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Persistent Jokester Learns The Hard Way When Frozen Boots Bring Him To His Knees

Persistent Jokester Learns The Hard Way When Frozen Boots Bring Him To His Knees

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Being in the military is very different from many other jobs. Instead of sitting at a desk all day, you might have to endure extreme physical challenges from sun up to sun down. But there are certain rules that apply in all workplaces, one of the most important being that you must treat all of your colleagues with respect.

One man recently hopped on Reddit to share the story of how someone in his boot camp decided it would be funny to become a bully. So to make sure that he put an end to the man’s behavior, the author sought icy cold revenge. Below, you’ll find the full story, as well as some of the replies from amused readers. 

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    Bullying is never acceptable, especially not in the workplace

    Image credits: wavebreakmedia_micro / freepik (not the actual photo)

    So when this man noticed that someone in his boot camp was being targeted, he found a way to get revenge on his tormentor

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    Image credits: OlhaRomaniuk / envatoelements (not the actual photo)

    Later, the author clarified a few details about the situation

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    Image credits: ENMR-OG

    Bullying only exacerbates the pre-existing mental health crisis in the military

    Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)

    There’s a common misconception that people who are physically strong or capable of incredible feats are immune to pain. If you can spend days out in a freezing cold forest with only a backpack of supplies, surely a few insults won’t hurt your feelings, right? In reality, however, we’re all human. And it never feels good to be picked on or made fun of, especially not by people you have to live and work with every single day. 

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    A recent survey from JAMA Network found that approximately 12% of combat soldiers experienced bullying or hazing while away on deployment. What’s even more concerning is the impact that this harassment can have on members of the military.

    Some soldiers reported that they have since developed mental health issues, such as major depression, explosive anger, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation and even substance use disorder. 

    Researchers also noted that the chance of developing these issues increased after being bullied or hazed, even among people who were already at a higher risk due to their socioeconomic background or medical history.  

    Mental health issues are already extremely prevalent in the military, so there is absolutely no reason why anyone should be playing with fire and increasing another person’s risk for developing these conditions. Health.mil reports that, during 2022, over 17% of “active duty service members had some form of psychological health concern for which they sought treatment.”

    Meanwhile, members of the military lose their lives four times more often by their own choice than in war operations. Mental health is no laughing matter, and being a bystander in situations like the one described in this story can be extremely dangerous.

    Everyone who witnesses bullying is culpable if they do nothing to stop it

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    Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)

    So what should members of the military do when they witness or experience bullying? The simple answer is: report it and put a stop to it immediately.

    The Army, for example, has a very clear stance on harassment and even notes that aggressors will be held accountable, even if the victim consents to their behavior.  

    The Law Office of Matthew Barry explains that some behaviors that are considered bullying include: physically striking another person; intimidating, teasing, mocking and spreading rumors; oral or written berating of another person; encouraging another person to engage in illegal, harmful, demeaning, or dangerous acts; playing abusive or malicious tricks; branding, handcuffing, duct taping, tattooing, shaving, greasing, painting, hitting, spitting on, shoving another person; forcing another person to consume food, alcohol, drugs, etc.; degrading or damaging another’s property or reputation.

    There’s never an excuse to engage in these kinds of behaviors, especially when you’re part of an organization that’s supposed to work together to protect your country. In fact, Army General Martin E. Dempsey made it clear in a 2011 press release that even bystanders of bullying are not innocent, if they do nothing to put a stop to it.

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    “We are duty bound to protect one another from hazing in any form,” Dempsey shared.

    We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think this man did the right thing by getting revenge on this boot camp bully? Feel free to weigh in, and then if you’d like to read another Bored Panda article discussing similar themes, look no further than right here!

    Amused readers applauded the author for his clever revenge, and some shared similar stories of their own

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    Adelaide Ross

    Adelaide Ross

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    Howdy, I'm Adelaide! I'm originally from Texas, but after graduating from university with an acting degree, I relocated to sunny Los Angeles for a while. I then got a serious bite from the travel bug and found myself moving to Sweden and England before settling in Lithuania about two years ago. I'm passionate about animal welfare, sustainability and eating delicious food. But as you can see, I cover a wide range of topics including drama, internet trends and hilarious memes. I can easily be won over with a Seinfeld reference, vegan pastry or glass of fresh cold brew. And during my free time, I can usually be seen strolling through a park, playing tennis or baking something tasty.

    Read less »
    Adelaide Ross

    Adelaide Ross

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Howdy, I'm Adelaide! I'm originally from Texas, but after graduating from university with an acting degree, I relocated to sunny Los Angeles for a while. I then got a serious bite from the travel bug and found myself moving to Sweden and England before settling in Lithuania about two years ago. I'm passionate about animal welfare, sustainability and eating delicious food. But as you can see, I cover a wide range of topics including drama, internet trends and hilarious memes. I can easily be won over with a Seinfeld reference, vegan pastry or glass of fresh cold brew. And during my free time, I can usually be seen strolling through a park, playing tennis or baking something tasty.

