Not sure if this is the right community to post this, but I’ll give it a shot.
One of my very good friends is planning on going into the Navy in about a year. He’s generally a moderate left leaning kinda guy, but is trans. He comes from a navy family which is part of the reason he decided to go in the first place. He’s going into mechanics and stuff and not combat which is slightly better I guess, but it’s very concerning to me that he’s planning on joining especially because he’s trans. I also feel that ethically, actively participating in that system is bad.
How can I dissuade him from joining? I don’t wanna go full force argument mode because it’s ultimately his choice but I would like advice on how to softly nudge him away from it without affecting our friendship negatively. Thanks.
It’s not your decision, you need to respect your friend’s choices, even when they’re against what you would do.
Best you can do is sit him down and state your concerns, but unless you’re willing to throw away the relationship, you have to make it very clear up front that you’re going to stick with him no matter what.
Also, while there is always the chance of getting stuck in a bad situation, the military is extremely open minded with respect to the trans aspect. The upper leadership has made that very clear to Congress. Might want to make sure your assumptions are correct before you start the conversation.