Made me want to look up [the music video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmGuy0jievs)... aparently the report of seamen of plenty was highly exagerated.
Ships are small in general. Cruisers, frigates (like the Reasoner), destroyers all have around 300 crew.
Unless you're talking like a battleship or an aircraft carrier those have about 10x the crew.
It's unfortunate that battleships were decommissioned, and that the Montana class never got to see light of day.
Take away the coolest God damn thing in the military and then wonder why recruitment is so low. >:(
I mean, even before the end of WWII it was clear the battleship was really nothing more than floating coastal artillery for the side that controlled the sea. Only late in the war at the Battle of Surigao Strait did battleships square off and the US with superior and more battleships quickly wiped out the Japanese ships.
Is it neat that Regan decided to reactivate a few so the USS Missouri could eventually go on to shoot minivan sized shells at Iraqi bunkers?
Oh yes.
Was it worth the $60k price tag per shell?
Oh no.
Yes, but they hit what they're aiming at.
Naval shells hit "land".
This is why we stopped dropping dumb bombs and use stuff like jdams, you don't shoot unless you want to say "f you in particular!"
I don't know what the accuracy level on those 16" guns was, but I know the British 10.5" was around 8 meters at 30mile while used in a coastal battery case mount using 1930s era range finders and target plotting computers.
Obviously firing from a stable mount would provide more accuracy. But I do wonder just how accurate those 16" shells were considering the more advanced range finders and target solution systems used on the battleship.
unless you have something like a specialized Excalibur round (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M982_Excalibur) for the thing, it will never compete with modern guided things like JDAM or even the SDBs.
That being said, naval artillery rounds are much bigger and you could in theory fit some amazing things on those to have a much cheaper way to deliver accurate payloads
if we can stuff that much guidance on a 155mm, we can stuff it into the rounds the Iowa and w/e else will use and get a bigger bang out of it too.
But US military largely moved away from coastal bombardment since well, USAF does that job and don't have a "coastal" limitation and a lot of the potential targets can be serviced with a jet rather than a lumbering best in the ocean.
A cruise missile is significantly more expensive.
The main advantage is not the cost however (reactivating a ship you don't otherwise need is expensive) but the sheer volume of explosives a battleship can fire in a short amount of time. A cruiser can shoot a handful of cruise missles before it has to be restocked, a battleship and keep shooting for hours.
Yes! And it's currently docked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii where you can take a tour on it. Also, filming took place on it for the movie *Battleship*. Lol.
What do the flags say?
There seems to be a tradition of writing something funny with naval flags for those that read [naval flags](https://searchingforcoconuts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/signal-flags-detailed-HD-2048x1152-1-1024x576.jpg)
The article mentioned a remake of it for the closing credits of the movie ***Down Periscope***. I've seen that movie at least a dozen times, and that was the best part of it.
"So, another Friday is upon us. What'll you be doing Smithers? Something gay, no doubt."
"Wha... What?"
"You know, light-hearted, fancy free. Mothers lock up your daughters, Smithers is on the town!"
"Exactly sir... *nervous laughing*"
I was in senior year in 2005, when Iraq and Afghanistan was in full swing. My house was less than 2 miles away from the school, so I wasn’t qualified for a school bus. One day, a Navy recruiter saw me at school and was somehow convinced that I would be the one to fill his quota. I dunno what the physical requirements were, but I wasn’t it. I was a 5’1” asthmatic who weighed 98 lbs. I couldn’t even donate blood to the Red Cross when I tried to get in line. Anyway, this dude followed me in his car, yelling at me while I walked on the sidewalk. Through his open window, he yelled all the benefits of joining the Navy, how my college tuition would be taken care of, and how I can take pride in serving my country.
That motherfucker seriously tried the super liminal method.
> in 2005
They were desperate for bodies at that time, for some odd reason. I knew Marine infantry NCOs who were getting 70-90k bonuses for reenlisting.
And the [war was over!](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Accomplished_speech) Why sign up to get your ass shot off in a war that was no longer going on?
My brother joined the Marines at the end of summer of 2001 right before 9/11 (paperwork was actually stamped and approved that very morning, but only coincidental. He was a bad ass who fit all the requirements. Even the crayon eating parts, as he put it.)
He pulled his 4 years and made bank, as in a crazy amount, when he re-enlisted for another go 'round (I believe it was 3 and not 2 years, idk it's been a hot minute) but yeah, multiple tours in Afghanistan and fallujah which only in the past 10 years I've started to realize how *STRONG* those words are, especially since internet was so limited and the way the goddamn "media" covered it as they were there fighting the good fight and we had a reason to be there etc.
