beantownbubba wrote:This is a serious question. I"m not being rhetorical or trying to set anyone up. What do the veterans among us think about this Purple Heart thing w/ Trump (he always wanted one; he accepted one from someone who earned it; and he said that was an easier way of getting one)? I'll say up front that I was flabbergasted. It seems beyond disrespectful and totally lacking in understanding of vets and the military (who WANTS a purple heart? Who accepts an unearned military medal?). But of course that's second hand "learned behavior" for me (i.e. I've been taught what it means and to respect it, but I haven't lived it). To those for whom this is presumably most meaningful, is it less than it appears or as disrespectful as I think it is?
I really don't know what to say. I'm personally disgusted by it and it makes me angry. But I see so much everyday as a veteran that, sadly, this is nothing new. I run into people a lot more often than you would believe who claim to have been Marines. My b.s. Detector is pretty sharp but especially so when it comes to this. When I get that feeling I just let them talk. They give themselves away within a minute more often than not. I've handled it a lot of different ways but anymore I just stare at them and don't respond verbally at all to whatever they're saying. Silence makes most people uncomfortable and I'm pretty good at it. They usually know they've been caught and walk away. I won't get too bogged down in it but I work with a guy who claims to have been in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of one of these private security companies. The war stories this guy tells are so over the top outlandish and untrue that it's almost too much to be believed. It made me mad initially but after he found out about my background (from somebody else. Not me) he started trying to be my buddy. I mean trying hard. Now I just laugh at him. I've thought about outing him a few different times but I haven't so far.
Back to Trump. This is not to say that I'm not bothered by what Trump said along with some of the other things he's said. It pisses me off. But the truth is, most people are so freaking clueless about this stuff. People across the board. I appreciate the folks who are real supportive of veterans and the military and are real patriotic. But most them are clueless too. It's not their fault. They can't help that they don't know what they don't know and there is no way to explain it to them. Of course the folks on the other side of it are just as clueless. Trump doesn't even know what a Purple Heart means. I know what he thinks it means. But he has no clue. I don't have one thank God but have friends who do and my dad does. Trump pissed on the entire thing. But most politicians make me pretty angry when it comes to the military to be honest. I didn't vote for John McCain but it was pretty hard not to and it made me pretty angry at how he was characterized by the democrats compared to Obama. I understand they had to treat him a certain way because they wanted to beat him but that election was such a joke to me. You had one man who has given more for his country than 99.9% of the people walking this earth. Then opposite him you had a guy who had done basically nothing. And the first guy was treated like a joke and the second was treated like he was the hero.
America and its military have an odd relationship and part of that has to do with us being an all volunteer force. The Marine Corps has an especially odd relationship with the rest of the country. Honestly, most Marines are pretty disgusted by American society. They will gladly fight to the death for their country but contemporary American society is just about completely antithetical to Marine Corps culture. A society that respects almost nothing and views concepts like loyalty, honor, sacrifice, among other concepts as passé and foolish. Most Marines have a hard time when they first ingrate back into society. I'm no exception. Most days I feel like I do pretty good now. But I also keep my mouth shut a lot and don't say some of what I would like to say.
Trump showed his ass again when addressing the Khan family. The only reason Hillary's rear end isn't in serious trouble right now where the election is concerned is because he said something really disrespectful and stupid. Again, he doesn't have a clue. Of course there are things coming out about Khan's father right now that are pretty disgusting to me but that's beside the point as far as what trump said.
I'm rambling some but I'm just typing this as it comes to me. Yeah I'm disgusted by Trump's lack of understanding and lack of respect. I'm just not surprised by it.
And as a veteran, I absolutely, positively loathe Hillary Clinton. She totally disgusts me.
I guess that's all for now.
A single shot rifle and a one eyed dog.
