This isn't Vietnam. You aren't going to see soldier graffiti with peace signs on gear, unkempt long hair or beards, and unchecked drug use as commonly as you would back then.
Ive seen first hand what happens to dumbasses that try to pull that shit while we were out in sector.
WOW, Did I strike a never with someone, someone's very angry that I simply asked a question. I'm sorry that I personally offended you
Never thought of it that way... Thanks
Form what I'm seeing on the news and on here, yeah
nice
you could say that about any of them tbh
Sure. I'm just of the opinion that a real belief in norse mythology has been long dead.
Well, that's a strange opinion to have since if someone does have a real belief in it (like the guy this article is talking about) then it means the statement "a real belief in norse mythology has been long dead" is false.
What even is a real belief anyway? 99% of religious folk cherry pick their beliefs adhoc to begin with and argue with eachother about what is a real belief and what is not.
I'm thinking widespread, culturally entrenched belief.
A few people here and there deciding to believe in norse mythos because it's cool or something doesn't really make it any less dead in my opinion.
Yeah you could argue that for sure. Religious people generally tend to have different takes on their scriptures, and follow it to varying degrees. Can't disagree with that.
Like Paul-Simon touched on, a culturally-entrenched religion isn't more rational, but it's at least more excusable. Believing something that's been in society and your family for 1000 years is somewhat understandable, if not actually logical, whereas believing something that's been all but dead for hundreds of years is all but admitting you just thought it sounded cool.
I can't speak for any other pagans, but I never decided to believe in my gods. After a few events where I felt their presence, I realized that I had always believed in them in some capacity, I just didn't know about them. As for the number of us, there's more than just a few believers. There was around 7,800 in the US in 2014 and there's a global estimation of about 20,000. It's an officially recognized religion in the US, the Norwegian groups Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost and Foreningen Forn Sed can perform legally binding civil ceremonies in Norway, and the Ásatrúarfélagið is the the largest non-Christian organized religion in Iceland. It might not be as large of a religion as others (forced conversions and a thousand years of demonization tend to do that,) but it's just as genuine.
Youre very clearly missing the point here. No individual cares, sure, but for overall image keeping your fighting force clean and professional looking contributes to a psychological effect on an enemy force through a clear sense of organization on even the most basic levels. There are also arguments for the construction of discipline and routine in your ranks. That being said I don't particularly have any opinion on it, this is just what's usually referenced
Alternatively, it'll keep him warm on a cold night.
"Cool," "comforting," "reassuring-" doesn't matter. At the end of the day, choosing to belive the spiritual comes from either ascribing natural phenomena or imagined sensations to the supernatural, or from conflating how you'd like things to be to what is.
Im sorry that there are many people in the world who don't agree with you. Being an asshole about people's beliefs is hilariously cringey
Many militaries allow soldiers to have beards. I don't feel there's anything very unprofessional about beards.
If you think beards are unprofessional, wait until you see the Dutch military in the 70's/80's/early 90's
basically everything was allowed, resulting in the shaggy army:
https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a0f9a16a8fd628a5595f99d36cf11890.webp
Apparently the military performed quite well in exercises regardless of them looking like hobos, so americans: you will have nothing to fear
Obv this was when conscription was still a thing. Now that we have a professional military only beards are allowed
I'm sorry that unfounded claims about the nature of reality become untouchable once a certain amount of people like them.
Is it really hard to believe people REALLY believe in Norse mythology? dismissing them since people find it "cool" but don't actually believe is pretty bigoted.
The Sikh officer who pushed for this policy developed a gas-mask that'll fit a person with a full beard.
I'm sure some do, but I just have a hunch that most identify with it for other reasons.
Doesn't make much sense to me that anyone outside of Iceland / Scandinavia would have a real connection to it.
I don't mean to offend anyone.
You know, it is actually possible to take issue with a religion without just dismissing it because you think you're better than them.
I don't know running in and calling a religion a "Meme Religion" looks pretty bait heavy to me.
but your beard is?
Except you aren't going out patrol looking like that either.
True.
Still. Everyone's fucking filthy on deployment. A little extra facial hair won't make a difference.
Looking professional doesn't matter on the battlefield you say?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD2sJrkXRIU
Sometimes my cynicism gets the better of me. I was going to make that post bigger, but realized those two words said it all.
From this article, it's very easy to come to the conclusion that he's exploiting a loophole where he gets to keep his beard, without really have to do anything to 'prove' himself as a follower of Norse faith - because who really knows what a follower like him is supposed to be doing? (Other than being 'metal')
Practically, this seems like one of the easier ways to keep your beard.
But maybe I'm completely wrong. Who knows. I don't know the dude.
i didn't know having a beard makes you suddenly lose all intelligence in army training/squad mechanics.
Back on topic, beards have been in the US army for fucking ever, the only reason it was "recently" outlawed was because of hygiene reasons (mostly lice), and because the gasmasks of old were shit at keeping a seal on hairy chins. In fact, the navy and coast guard only recently banned beards in 1984. Personally I don't see the issue if its neatly kept, beards and sideburns can look nice and still professional.
What's the theological reasoning for him to have a beard in his religion?
Is there a modern day religious text for Norse paganism?
Genuinely curious.
Basically no, there is no religious text akin to the bible or the koran, and there are no beard "laws" to it as far as I'm concerned, but there's definitely beard related stories.
The mythos was spread through spoken folklore, but there's a variety of written stuff from its later years that when combined gives a pretty broad picture of it.
You'd be looking for 'Snorre's Edda', 'Den eldre Edda' & lots of Icelandic sagas. Together, these form todays (slightly spotty) understanding of the Norrøn mythology.
Unlike Sikhs, Norse pagans are not required to wear beards as part of their faith, but facial hair is apparently encouraged.
If they aren't required, I personally don't see why they should be allowed in this circumstance.
I'm guessing they didn't want to bother arguing with the guy bout something they probably don't know much about.
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