constellation

iTrader: (1)

Who is the victim here? Is anyone actually effected by the fact that some dorks play dress up and shoot each other with glorified bbguns? Yes, its a crime here to wear medals that arent yours, but unless you are walking around town acting important with that narcissistic strut that all men in uniform unwittingly adopt, you arent going to get nabbed, and even then its rare - because nobody but ex-military stiffs with a gutshot sense of pride GIVE A GODDAMN. NOBODY CARES. Let the dorks live their fantasy life, its no different than playing CS, except for its a bit more expensive and you get a work out and a few welts if you suck.
Quit pretending that because some nerd bought a uniform at the salvation army, some vet gets thrown out of a resturant because the respect for them has been tarnished that much.

subaruguru

Maybe it's not offensive to you because you don't think much of the awards in the first place. It's not an issue of who's thrown out of restaraunts or whether some vet personally sees the medals; it's an issue of what the proper respect for decorations and military honors should be. The "dorks" can have all the fantasy life they want in their heads...but they shouldn't be allowed to make a joke of real accomplishments by real soldiers by wearing the medals in public. War and military honor is serious business, and it should be treated as such by the rest of us as long as we expect those kinds of sacrifices to be made.

Salty

iTrader: (14)

Well said, Dave!



Maybe the real veterans of current and past wars that spilled their blood, died and earned those decorations?!

constellation

iTrader: (1)

No, unless you want to get overly symbolic with it, the veterans of past and present wars are NOT victims because people pretend to be soldiers, wearing medals that were donated to thrift stores and army surpluses for use in bbgun wars - that rediculous. It has absolutley no effect on anyone, and while i agree with you that it shouldn't be done out of respect, it really isnt that big of a deal. Technically then, civil war reenactors shouldn't be allowed to do what they do. Now, i could be argued that the civil war stuff is "out of respect", but I assure you that lots of those guys just want to have fun and play pretend in uniform. It also gives people just a fleeting glimpse of what it feels like to be a part of somthing larger than themselves, even if it is fake. Why do you think online gaming communites are so large? I say let the dorks do what they like as long as they dont try and actually pretend to be important around people who arent in on the gag.

Salty

iTrader: (14)

You're missing the point...

You can dress in modern era BDUs, medieval plate armor an the blue and grey wool of a civil war solider all day long and it's not a major problem. Especially if there's a reenactment and you're not wearing the a Victoria Cross around your neck while running across an open field.

It is a problem when posers stand in uniform while wearing awards of valor. It's not like these guys are playing airsoft in class "A's" (what they're wearing in the photo). They're taking a photo with awards of valor & merit with a very proud look on their face (at "parade rest") as if they're the real deal... it's a mockery of those real men and women that earned those awards.

constellation

iTrader: (1)

But not an intentional one, I'm sure these guys didn't gather around and say "hey, lets make a mockery of blah blah blah, it will be so funny". They aren't trying to disrespect those people, and like i said its almost backhanded flattery. I'm not missing the point because there is none - it effects absolutley nothing but your pride. So if your argument is that they shouldn't be allowed to do that, then i say to hell wth ya - but if you are just saying that they are idiots, then yeah, you're right - they are. However, i defend their right to be idiots, as long as the absolute extent of damage they could do is just hurt some peoples feelings. Symbolism is only important to the people who understand the symbols - so with that I'll hand the riegns back over to you, its your war - you just can't expect civies like me to understand.