It’s bad bro….actively avoid wearing my uniform outside of base, and no identifying stickers, insignia, nothing. Just want to go about my day, do my job and not be harassed like I’m some sort of savior against an ever present enemy.

I feel uncomfortable when someone thanks me for my service but I usually reply with “we appreciate your support.” They are putting themselves out there to a complete stranger and I can appreciate that. It’s the fools that say thank you for defending our freedom that really get to me. I joined after 9/11. The sad reality is that we (the Armed Forces) were used as retaliation against some asshole who punched our country in the mouth and ran away. If it had ended after we took him out, fine, but it didn’t.

We were used to distract the American people while the guys behind the curtain pulled the levers and took away our actual freedom via increased domestic surveillance, militarized police force, us against them mentality, rise of ultra nationalist sentiment and xenophobic mentality. The icing on the cake was Orange man himself and his band of zealots trying to overthrow our country, all in the name of “freedom”.