    Viktorija Ošikaitė

    Viktorija Ošikaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I'm a visual editor here at Bored Panda and I enjoy a good laugh. My work ranges from serious topics related to toxic work environments and relationship difficulties to humorous articles about online shopping fails and introvert memes. When I'm not at my work desk, checking if every single pixel is in the right place, I usually spend my free time playing board games, taking pictures, and watching documentaries

    Read less »

    Viktorija Ošikaitė

    Viktorija Ošikaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm a visual editor here at Bored Panda and I enjoy a good laugh. My work ranges from serious topics related to toxic work environments and relationship difficulties to humorous articles about online shopping fails and introvert memes. When I'm not at my work desk, checking if every single pixel is in the right place, I usually spend my free time playing board games, taking pictures, and watching documentaries

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    Ionescu Popa
    Community Member
    7 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    i am writing u this from an unacknowledged secret prison; justice triumphed!

    Steve Sharpe
    Community Member
    14 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    [1/🧵] We have a tradition in the British Army - quite a few actually - and the one for Christmas morning is we have something called Gunfire: the highest ranking Regimental personalities, either the CSM & OC, RSM & CO or whatever the equivalent positions are called (if there's one thing we love more than abbreviations it's having three dozen different words for the same thing), the most senior soldier and the most senior rupert bring all the juniors a cup of tea in bed. If you're on duty or on ops it's a mug of tea with a good dash of rum in it, if you're in barracks it's often a mug of rum with a good dash of tea in it. Made my own this morning, added a modern twist by using a Stanley Quencher instead of a mug, sat at my desk with 21 photographs of men I've been lucky enough to call friends but won't be having gunfire, turkey, family time or anything else. Posted the big pile of Christmas cards stuffed with red portraits of HM QEII (translation for non Brit's: £50 notes) to..

    Steve Sharpe
    Community Member
    13 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    [2/🧵] girlfriends, partners, wives a couple of mothers, widows one and all, and far too many f*****g kids, most of who aren't really kids anymore. We all have our burdens to carry. To a certain degree I hold at least some respect towards all soldiers, belligerent or otherwise, because of shared experience (genocidal religious terrorists are an entirely different matter, regardless of what type of meat they eat or what day of the week they eat it on), but american troops are a very, very long way from the top of this list and there's a /lot/ of reasons behind that, but perhaps that's a conversation for another day - because if I mention how many of these photographs should have a label that says "courtesy of the USA" on them, or the lengths that murrica will go to to protect incompetent, unprofessional, imbeciles who hoot and holler with delight whilst murdering British soldiers - my f*****g friends, couple of boys I first met when we joined up aged 15..

    Load More Replies...
    Ben Aziza
    Community Member
    14 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The comments are Arnold Schwarzenegger in batman levels of "cool".

    Ionescu Popa
    Community Member
    7 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    i am writing u this from an unacknowledged secret prison; justice triumphed!

    Steve Sharpe
    Community Member
    14 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    [1/🧵] We have a tradition in the British Army - quite a few actually - and the one for Christmas morning is we have something called Gunfire: the highest ranking Regimental personalities, either the CSM & OC, RSM & CO or whatever the equivalent positions are called (if there's one thing we love more than abbreviations it's having three dozen different words for the same thing), the most senior soldier and the most senior rupert bring all the juniors a cup of tea in bed. If you're on duty or on ops it's a mug of tea with a good dash of rum in it, if you're in barracks it's often a mug of rum with a good dash of tea in it. Made my own this morning, added a modern twist by using a Stanley Quencher instead of a mug, sat at my desk with 21 photographs of men I've been lucky enough to call friends but won't be having gunfire, turkey, family time or anything else. Posted the big pile of Christmas cards stuffed with red portraits of HM QEII (translation for non Brit's: £50 notes) to..

    Steve Sharpe
    Community Member
    13 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    [2/🧵] girlfriends, partners, wives a couple of mothers, widows one and all, and far too many f*****g kids, most of who aren't really kids anymore. We all have our burdens to carry. To a certain degree I hold at least some respect towards all soldiers, belligerent or otherwise, because of shared experience (genocidal religious terrorists are an entirely different matter, regardless of what type of meat they eat or what day of the week they eat it on), but american troops are a very, very long way from the top of this list and there's a /lot/ of reasons behind that, but perhaps that's a conversation for another day - because if I mention how many of these photographs should have a label that says "courtesy of the USA" on them, or the lengths that murrica will go to to protect incompetent, unprofessional, imbeciles who hoot and holler with delight whilst murdering British soldiers - my f*****g friends, couple of boys I first met when we joined up aged 15..

    Load More Replies...
    Ben Aziza
    Community Member
    14 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The comments are Arnold Schwarzenegger in batman levels of "cool".

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