This post is by NO means an attempt to condone the actions of Bill Williamson, who is a terrible man as anyone in the fandom ought to know, but as I've seen some posts recently about one of his campfire monologues and after seeing about 20 "wait is he saying he got drunk and fucked a sheep??" comments I have decided that it MAY actually be worth looking into what Bill was trying to say. Or what I THINK he was trying to say at any rate. Because No, I don't think he was talking about getting drunk enough that he fucked a sheep in any sort of literal sense.
BILL: You know, when I was in the army, fellas would spend all night talking about what they were gonna do the second they left the army. Oh, all kinds of things, like “Oh I'm gonna go and be a cook, or I'm gonna go out and find me a wife.” Hell, someone's like “I'm gonna go and dance with the finest whore in San Francisco.” You know, some shit like that. You know how fellas is. (Noticing Pearson and John's reactions) Oh. Well, no offense… but you know what every one of them did the second they left the army? Join the goddamn army again! Jesus Christ. I mean, here's a group of fellas that spent every waking minute just dreaming of leaving, and-and then they left, and then they jumped back in again! And you know what, that taught me something. And-and it taught me something I will never forget. And that's that most fellas are sheep... That's right. And…if you can tell the difference between a- tell the difference between a sheep…uh, between a sheep and a man…Well you- that makes you a better man than me, sir. And that's all I'm saying. Mark my words. All of you, Mark my words… Stupid army. Sheep.
Bill starts off with this whole "When I Was In The Army..." cliché speech, during which he puts a lot of emphasis on mocking other soldiers, many of whom wanted to give themselves an idea of something to look forward to for when they were finally allowed to leave.
Notably, if you're a fan of the "Bill is gay" theory, I find it interesting to note that he is disparaging:
Men who want to cook. Cooking is not a gendered subject by any means, but put into THIS context, it's not unreasonable to think that Bill is implying that HE thinks cooking is a more feminine occupation, and he takes issue with men who are not insecure about it the way he is. Also, Pearson, the camp cook, provider of many a stew to keep the gang from starving to death, is literally sitting right there when he says this. There's no way this wasn't a dig at him in some way.
Men who want a wife. This one feels pretty self-explanatory, Your Honor. Could count as a dig at Arthur, I suppose, but I think the main emphasis is on the idea that Bill doesn't get why other men would WANT to marry women.
Men who want to spend their free time and agency enjoying themselves in the company of a woman they are not committed to. This appears to be a dig at John Marston due to his involvement with Abigail? But also if I overthink the line enough, he says "DANCE with the finest whore in San Francisco" which implies he's quoting exactly what a soldier said, and if that soldier didn't say "fuck the finest whore" like anyone else in the army would in a situation like this, then his intention probably was just to dance, to be sensitive, to let himself feel a simple pleasure that most people take for granted. Something that Bill doesn't understand, or sees as "soft," or too feminine to allow himself to indulge in.
Bill takes issue with the fact that after all their talk of leaving and dreaming of doing something else with their lives, every single one of the soldiers he knew immediately rejoined the army. I believe this is meant to showcase his lack of understanding and unempathetic regard for others. Hence, he proceeds to call them sheep. He thinks they rejoined the military because they were stupid, incapable of thinking for themselves. His point is scattered all over the place and he's trying to sound smarter than he actually is.
There were plenty of men who voluntarily joined the army during the Messiah War because it gave them a justification to commit unconscionable acts of genocide against indigenous people. I believe that Bill was one of these people.
There were also many men who ultimately did not have much of a choice in their military service. They may have been destitute and unable to find steady work anywhere else. They may have been manipulated or abused into thinking the military wasn't all that bad and by the time they realized the truth, it would've been too late to change anything. They may have been drafted into the military and lacked the skill they would need to successfully dodge the draft, or been found out as draft dodgers and captured to be forced into service. They may have been the victims of press gangs — which by this point in history were illegal and not spoken about publicly, but definitely still existed in some corners of the world.
Some may have been suicidal but felt their best chance to die would be at someone else's hands in the army. Some may have delusionally believed they were invincible and going to live forever. Any number of reasons someone could have for joining the military, this is why we're meant to criticize the Military Industrial Complex, not soldiers themselves.
Throughout the story of RDR2 we can see what the short and long term effects of war have been on several characters. Captain Monroe is a kind, honorable man who is using his position in the military for good reasons, doing everything in his power to try and help the Wapiti tribe, attempting to reverse the damage the US government has caused them by breaking treaties. Monroe's superior, Colonel Favours is a corrupt aggressor who continually provokes the Wapiti into fighting and starting another war the tribes will be destined to lose. Rains Fall has seen and led his people to endure and survive the rigors of war for many years.
