Boots

I have been watching Boots on Netflix and I have a lot of thoughts and trust me I could write an essay. One of the best lines that hit me was “It is simple. No matter where you are act like you belong. All this is just a game life. You just gotta learn how to play the game that is how you beat it.” Honestly that might be the realest thing I have heard in a long time. And wow I am shook because Marine boot camp looks less like training and more like the world’s most intense cult with matching haircuts. The yelling the mind games the sleep deprivation it is all designed to break you down until you forget your own name and answer only to Yes sir. It is wild watching grown adults scream at other adults like it is an Olympic sport in humiliation and then there is the gay layer with that heavy Don’t Ask Don’t Tell shadow over everything and these young men stuck together in a hyper masculine bubble where any hint of softness or attraction becomes a threat. Imagine having to hide the most human part of yourself while someone is barking at you to be ready to die for your country and it feels tragic and twisted. My brother in law Gabe is a Marine and when I asked if it is really like that he just said Yep one word no hesitation. I get that they are trying to train soldiers but watching it up close made me realize how much of it is psychological warfare on your own soul and it is powerful and disturbing and very America. Somewhere in the middle of the shaved heads and the forced marches I just kept thinking how many people completely lost themselves before they ever got the chance to come home.

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