There’s nothing quite like evoking ‘the troops’ to smugly make your point in whatever nonsense argument you’re embroiled in on Facebook or Twitter. The topic is often irrelevant.

“But what about our homeless veterans?” has become one of the least meaningful debate points to exist in our extremely volatile political state. People whip out the Homeless Veteran card at the drop of a hat. They clearly believe they’ve found a trump card that entitles them to never be wrong. The debate-winning statement that absolves them of critical thinking, and helps them avoid cognitive dissonance.

Stop it. Stop it right now. Stop using the lives, experiences and oaths of millions of people you do not personally know as your Get Out Of Critical Thinking Free Card.

Stop.

There’s no doubt there are loads of conservative veterans, but there are also a lot of liberal, centrist, and moderate veterans. Just like the rest of the US, a depressingly high percentage of potential voters in the military do not in fact vote—and worse, those who vote from abroad often don’t get their votes counted.

Point is, while some veterans may agree with whatever point you’re trying to make, they don’t speak for all of us. And neither do you.

Veterans are collectively being used as a monolithic pawn every time someone’s feelings are hurt by liberal politicians, businesses and organizations disagreeing with their politics.

“What about the homeless veterans?” was probably the number-one conservative talking point after “Get out of my country” while the current administration was being criticized for jailing refugees and hiding their children, 12,000 of whom are still locked up away from their parents months after the federal courts ordered the White House to release them.

But what are mere federal laws to a reality TV star and his band of extremely indictable sycophants? Inapplicable. That’s the word we’re looking for.

“I want to see every homeless veteran taken care of before a single refugee,” said virtually everyone invoking veterans throughout the (still ongoing) crisis. You can still see these people in the digital wild on any political thread that touches on refugees and child concentration camps. I don’t doubt they don’t want to help refugees, but I do doubt that they give more than a moment’s thought to those homeless veterans when they’re not arguing with someone on social media.

Because at every opportunity, these folks gleefully vote for candidates who vow to eliminate the very programs that help the homeless, regardless of their deployment history.

My collection of the only times I’ve heard about how much people care about homeless veterans:

1. During the multiple attempts to ban immigrants from the Middle Eastern countries Trump doesn’t own businesses in,
2. When discussing social welfare for the working poor (which, incidentally, also benefits service members and veterans),
3. When discussing universal healthcare,
4. When discussing immigration (whether legal or illegal), and
5. Any and every iteration of foreign aid outside of Israel.

Isn’t it bizarre how the homeless veterans never actually benefit from all this caring that these people claim to do? How do we even still have homeless veterans?

The latest round of “but the veterans” is in response to Colin Kaepernick becoming the new face of Nike. Similarly to previous conservative meltdowns over the likes of J.K. Rowling and Keurig, the immediate response to the Nike ad was toddler-like tantrums resulting in people destroying their own stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz0VGfTLO7g

Not that anyone is bothered by you setting fire to your books and DVDs (says Rowling: the fumes are probably toxic and she already has your money, so you can borrow her lighter) or taking a golf club to your expensive coffee machine, but your hypocrisy is well more visible when you’re cutting up and setting fire to serviceable clothing and shoes.

Guess who could use a nice, durable pair of shoes, a warm hoodie, comfy track pants and clean t-shirt? Especially with autumn and winter ahead?

Homeless veterans could. Do you think you’re harming Nike? This was a calculated move that paid off: Nike stock soared to its highest-ever level. Sales increased by 31%. You’re not sticking it to The Man, you’re just highlighting your own instability.

So you could have helped homeless veterans and rid yourself of all your now-tainted liberal Nike goods. Two birds, one stone.

But actually helping veterans wasn’t ever really the point, was it? The point was to ‘win’ a debate. Online. With strangers. About a Nike commercial.

Stop.

And reconsider who the ‘snowflakes’ are next time you set something on fire in your yard because liberals exist.

For information about the warning signs and

• If you’d like to help veterans, there’s nothing too big or small. While shopping online you can use the Amazon charity-oriented alternate address smile.amazon.com and choose among thousands of charities to receive a percentage of the money you spend.
• Wondering about PTSD in veterans? Visit https://online.maryville.edu/online-bachelors-degrees/psychology/understanding-a-veteran-with-ptsd
• Here in Denver, you can help by donating time, money and goods. Here’s a list to get you started:
• https://www.voacolorado.org/gethelp-denvermetro-veterans
• https://www.coloradocoalition.org/veterans
• https://samhousedenver.org/veterans/
• https://www.cvrcforvets.org/
• http://bodhibattalion.org/voluteer-for-veterans/