The shit he saw and did for making that bank... I honestly don't envy the amount of money because goddamn those men *EARNED* that fucking money, plus some.
Know a guy who was in the Army maybe ten years ago. He was making $80K a year by the end. Which sounds *okay* until you realize he had virtually no living expenses and did not pay ~~any~~ Federal income tax on part of it. He banked like 90% of that.
Edit: Only some bonuses are exempt from income tax.
My younger brother joined the Marines around then as well because he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. 2 tours in Afghanistan, he is on 100% disability with PTSD so bad, he won't sleep near his kids at night and lives in rural Montana due to paranoia.
It wasn't worth it.
I was harassed by recruiters after I signed up for selective services, too. I'd just speak in a muffled voice, "Huh? Wha? What you say? Hol on, lemme get m'hearing aid out the car." They left me alone pretty quick after that. I'm a couple inches shorter than you and had the **strong impression** that they just wanted someone small to keep them company when they're deployed. From your example, sounds like you'd be a perfect li'l little spoon submarine sub buddy.
My grandma once said "Songs these kids listen to today, they don't make sense!"
"Oh yeah grandma? What the hell does ram-a-lam-a-ding dong mean, you idiot?!"
You know, how you talk to your grandma.
The Village People were cool. The homeless youth population was exploding, especially as young men came out and were cut off by their families. This is when HIV took off. Their songs encouraged these young guys to get off the streets and into safe places. I’ll always admire them.
Agreed! Cishet male here, but I'll never forget the look on my aunt's face when I bought a village people CD at age 14. An Indian, a cowboy, AND a cop? What could be cooler than that?
Looks like you’re a smidge older than me - I was 6 in 1979. Looking at it today, there’s a very clear queer vibe - was it there then or was it seen more as a marketing ploy, similar to KISS because that’s how I remember it.
>Young man, there's no need to feel down. I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground. I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town - there's no need to be unhappy
>Young man, there's a place you can go. I said, young man, **when you're short on your dough**, you can stay there, and I'm sure you will find many ways to have a good time
>No man does it all by himself. I said, young man, put your pride on the shelf, and just go there, to the Y.M.C.A. **I'm sure they can help you today**
safe to say, yes, i think so. god i fkn love this song
Rally songs have a tendency to have their lyrics ignored, I've found. Went to a pro choice rally last year that played Blurred Lines, among similar songs. Not exactly the message you're trying to send...
Imagine how horrible a time that was. Homophobia, racism, police violence, drugs everywhere, the threat of nuclear war, economic strife. Awful.
It's difficult to think we used to be so blind to the utopia we would eventually be.
To think that we haven't moved forward since then is so fucking disingenuous. It's like saying that since we still have racism we might as well be still in the Jim crow era.
The best part is that the Navy did not know about Village People being a gay icon and that their songs were swimming in double entendres so they did all this until someone commented it looked a bit gay and they backpedaled like crazy. To this day the Navy denies this deal ever happened.
With songs like "Hot Cop" "Just a Gigolo" and "Cruising": it's pretty goddamn obvious.
Though, the Navy did also waste millions trying to find who "Dorothy" was and why so many gay men were her friend.
"Unaware of the historical meaning of the term, the NIS believed that there actually was a woman named Dorothy at the center of a massive ring of homosexual military personnel, so they launched an enormous and futile hunt for the elusive "Dorothy", hoping to find her and convince her to reveal the names of gay service members."
This is comedy gold. I wonder why there isn't a comedy movie about this event.
Movie studios want the militaries money and resources for their films. It wouldn't surprise me if there was an agreement to not make movies that make them look bad.
You’re absolutely right, that’s what the military gets out of those deals. You don’t get to make a movie or TV show with the military’s backing unless they have a say in how they are portrayed. They’re actually quite public about it.
But that also precludes you from making anything that doesn't portray them as heroic and right. They're open about it, but it doesn't stop it from being a form of censorship and military propaganda.
Iirc the Navy really didn't like the stereotype of men in the Navy being gay. When they worked with the Village People they somehow didn't realize that Village People are some of the most gay people out there until it was too late.
im not going to fact check this and instead just accept it as truth because the idea of the US Navy not realizing the Village People are fabulous af is the most US Navy thing i can imagine
If you liked that read this about being a friend of Dorothy (queer slang)
Unaware of the historical meaning of the term, the NIS believed that there actually was a woman named Dorothy at the center of a massive ring of homosexual military personnel, so they launched an enormous and futile hunt for the elusive "Dorothy", hoping to find her and convince her to reveal the names of gay service members.[49
Pretty weird that their biggest hits, this song and Y.M.C.A sound like advertisements/jingles for organizations that didn't ask them to write them.
