-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Lindsey Stone, a 30-year-old Massachusetts native, has been terminated because of the photo (shown left) she posted on her Facebook page. Lindsey worked for LIFE (Living Independent Forever), a Cape Cod-based nonprofit organization that assists adults with learning disabilities. Jamie Schuh, who took the photo, and Lindsey’s supervisor at LIFE, was also terminated.
The two were on a company-paid trip to Washington D.C. when the photo was taken. The photo shows Lindsey mocking a sign at Arlington National Cemetery. The photo went viral and over 30,000 people liked a Facebook page set up to demand her firing. The two have apologized for the gag:
We never meant any disrespect to any of the people nationwide who have served this country and defended our freedom so valiantly.
While the photo obviously mocks the sign, many apparently thought it mocked those buried at Arlington National Cemetery. A sign demanding “Silence and Respect” deserves to be mocked. The wording of the sign projects a sense of arrogance and entitlement common to institutions that view themselves as sacred cows.
Adding the word “Please” to the sign would change the command to a request, a more sensible sentiment.
H/T: Mano Singham, Gawker, Boston Herald.
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Copy that, OS.
“We are honoring our own sense of guilt, perhaps, almost as an excuse for the failure to find a better way than war.”
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Armchair amateur psychoanalysis. A bunch of that famous barnyard product. It is a CEMETERY for chrissakes. If a person acts like a refugee from the fourth grade in any cemetery, they should expect to be treated like an immature twit.
This:
“We are honoring our own sense of guilt, perhaps, almost as an excuse for the failure to find a better way than war.”
DonS
junctionshamus,
Symbols have unspoken power. It is part of the reason I find propaganda and branding such interesting subjects. It’s also why I find passing along how such things work to be important. It’s like showing how a magic trick works; you may still appreciate the trick once you know how it is done, but its power – its mystery – no longer holds with the same sway as before.
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Don’t get me wrong, mespo. I’m all for passion, but I still maintain reason is the light that leads through what can otherwise be a very destructive storm of emotion. To use an example of your ancestral countrymen, it took passion to envision Rome, but reason to build it and when it fell, it fell to a variety of uncontrolled emotions as much as it did to the actions of the Visigoths, Vandals, Suebi and Alans. From general malaise to individual avarice and ego worship, the vision could not be maintained once reason was lost. And the day Marcus Aurelius died could fairly be described as the day reason died in the body politic of Rome. In many ways, the parallels to modern America are striking.
And what Rick said.
Mespo, I am cool with that.
Gene H:
“This has changed from a rational discussion of rights to an emotional discussion of patriotism and heroism.
That is all.”
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Strong felt sentiments tend to bring that out in people. Worked pretty well for Patrick Henry.
ID:
“When the regulars who hate my guts hop in and support my opponents with reasons they would never take into their mouths, then it will be pointed at them. First OS and then Messpo.”
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Won’t speak for OS, but Bogey gets it and expresses my sentiments a little harshly but about right:
(1:47)
@Gene – PESD – Post-Election Stress Disorder?
or…
Perhaps it’s the location of the transgression, seemingly more important than the transgression itself? Were it not at that location, would it have even mattered? Perhaps an individual with a bullhorn shouting in the direction of, and flipping off a “Hospital Zone” sign might have had a different result on this thread? A polling question: Which would you find more offensive, if at all, this situation or the hospital zone situation?
The power of a single, simple image, no symbol, is once again proven.
Nal, you crafty, magnificent SOB…
But you, Gene, are correct.
“Comfort in expressing your emotions will allow you to share the best of yourself with others, but not being able to control your emotions will reveal your worst.” – Bryant H McGill
This has changed from a rational discussion of rights to an emotional discussion of patriotism and heroism.
That is all.
I707 – Sorry for bad assumption – it used to be you could click on “junctionshamus” and it would link to my site. No longer, so be it. If the Gods permit, the site is http://www.wallinvestigations.com. And yes in real life, I do look like Peter Sellers’… butt.
“Anti-devolved” – just meaning what we’ve “devolved” to as a country. Almost an equal amount of takers as there are givers, trending downwards, Kennedy’s “Ask not…” in Superman’s Bizarro World. A friend pointed out seven states where the benefits received from the government exceed the amount given in Federal revenue.
But, at the end of the day, almost all of us go home.
If our antagonists don’t show up, I guess I’ll just have to call you a “Doo-doo-caca-pee-pee head” and we’ll see what happens.
@DonS – I’m not prone to violence myself – the incident I referred to wasn’t a fit of pique, but an act of self defense. The individual said they were going to hand my ass to me, then initiated the physical part of the assault. I was lucky, and I’d rather be lucky than good, as the old saw goes.
Back to you, I707 – It’s late in your part of the world, so sleep well.
Gosh, you go away for a few hours and all hell breaks loose. Great, I say. Often too much seems calculated hereabouts.
Can’t say I’m anymore impressed with how JunctionShamus comports himself. Maybe because I’ve just spent big bucks getting surgery, implants and a new bridge across the front of my mouth, but knocking out teeth in a fit of pique doesn’t impress me overly.
