My loyal readers recall that I publicly broke with the San Francisco veterans' community some time ago. It was a gradual break. I tried to make a difference by serving on the city's Veterans Affairs Commission and volunteering with the American Legion. It was all for naught. I can only relate to high-quality people and this particular veterans' community is overwhelmed with bottom-feeders.
I can only take so much stupidity in life. I got tired of hearing veterans scream for more government benefits when they could easily be working for a living. I did not want to be around liars and scammers who were perennially unemployed. I did not want to deal with emergency calls to the War Memorial Veterans Building for drug overdoses or explain open flames to city officials. I detested in particular one Stolen Valor fraud who got a free pass for years and still runs around town claiming victimhood. That fake "ronin" guy claimed a background in real estate that no one could verify. He will eventually face indictment for his schemes but that won't stop the other frauds running around who are very much like him. The few real leaders in the community who were doing great work considered me to be their heir apparent. I ran away from that role once I realized I could not save the rest of the veterans' community from itself.
There are such things as "professional veterans" whose primary aim in life is to exploit the compassion of the non-veteran population. These pros don't want careers. They want society to pay them to do nothing. I don't think the professional veterans comprise more than a small sliver of the entire veteran population but they give the rest of us vets a bad name. I don't like having my reputation dragged through the mud by association with walking leeches.
Veterans who want to be productive in civilian life should join VetsinTech. They launch nationally this week and I'll be on hand at their San Francisco kickoff event. These veterans are not the whiny losers that the media and other veteran "leaders" like to portray. Join us at Rackspace in San Francisco this Thursday to watch veterans build their own projects. Stolen Valor scammers will not be allowed entry. Whiners and leeches need not apply. Veterans pursuing tech careers don't need handouts from me or anyone else, because they're proving they can help themselves.
I can only take so much stupidity in life. I got tired of hearing veterans scream for more government benefits when they could easily be working for a living. I did not want to be around liars and scammers who were perennially unemployed. I did not want to deal with emergency calls to the War Memorial Veterans Building for drug overdoses or explain open flames to city officials. I detested in particular one Stolen Valor fraud who got a free pass for years and still runs around town claiming victimhood. That fake "ronin" guy claimed a background in real estate that no one could verify. He will eventually face indictment for his schemes but that won't stop the other frauds running around who are very much like him. The few real leaders in the community who were doing great work considered me to be their heir apparent. I ran away from that role once I realized I could not save the rest of the veterans' community from itself.
There are such things as "professional veterans" whose primary aim in life is to exploit the compassion of the non-veteran population. These pros don't want careers. They want society to pay them to do nothing. I don't think the professional veterans comprise more than a small sliver of the entire veteran population but they give the rest of us vets a bad name. I don't like having my reputation dragged through the mud by association with walking leeches.
Veterans who want to be productive in civilian life should join VetsinTech. They launch nationally this week and I'll be on hand at their San Francisco kickoff event. These veterans are not the whiny losers that the media and other veteran "leaders" like to portray. Join us at Rackspace in San Francisco this Thursday to watch veterans build their own projects. Stolen Valor scammers will not be allowed entry. Whiners and leeches need not apply. Veterans pursuing tech careers don't need handouts from me or anyone else, because they're proving they can help themselves.