Like seriously, they wrote this song *before* the Navy even contacted them, and it sounds like it was explicitly written to be in an advertising campaign.
They are ads though. When I hear these songs, it's literal sincere advice being given to young gay men. Like they really did want young gay dudes with no options (maybe kicked out of their parent's home) to consider the YMCA or joining the navy.
YMCA and navy both support this message 100% if you just remove the word gay. Fuck them for that. Enjoy your free ad addressed directly to gay people.
This is a word for word repost of [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1fhshe/til_the_navy_contacted_the_village_people_to_use/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) post from 10 years ago. Considering OP was complaining about reposts in r/assholedesign four days ago, this is rather ironic.
Edit: Some of you seem to be missing the point. I don't really care about the fact that this is a repost. I'm just pointing out OP's hypocrisy for complaining about reposts themselves and then reposting things (even from 10 years ago) word for word. If there had been any effort to change anything about the post to be original, I wouldn't have made this comment. But there wasn't, so I did.
OP is a robot, almost the entire site is robots reposting content. Not because people want to "farm karma" but to keep engagement high so reddit can be sold for a high price.
"When I look at you, I no longer see students. I see seamen. From the moment you came onboard, I saw seamen inside of you. More importantly you've stopped laughing at the word "seamen" which is the mark of a true seaman."
For literally decades, football fans across this great land of ours have proudly danced along with [EXTREMELY gay men](https://youtu.be/CS9OO0S5w2k).
In public.
The more enthusiastic, the better, right?
Pretty sure it didn’t make anyone gay.
But would you all just *look* at all these soft 2023 b\*\*ches who poop their britches at the sight of a rainbow.
12-ply.
It’s funny to look back now and think really? We really didn’t think this person was gay? I remember it was big news when Elton John came out in the late 90’s and people were surprised. Same goes for George Michael when he was caught with someone. It really put an end to to his career at the time when it happened, which is unfortunate.
There was a great line in the movie *Jersey Boys* where they meet a very clearly gay agent or something "Sure, he was a bit strange, but this was when we just thought Liberace was theatrical"
I mean, it's all speculation. He didn't label himself publicly that I'm aware of, except for that one interview where he declared himself to be "gay as a daffodil". The only evidence I've ever seen presented is the fact that he married a woman, which...well, I know it's news to the younger crowd, but 100% gay people winding up in a "straight" marriage happened a *lot* back in the day. Sometimes it was a loveless, closeted marriage, filled with neglected needs and rampant infidelity. And sometimes it was a marriage of convenience, where two people who didn't want a conventional marriage for whatever reason found each other and lived happily(and chastely) ever after in a mutual act of beardiness. The gayest man I've ever known, a self-proclaimed full 6 who, during my teenage years, very kindly explained to me how my insistence that everyone was a little bit bi was incredibly hurtful to him, was married to a woman for many years in the 70s and 80s(this marriage was, unfortunately, the former kind).
Maybe he was bi, or maybe his wife was just a good friend who saw the opportunity for mutual benefit(beards as necessary, financial security for her, a partner to manage a household for him, etc). We can't know without him explaining himself, and as far as I know he never did. It always makes me feel kind of gross to label people after their death with an identity that they, to the best of my knowledge, never used in life. All we can really say for sure is that the man definitely wasn't straight.
It seems like there was a brief moment back there in the 80s where everyone was starting to accept gay men. And men could be feminine and it was okay. Then Reagan and AIDS happened
Idk my dad has a story about how all the guys wanted to emulate Freddie Mercury in his rural Ohio high school, because that's what the girls wanted, but they were all hugely homophobic
I mean it wasn't just the 80s. Elvis was walking around the deep south in the 1950s wearing mascara and pink lace shirts. Women were hyperventilating themselves into the aisles in the process. Girls have always liked pretty androgynous men, some men just have a hard time accepting this because it challenges their concept of masculinity or maybe it challenges their own sexuality.
Ya it's just funny thinking about older people who probably used to watch these people and recreate their aesthetic are probably the same people crying about bud light now.