Hamish fought in the Civil War and lost his leg to gangrene after being shot. He doesn't have much else to say about the past, he'd much rather focus on his passion for fishing and hunting. There is a Civil War Clingman somewhere in New Hanover who believes, 30 or so years later, that he is still guarding his post, as though the war never ended for him. The Lemoyne Raiders gang during my playthrough always seems like it skews younger in membership, so it seems to be mostly men who would've been too young to fight during the Civil War or who weren't even born yet during that time. There are a few older NPCs who seem like they were part of the confederate army during the war and clearly, they can't let go of the past either. They still wear old confederate uniforms, they raise their own armed militia, they boast about creating a free state for themselves.
There's a good point brought up by the woman asking for donations to be put toward the veteran's hall being built in Saint Denis. She states that up to 7% of the nation's veterans are without homes and that while the government is eager to turn men into soldiers, they are also quick to abandon those same soldiers after they no longer serve the purpose they were trained for. Arthur can refuse to donate and even exacerbate the woman's distress by antagonizing her with the comment 'A shelter won't do 'em any good if you ask me. What a soldier needs is a target, not a bed.' The woman will respond with 'But the war is over! The war is over...' with a defeated sigh.
Soldiers often struggle, especially if they have no support systems in place to help them, to reintegrate into civilized society after military service. Due to the prevalence of PTSD that develops during or after their enlistment period, issues such as substance abuse including alcoholism and opioid addiction is common as a means of self-medicating, and soldiers often turn to crime as a means of survival. Such appears to be the case with Bill Williamson.
BILL: You mind if I sit? You know, when I first met Dutch, when I first met many of you, I had just left the army…and it wasn't on a case of no dishonorable discharge like I'm sure some of you may have heard around here. But it was by mutual consent on account of our differing opinions, or that's how…that's how the captain put it. Differing opinions. The army? They had their opinions and I had mine. We was equals, but we went our separate ways. Now me…I…I spent a few nights sleeping rough. I admit…I, uh…funny…I…I-I-I…I was robbed. I was robbed by someone that was a…well, you know, well… No, no. It was a woman. I was robbed by a woman! And then I met Dutch. Now, unlike some of you vagrants and vagabonds and orphans and murderers, I've seen what Uncle Sam can do up close. Nothing will make you believe in a man like Dutch more than seeing what power can…what power can do to a captain in the US Army. I mean it…it-it…it corrupts a man. It corrupts a man totally. But I…I believe in Dutch. And I know, Dutch is Dutch. But I believe in him where…where he talks, I walks. And…and that's the way it's gonna be… And it was a woman! I see you chuckling…
Bill did not leave the army willingly, but he does have another campfire story where he tries to claim that he left by mutual consent which we know is not true because we can find his discharge papers that clearly state he was "DISHONORABLY DISCHARGED by reason of DEVIANCY and ATTEMPTED MURDER".
Once again, Bill's point is scattered all over the fucking place in this story. It's almost completely incoherent unless you have the words out in front of you. He starts off thinking he's going to talk about Dutch, then he gets defensive about the reason he left the army, and then he gets defensive about getting robbed as if he has to justify to the gang — most of whom have been robbed by someone at some point in their lives — as if it makes him less of a man and he has to prove himself by making up a story about how unavoidable it was. "It was a woman. I was robbed by a woman!"
At first, this might sound strange. If Bill previously insulted women, why would his campfire story center around being robbed by a woman? Surely he thinks women are inherently too weak and powerless to rob a big tough guy like himself? And here's the thing: he does think that.
But I think he's trying to use this story to do two things. The first is that he's defensive and he's trying to justify why he didn't immediately kill the person who robbed him and the only excuse he can think of for it is "because this was a woman". The second is that he's trying to gain sympathy from the gang by telling them about the evil woman who robbed him and that's why he's so ill-tempered about women. The gang expresses absolutely nothing toward this story. Bill gets upset about people chuckling and laughing at him, but he was the only person he had that reaction when he spoke about it.
Anyway, my final verdict is Bill is gay and heavily insecure in societal expectations as well as his own internalized expectations of what a man is supposed to be and so he falls into an easy trap of believing that men must be masculine and violent and emotionless. That will be all, good night.
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