MovieChat Forums > Taps (1981) Discussion > Townies harassing cadets outside at the ...

Townies harassing cadets outside at the ball


What I don't understand is; why were those townie kids outside provoking and shouting at the cadets and their guests at the ball? What was the motivation ? Did they really have nothing better to do ? It just didn't make sense to me.

reply

I remember asking a guy this same question -- he was a cadet like these boys and transferred to my high school shortly after this film came out. He said that a lot of these military academies buy land in in small towns because they can get it cheap. So you get a lot of lower-class "townie" types who resent the presence of these guys living there, stealing their girls, etc. Kinda like the townies in "An Officer and a Gentlemen" harassing Richard Gere in that one bar scene.

reply

At that time too in the early 80's we were less than a decade out of Vietnam and that war left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths so it's possible the town kids resented the cadets, plus like another said, it's likely that a majority of the girls were from that town which of course wouldn't sit well with the local boys.

reply

They were drunk as the proverbial skunk.

reply

Because the cadets are easy targets, they are supposed to fight back. Of course when they do you get your arse kicked and cry victim just as these townies did. In fact one gets shot.

The cadets were stupid to get involved and the Academy Dean or whatever his title was, was an idiot to come out armed like that.

reply

Cause they were taking all their girls. The townies in An Officer and A Gentleman were peeved for the same reason.

reply

pure us and them mentality, and a desire to fight.

like football hooligans , or racists

reply

Or BLM, or ANTIFA.

reply

"Townie" kids are in every community that also has a military school. There will always be a segment of population that can best be described as nothing but egotistical bullies.

I went to a military school in Florida from 7th grade through 12th. Cadets were constant and consistent targets of derision and violence from townies because we were required to wear school uniforms while off-campus.

In my senior year a small group of cadets and I were walking back to campus from a pizza parlor a few blocks away. We were stopped, harrassed, and eventually attacked by a larger group of "townies." While others in my group were being shoved around, I was "blind-side" assaulted by what turned out to be a very large AWOL Marine from Camp Lejune. I was severely injured and pressed charges, much to the chagrin of the school as they didn't want the "bad press." I testified at his trial and he was sentenced to a year in jail, after which he was returned to the Marines for their punishment.

The following year, the school dropped the requirement for wearing uniforms off-campus.

reply

this come from tribal feelings

human beings are tribes.

military tribes like one from military school will attract attention from local tribes who see you invading there turfs. they see you as enemy.

reply

I'm guessing that sending your kids to that military academy wasn't cheap so there was probably a social class thing going on, the townies not liking the rich kids in their town. The Academy kids looked cool in their uniforms so may have been taking the girls - if of course they were allowed ample free time off campus to do so which I kind of doubt.

I'd say mainly it would be because the townies can push the military kids around and probably just get a smack on the wrist but if the military kids fight back they could get expelled and if they have ambitions to join the real military as adults it may ruin them.

So the military kids are easy targets.

reply