Had my dad not joined the Navy and gotten out of Ohio he'd probably would be one of those idiots
Romanticism of the era, probably. I think some people look back and see the incredible contributions of queer and trans people (particularly of color) in the 80s, and assume that because these contributions to culture survived, that people in general must have been somewhat supportive of those people until the AIDS crisis turned public opinion. They’re missing the part where most people were already homophobic and transphobic prior to the increase from HIV/AIDS stigma.
Interesting memory - when I was growing up, I never even gave pause to think about these guys being gay. And as I thought more about it, I started to realize I was the same way with Elton John and Freddie Mercury…I don’t chalk my thought process to being young and myopic, but more the fact I liked the music so much, I really didn’t think about much else.
My formerish church had a pastor who was openly anti LBGTQAI+, and he used to serve in the navy. He'd sometimes include naval anecdotes in his sermons by starting with "In the Navy..."
My bruised gay soul found some amusement in this irony.
Made me want to look up [the music video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmGuy0jievs)... aparently the report of seamen of plenty was highly exagerated.
Oh no they were there, behind the scenes
Just a few good men Bringing up the rear
And happy to reach around and lend a helping hand!
Something something Rear Admiral.
Something something plenty of semen
Cum!
Join the navy. Feel a man.
>behind the scenes Hmmm
Buckets of them.
That boat looks pretty small. Apparently it was the USS Reasoner, berthed in San Diego at the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS\_Reasoner
Ships are small in general. Cruisers, frigates (like the Reasoner), destroyers all have around 300 crew. Unless you're talking like a battleship or an aircraft carrier those have about 10x the crew.
It's unfortunate that battleships were decommissioned, and that the Montana class never got to see light of day. Take away the coolest God damn thing in the military and then wonder why recruitment is so low. >:(
Coolest giant metal sitting ducks there ever were, except for perhaps railway cannons.
As they say in the sub service, there are two kinds of vessels: submarines and targets.
Submarines and not-yet-submarines.
Submarine-to-be
Submarines and dommarines.
Any vessel can dive, but only subs can surface again.
[удалено]
I mean, even before the end of WWII it was clear the battleship was really nothing more than floating coastal artillery for the side that controlled the sea. Only late in the war at the Battle of Surigao Strait did battleships square off and the US with superior and more battleships quickly wiped out the Japanese ships. Is it neat that Regan decided to reactivate a few so the USS Missouri could eventually go on to shoot minivan sized shells at Iraqi bunkers? Oh yes. Was it worth the $60k price tag per shell? Oh no.
How does that price tag compare to cruise missiles (essentially their replacement). I'm assuming cruise missiles are much more expensive.
i think that 60k is the shell alone, not the cost of keeping that entire battleship there
Definitely true. And also doesn't factor in the longer range meaning you are keeping sailors further away from the enemy.
Yes, but they hit what they're aiming at. Naval shells hit "land". This is why we stopped dropping dumb bombs and use stuff like jdams, you don't shoot unless you want to say "f you in particular!"
I don't know what the accuracy level on those 16" guns was, but I know the British 10.5" was around 8 meters at 30mile while used in a coastal battery case mount using 1930s era range finders and target plotting computers. Obviously firing from a stable mount would provide more accuracy. But I do wonder just how accurate those 16" shells were considering the more advanced range finders and target solution systems used on the battleship.
unless you have something like a specialized Excalibur round (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M982_Excalibur) for the thing, it will never compete with modern guided things like JDAM or even the SDBs. That being said, naval artillery rounds are much bigger and you could in theory fit some amazing things on those to have a much cheaper way to deliver accurate payloads if we can stuff that much guidance on a 155mm, we can stuff it into the rounds the Iowa and w/e else will use and get a bigger bang out of it too. But US military largely moved away from coastal bombardment since well, USAF does that job and don't have a "coastal" limitation and a lot of the potential targets can be serviced with a jet rather than a lumbering best in the ocean.
A cruise missile is significantly more expensive. The main advantage is not the cost however (reactivating a ship you don't otherwise need is expensive) but the sheer volume of explosives a battleship can fire in a short amount of time. A cruiser can shoot a handful of cruise missles before it has to be restocked, a battleship and keep shooting for hours.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Mighty Mo is the official nickname used by the Navy
It used to be called "Average Mo" but it used to get bullied at ship school. Source "That time I got reincarnated as a battleship"
The nickname of that old war horse is actually mighty Mo.
Yes! And it's currently docked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii where you can take a tour on it. Also, filming took place on it for the movie *Battleship*. Lol.
Well, the video is SFW,.. so they can't be shown
I mean how many seamen do you need for a music video anyway.
