Department of Defence DADT Survey

[Einzige Mk. II]

So in other words Marines do often come from at least lower-middle-class backgrounds. Which perfectly explains their relative hardheadedness on this issue versus branches which recruit from higher socioeconomic classes like, say, the Air Force. That explains it, then. Their conservatism on this issue is a natural extension of the basic conservatism of the low classes.

I dont see where it says that.  I think you are reaching somewhat with this class thing.  The Marine Corps is the youngest and by far most male service.  It is also the only service that has separate recruit training for men and women.  It is structured foremost as a combat, infantry branch.  As a young service, with less officers and a well ingrained macho tradition- you will invariably get  some anti-homosexual undercurrents- as you would in most football locker rooms.

I don't deny that all these demographics issues you point out play a role. But to deny the fact that the lower classes correlate strongly with the most socially conservative/socially collectivist individuals is to deny the truth. I myself would argue that the greater male population of the Marine Core and the stronger emphasis on a mob-mentality within it play a secondary role to its function as the service of choice of the poor.

So in other words Marines do often come from at least lower-middle-class backgrounds. Which perfectly explains their relative hardheadedness on this issue versus branches which recruit from higher socioeconomic classes like, say, the Air Force. That explains it, then. Their conservatism on this issue is a natural extension of the basic conservatism of the low classes.

You seem to be claiming that the richer you are, the more likely you are to be a social liberal. So tell me then, why did 63% of those voters who earned $200,000 or more vote for George W. Bush in 2004?

Economics. Few people - in fact, I'm the only one I can think of - vote primarily based on their social preferences, as and against their economic needs.

[patrick1]

The problem with your argument is that it is based on what I see as a the false premise that  it is the service of choice for the poor.  Just from my observations there are more people in the army who join just to put in their time and get their college degree. The USMC has more of a thrill seeking element- the class background on this would vary. The real cause of the numbers are structural. USMC is a young, male dominated, and combat  orientated service.

[Stranger in a strange land]

You have to graduate high school or get a GED to enlist in the military, so that cuts out most of the lower and a good deal of the lower-middle classes.

[dead0man]

You have to graduate high school or get a GED to enlist in the military, so that cuts out most of the lower and a good deal of the lower-middle classes.

And of the HS graduates, 1 in 4 can't pass the entrance exams to get into the military.  link

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[opebo]

You have to graduate high school or get a GED to enlist in the military, so that cuts out most of the lower and a good deal of the lower-middle classes.

You must be joking.  The great majority of the lower class has a high school degree, and virtually all of the lower-middle class has a high school degree.

Those without a high school degree or GED are the 'underclass' - a significantly smaller portion of the working class.  Getting a high school degree provides a person with almost no employability due to anti-employment economic policy which resulted in a terrible inadequacy of jobs.

[Free Palestine]

So in other words Marines do often come from at least lower-middle-class backgrounds. Which perfectly explains their relative hardheadedness on this issue versus branches which recruit from higher socioeconomic classes like, say, the Air Force. That explains it, then. Their conservatism on this issue is a natural extension of the basic conservatism of the low classes.

You're starting to sound way too much like opebo.