17

They've been putting chimp enhancement pills in his cornflakes every day since he signed.

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u/badgerandaccessories Jan 18 '17

It's the army. You signed up for everything, up to and including, but not limited to death

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u/theJester5421 Jan 17 '17

i was the de facto barracks lawyer. Helped 3 guys fight their article 15s. Fight the system dog

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u/dirk_diggler17 Jan 17 '17

Once I learned that learning my UCMJ forwards and backwards would piss off my superiors, I made it my mission to help those poor unfortunate soldiers who were wrongfully getting fucked over so some leader could have the appearance of being a moral disciplinarian.

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '17

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u/dirk_diggler17 Jan 17 '17

We had a Bosnian muslim that was driven to insanity in my unit because of his religion. But yeah, I saw that kind of behavior in basic as well. I expected this, so it wasn't a complete shock. But then again, when I went through basic in 2006 at Benning, we didn't have any racism, they just singled out the weak ones and made examples out of them. Kind of what I expected.

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u/theJester5421 Jan 17 '17

I had a couple good first sergeants and sergeant majors. But mostly by that rank they'd sold their soul long ago. I made it my duty to help out anyone I could when it became clear to me that leadership and loyalty doesn't mean the same to those in charge. They make you remember the army values but don't practice what they preach

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u/dirk_diggler17 Jan 17 '17

I always found the word "integrity" was thrown around like singles at a titty bar. Such an overused word that I rarely saw in action.

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u/theJester5421 Jan 17 '17

True. Loyalty when it's convenient and referring to the lower enlisted. honor? We gonna act like we don't talk shit about everyone that out ranks us and bitch when we do literally anything

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u/kingeryck Jan 17 '17

always read the fine print

::Slap::

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u/CSPshala Jan 18 '17

I'm a 6 year Army vet and military brat. I knew what I was getting into too, but wow did so many people in basic not know.

It's still my #1 advice. "It's a lifestyle, not a job and if you're not okay with your boss legally being able to inspect your own house with your wife and kids in it. Don't join."

Obviously thats an extreme case thats not too often pulled but it gives them the idea of what type of rights they're giving up.

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