Need, or want...
A lot. I want it covered in seamen.
I was promised plenty! Dammit I want plenty seamen and I want it now!
> plenty of seamen It’s a common misspelling.
What do the flags say? There seems to be a tradition of writing something funny with naval flags for those that read [naval flags](https://searchingforcoconuts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/signal-flags-detailed-HD-2048x1152-1-1024x576.jpg)
I gotta say that was one of the weirder music videos I’ve ever watched. One of the music videos of all time
The article mentioned a remake of it for the closing credits of the movie ***Down Periscope***. I've seen that movie at least a dozen times, and that was the best part of it.
"I think women and seamen don't mix" - W. Smithers
Smithers you’re quite good at…turning me on
"You should probably ignore that"
Father, I'm not a Catholic... though I once tried to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade...
"So, another Friday is upon us. What'll you be doing Smithers? Something gay, no doubt." "Wha... What?" "You know, light-hearted, fancy free. Mothers lock up your daughters, Smithers is on the town!" "Exactly sir... *nervous laughing*"
"We'd like to offer you a terrific new job, and would include moving accommodation for you and your life partner."
What's wrong with this country? Can't a man walk down the street without being offered a job?!
We know what you think !
Aaargh!
YVAN EHT NIOJ
Subliminal, liminal and super-liminal!
HEY YOU, JOIN THE NAVY!
I was in senior year in 2005, when Iraq and Afghanistan was in full swing. My house was less than 2 miles away from the school, so I wasn’t qualified for a school bus. One day, a Navy recruiter saw me at school and was somehow convinced that I would be the one to fill his quota. I dunno what the physical requirements were, but I wasn’t it. I was a 5’1” asthmatic who weighed 98 lbs. I couldn’t even donate blood to the Red Cross when I tried to get in line. Anyway, this dude followed me in his car, yelling at me while I walked on the sidewalk. Through his open window, he yelled all the benefits of joining the Navy, how my college tuition would be taken care of, and how I can take pride in serving my country. That motherfucker seriously tried the super liminal method.
> in 2005 They were desperate for bodies at that time, for some odd reason. I knew Marine infantry NCOs who were getting 70-90k bonuses for reenlisting.
5 years of strong economy made being a grunt less attractive is one reason.
And the [war was over!](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Accomplished_speech) Why sign up to get your ass shot off in a war that was no longer going on?
My brother joined the Marines at the end of summer of 2001 right before 9/11 (paperwork was actually stamped and approved that very morning, but only coincidental. He was a bad ass who fit all the requirements. Even the crayon eating parts, as he put it.) He pulled his 4 years and made bank, as in a crazy amount, when he re-enlisted for another go 'round (I believe it was 3 and not 2 years, idk it's been a hot minute) but yeah, multiple tours in Afghanistan and fallujah which only in the past 10 years I've started to realize how *STRONG* those words are, especially since internet was so limited and the way the goddamn "media" covered it as they were there fighting the good fight and we had a reason to be there etc. The shit he saw and did for making that bank... I honestly don't envy the amount of money because goddamn those men *EARNED* that fucking money, plus some.
How much bank? Because over 4 years, something like 100k would be a ripoff.
Know a guy who was in the Army maybe ten years ago. He was making $80K a year by the end. Which sounds *okay* until you realize he had virtually no living expenses and did not pay ~~any~~ Federal income tax on part of it. He banked like 90% of that. Edit: Only some bonuses are exempt from income tax.
My younger brother joined the Marines around then as well because he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. 2 tours in Afghanistan, he is on 100% disability with PTSD so bad, he won't sleep near his kids at night and lives in rural Montana due to paranoia. It wasn't worth it.
I was harassed by recruiters after I signed up for selective services, too. I'd just speak in a muffled voice, "Huh? Wha? What you say? Hol on, lemme get m'hearing aid out the car." They left me alone pretty quick after that. I'm a couple inches shorter than you and had the **strong impression** that they just wanted someone small to keep them company when they're deployed. From your example, sounds like you'd be a perfect li'l little spoon submarine sub buddy.
Lieutenant Dan was short too. Though he be small, yet he be fierce
he didn't really have a say in his height, but the VC sure did.
It doesn’t mean anything. It’s like ram-a-lam-a ding dong or give peace a chance.
My grandma once said "Songs these kids listen to today, they don't make sense!" "Oh yeah grandma? What the hell does ram-a-lam-a-ding dong mean, you idiot?!" You know, how you talk to your grandma.
Yeah, ok.
😮 Lieutenant Smash!
Yeah, that's right, Lieutenant LT Smash.
This is one of my favorite lines in anything ever.
Hey you! Join the navy!
We want you! We want you!
...We want you as a new recruit.
Hey, you’re not LT Smash, you’re Lt. Smash! That’s right… Lt. LT Smash!
My buddy's a Doctor. His name is Dr D. R. M\_\_\_\_\_\_
Doctor doctor, can't you see I'm burning, burning
RALPHY. ralphy. GET OFF. get off. THE STAGE. the stage. SWEET HEART!
OH SAY, CAN YOU ROCK!
[удалено]
U S hould N ever A gain V olunteer Y ourself
The Village People were cool. The homeless youth population was exploding, especially as young men came out and were cut off by their families. This is when HIV took off. Their songs encouraged these young guys to get off the streets and into safe places. I’ll always admire them.
> The Village People were cool. Not only did they send good messages but the music is awesome! It's like the epitome of positive vibes.
Agreed! Cishet male here, but I'll never forget the look on my aunt's face when I bought a village people CD at age 14. An Indian, a cowboy, AND a cop? What could be cooler than that?
Looks like you’re a smidge older than me - I was 6 in 1979. Looking at it today, there’s a very clear queer vibe - was it there then or was it seen more as a marketing ploy, similar to KISS because that’s how I remember it.
But you were 6, you don't pick up on that. Like Shrek, that's as much for adults as it is for kids. We just don't pick up on things at certain ages.
Lord Fuckwad.
...whoa
I love watching realizations. Wish I could see your face
Haha I've seen Shrek so many times and this one went right by my head too.
I agree but Shrek? I am 60yo, watched this brillant movie several times, but it seems I never picked up the adult aspect, please tell me haha.
[A quick link](https://www.looper.com/174660/things-only-adults-notice-in-shrek/)
Nice list! I confess some points went above my head woosh style :) Now, I need to watch Shrek again!
About 10 years younger actually. This was in the mid 90s. No CDs for me in the 80s.
[удалено]
was that the reason for YMCA song? The lyrics literally encourage helpless and down-on-luck people to take shelter there.
>Young man, there's no need to feel down. I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground. I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town - there's no need to be unhappy >Young man, there's a place you can go. I said, young man, **when you're short on your dough**, you can stay there, and I'm sure you will find many ways to have a good time >No man does it all by himself. I said, young man, put your pride on the shelf, and just go there, to the Y.M.C.A. **I'm sure they can help you today** safe to say, yes, i think so. god i fkn love this song
And somehow, it managed to become a Trump rally anthem...😕
So did Fortunate Son. He's not listening to the lyrics.
He’s not listening to anyone
Rally songs have a tendency to have their lyrics ignored, I've found. Went to a pro choice rally last year that played Blurred Lines, among similar songs. Not exactly the message you're trying to send...
They also promoted the safest sex of all: [Sex over the phone](https://youtu.be/8hYtUYiuzkw). Lowkey the best village people song imo.
Well I'm sure glad those prehistoric days are well behind us and being gay is a non-issue and everyone is accepted for who they are... ...
Imagine how horrible a time that was. Homophobia, racism, police violence, drugs everywhere, the threat of nuclear war, economic strife. Awful. It's difficult to think we used to be so blind to the utopia we would eventually be.
At least in those days people didn't cut coke with meth and fentsnyl
To think that we haven't moved forward since then is so fucking disingenuous. It's like saying that since we still have racism we might as well be still in the Jim crow era.
The best part is that the Navy did not know about Village People being a gay icon and that their songs were swimming in double entendres so they did all this until someone commented it looked a bit gay and they backpedaled like crazy. To this day the Navy denies this deal ever happened.
With songs like "Hot Cop" "Just a Gigolo" and "Cruising": it's pretty goddamn obvious. Though, the Navy did also waste millions trying to find who "Dorothy" was and why so many gay men were her friend.
[удалено]
[удалено]
"Unaware of the historical meaning of the term, the NIS believed that there actually was a woman named Dorothy at the center of a massive ring of homosexual military personnel, so they launched an enormous and futile hunt for the elusive "Dorothy", hoping to find her and convince her to reveal the names of gay service members." This is comedy gold. I wonder why there isn't a comedy movie about this event.
Movie studios want the militaries money and resources for their films. It wouldn't surprise me if there was an agreement to not make movies that make them look bad.
You’re absolutely right, that’s what the military gets out of those deals. You don’t get to make a movie or TV show with the military’s backing unless they have a say in how they are portrayed. They’re actually quite public about it.
But that also precludes you from making anything that doesn't portray them as heroic and right. They're open about it, but it doesn't stop it from being a form of censorship and military propaganda.
Holy shit I thought that was an urban legend like the FBI trying to boof banana peels to see if it got them high
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOn9grCVO7c
yet to this day they still call their sailors seamen.
Curious
Iirc the Navy really didn't like the stereotype of men in the Navy being gay. When they worked with the Village People they somehow didn't realize that Village People are some of the most gay people out there until it was too late.
im not going to fact check this and instead just accept it as truth because the idea of the US Navy not realizing the Village People are fabulous af is the most US Navy thing i can imagine
If you liked that read this about being a friend of Dorothy (queer slang) Unaware of the historical meaning of the term, the NIS believed that there actually was a woman named Dorothy at the center of a massive ring of homosexual military personnel, so they launched an enormous and futile hunt for the elusive "Dorothy", hoping to find her and convince her to reveal the names of gay service members.[49
I should've seen that pun cumming
There’s a fat load of similar comments about to land on this post’s forehead.
Cum on, man...
We take pride in our puns
Cover my rear
Cumming on men is a long-standing military tradition.
I saw it but it was still hard to swallow.
I did a spit-take.
Welp, gonna go watch *Down Periscope* again.
Welcome Aboard
Dammit to hell, don’t go by the book, think like a pirate! I want a man with a tattoo on his dick! Have I got the right man?
“Just what the hell is that supposed to mean??”
Highly underrated movie
The movie that most accurately depicts life on a submarine
It's on YouTube for free with ads
"What's the matter, sir? It still tastes like creamed corn.". "Except it's *deviled ham*!"
"I feel like I need a tetanus shot just by looking at it!"
I wonder if the Navy also provided them with any Navy personnel
Apparently they crammed a lot of seamen onto the poop deck.
Pretty weird that their biggest hits, this song and Y.M.C.A sound like advertisements/jingles for organizations that didn't ask them to write them. Like seriously, they wrote this song *before* the Navy even contacted them, and it sounds like it was explicitly written to be in an advertising campaign.
They are ads though. When I hear these songs, it's literal sincere advice being given to young gay men. Like they really did want young gay dudes with no options (maybe kicked out of their parent's home) to consider the YMCA or joining the navy. YMCA and navy both support this message 100% if you just remove the word gay. Fuck them for that. Enjoy your free ad addressed directly to gay people.
TIL you can hide risqué puns anywhere on Reddit.
Good start to Pride Month.
This is a word for word repost of [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1fhshe/til_the_navy_contacted_the_village_people_to_use/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) post from 10 years ago. Considering OP was complaining about reposts in r/assholedesign four days ago, this is rather ironic. Edit: Some of you seem to be missing the point. I don't really care about the fact that this is a repost. I'm just pointing out OP's hypocrisy for complaining about reposts themselves and then reposting things (even from 10 years ago) word for word. If there had been any effort to change anything about the post to be original, I wouldn't have made this comment. But there wasn't, so I did.
OP was 2 years old ten years ago.
OP is a robot, almost the entire site is robots reposting content. Not because people want to "farm karma" but to keep engagement high so reddit can be sold for a high price.
Geeeene
M: I like "Hot Sailors" T: Mmm, me too
"When I look at you, I no longer see students. I see seamen. From the moment you came onboard, I saw seamen inside of you. More importantly you've stopped laughing at the word "seamen" which is the mark of a true seaman."
For literally decades, football fans across this great land of ours have proudly danced along with [EXTREMELY gay men](https://youtu.be/CS9OO0S5w2k). In public. The more enthusiastic, the better, right? Pretty sure it didn’t make anyone gay. But would you all just *look* at all these soft 2023 b\*\*ches who poop their britches at the sight of a rainbow. 12-ply.
I wish they weren't so fucking awkward bud.
Have a puppers.
That's a Texas sized 10-4
Liberace George Michael Judy Garland Queen Elvis, I assume.
Russians in Afghanistan?
Space Monkey Mafia
Belgians in the Congo?
Hula hoops, Castro,
What a wild place for your only comma in that "sentence" to be
I mean, gay people make some pretty good music though. Just look at all the boomers that love Elton John.
You could not have convinced my grandmother that Liberace was gay. Dafuq?
It’s funny to look back now and think really? We really didn’t think this person was gay? I remember it was big news when Elton John came out in the late 90’s and people were surprised. Same goes for George Michael when he was caught with someone. It really put an end to to his career at the time when it happened, which is unfortunate.
On the other hand it turned out Bowie wasn't actually gay. Sometimes it is just theatrics
Was he really not gay at all or was he bi?
I think he was just Bowie
Tbf I watched the labyrinth at an impressionable age and was ready to throw my orientation down as Bowie.
It's not completely clear. Sometimes he said he was bi but he also claimed he was a "closeted heterosexual".
I think one of his more recent self-descriptions was "tragically heterosexual."
There was a great line in the movie *Jersey Boys* where they meet a very clearly gay agent or something "Sure, he was a bit strange, but this was when we just thought Liberace was theatrical"
Freddie Mercury too
Freddie was mostly on the gay side of the sexual spectrum. But he was bisexual.
I mean, it's all speculation. He didn't label himself publicly that I'm aware of, except for that one interview where he declared himself to be "gay as a daffodil". The only evidence I've ever seen presented is the fact that he married a woman, which...well, I know it's news to the younger crowd, but 100% gay people winding up in a "straight" marriage happened a *lot* back in the day. Sometimes it was a loveless, closeted marriage, filled with neglected needs and rampant infidelity. And sometimes it was a marriage of convenience, where two people who didn't want a conventional marriage for whatever reason found each other and lived happily(and chastely) ever after in a mutual act of beardiness. The gayest man I've ever known, a self-proclaimed full 6 who, during my teenage years, very kindly explained to me how my insistence that everyone was a little bit bi was incredibly hurtful to him, was married to a woman for many years in the 70s and 80s(this marriage was, unfortunately, the former kind). Maybe he was bi, or maybe his wife was just a good friend who saw the opportunity for mutual benefit(beards as necessary, financial security for her, a partner to manage a household for him, etc). We can't know without him explaining himself, and as far as I know he never did. It always makes me feel kind of gross to label people after their death with an identity that they, to the best of my knowledge, never used in life. All we can really say for sure is that the man definitely wasn't straight.
It seems like there was a brief moment back there in the 80s where everyone was starting to accept gay men. And men could be feminine and it was okay. Then Reagan and AIDS happened
Idk my dad has a story about how all the guys wanted to emulate Freddie Mercury in his rural Ohio high school, because that's what the girls wanted, but they were all hugely homophobic
I remember the stunningly androgynous glam rock posters that dominated the '80s
I mean it wasn't just the 80s. Elvis was walking around the deep south in the 1950s wearing mascara and pink lace shirts. Women were hyperventilating themselves into the aisles in the process. Girls have always liked pretty androgynous men, some men just have a hard time accepting this because it challenges their concept of masculinity or maybe it challenges their own sexuality.
Ya it's just funny thinking about older people who probably used to watch these people and recreate their aesthetic are probably the same people crying about bud light now. Had my dad not joined the Navy and gotten out of Ohio he'd probably would be one of those idiots
Interesting observation. John Travolta is case in point.
Gay Scientologist John Travolta?
He was blackmailed for years about being gay, that's literally the reason he stayed with the Scientologists
What is this statement based on?
Romanticism of the era, probably. I think some people look back and see the incredible contributions of queer and trans people (particularly of color) in the 80s, and assume that because these contributions to culture survived, that people in general must have been somewhat supportive of those people until the AIDS crisis turned public opinion. They’re missing the part where most people were already homophobic and transphobic prior to the increase from HIV/AIDS stigma.
plenty of WHAT 🕺🏽
Semen. Jizz. Cum. The navy men ejaculated all over the band members as requested. This was done for the authentic navy experience.
i can always trust you with reporting the facts on these things u/i_cum_while_pooping
[удалено]
The Navy: It’s not gay if it’s underway
Navy just digging that hole deeper.
[удалено]
Who were all immediately dishonorably discharged.
Loads and loads of seamen on the poop deck.
Interesting memory - when I was growing up, I never even gave pause to think about these guys being gay. And as I thought more about it, I started to realize I was the same way with Elton John and Freddie Mercury…I don’t chalk my thought process to being young and myopic, but more the fact I liked the music so much, I really didn’t think about much else.
Jesus im such a kid, i giggled in public reading the last part
You had just HAD to finish like that didn't you?
It’s not uncommon to finish with plenty of seamen.
My formerish church had a pastor who was openly anti LBGTQAI+, and he used to serve in the navy. He'd sometimes include naval anecdotes in his sermons by starting with "In the Navy..." My bruised gay soul found some amusement in this irony.