Which is not to say that anyone asking me about my service would be impressed either. Not that I care, because I think that military violence is, in a word, about as stupid and insane as it get’s on this planet.
Having said that, a part of me respects draftees service perhaps more that enlistees because, well, they never asked for it, but gave none the less. Better or worse depending. Same goes for our vaunted volunteer (and all the variations thereof) warriors.
You know, I haven’t been impressed by one’s representation of military service (as opposed to saying it’s just ‘part of life’) since, in college, during Viet era, when one particular animal-like co-student uttered the immortal phrase describing his thirst for battle: “I just want to get over there and kill gooks”.
Neither do I disparage individual military service, their being no way to judge it’s weight except for the few celebrated ones. But I sure don’t glorify it because in many, if not most instances, the “glory” that got folks buried in Arlington has been based on the gross stupidity, cupidity, and callous ignorance of what it means to be human. How the hell am I supposed to know which of those poor buried souls was really exceptional. We are honoring our own sense of guilt, perhaps, almost as an excuse for the failure to find a better way than war. En masses, it is a tribute to our side is more right than yours. Individually it is a crap shoot. Like most representations of emotion, Arlinglton says much more about us than them IMVHO .
I’d like to think we can do better but, to this day and counting, it doesn’t look that way. There is no “our side” and “their side” in the bigger picture. Just groveling around in the basement of human possibilities.
Now tell me what a cold and sorry fool I am.
Dear Shamus,
I’ll take what you said and drop in some comments, solely peaceful.
“I707 – Re: Ex-pat? Just needling. I know by your previous comments your there for personal reasons, and not anti-US, maybe anti-devolved American society. I respect your opinions more than most as you are a dues payer. While you might have been drafted, you went willingly. Put it on the line for any eventuality.
/////don’t know what “anti-devolved etc” means but let it ride. Facing a certain draft in the late 50’s I took the ROTC route to a cushier and order giving position, and became willingly a total tin soldier embracing all the ideals.
In my personal e-mails, I have a tag-line which reads: A veteran – whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve – is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America,” for an amount of “up to and including my life.” That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it. — Author Unknown
I still stand by this, not for myself, but out of respect to the men and women who were willing to do so voluntarily, or did when ordered to do so.
////Well many don’t know but we faced many crises in that period ’60-62. The Soviets blocked ground supply to Berlin again. Our response was not obvious, we had the nuke option. We were prolonged on indefinite service then. Then came Cuba, missiles aimed at us, and Kruschev making noise—-who would blink. Then my former roommate was shipped with his Sig Bn to Nam, guarded by Vietnamese against Charlie, sitting on a hill top with flyswatter antennas. (I also learned to tune one up, klystrons are tricky). It all wasn’t scary, but hairy.
While I’d rather you see for yourself, I’ll tell you I was an intel analyst and CI special agent from the late 70s to the late 80s. The details are on my page. Nothing high-speed/low drag, but interesting enough to say the least
//// Where’s your page? I figured that you didn’t say, because you couldn’t. I wasn’t CI, but field test of classified surveillance including nuclear surveillance gear. One was a doppler radar for picking out small arms armed soldiers in desert terrain. Cool.
Re: My boot + her ass. 66.6% figurative-33.3% literal. For “a swift kick in the ass comment,” you and JAG had no problems in escalating the battle to one of argumentum ad hominem, and objectively, I might say, “So, who are the asses now,” but I won’t. Maybe the three of us have gone about the ass-route gloriously, so I’ll extend an olive branch at this time, to get back to the core issue, of who was the first ass… My vote, Lindsey Stone.
Re: “BTW – Whether someone agrees with me in whole or in part, I’ve never considered that as having them fight my battles for me…” It sounded as though you were castigating someone for picking up my spear. Perhaps the error was mine.
////When the regulars who hate my guts hop in and support my opponents with reasons they would never take into their mouths, then it will be pointed at them. First OS and then Messpo. A couple of others will drop around soon, except for the fact that we have peace now. Which is nice.
Finally – the answer to your (and others’) questions about acronyms:
REMF – Rear-echelon mother-f***er
DILLIGAF – Does It Look Like I Give a F***
I’ll let you get back to your evening’s activities.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob
Thanks for seeing and being man enough to grasp the olive branch. Kudos to you for that. So few can here. My brother spent 2 years in Hanau in the same Sig Bn as my buddy went to Nam in, the 322nd during the Korean War. So we have links there. He never mentioned Hanau, probably forbidden, but did ofter refer to Frankfurt am Main. Respectfully back at you
JAG – Maybe I misunderstood – the last person that said they were going to “hand my ass to me” ended up losing teeth. Guess I missed that in your rapier-like wit.
Now, since the object of communication is to impart information in a way the listener understands it, it would have to have: (1) Substance; (2) Relevance; (3) Significance or importance.
Three strikes and you’re out… Literally.
I remember when I was a hospital voluntereer, a ‘candystriper”. We were told the only reason we could be fired was for “internitis”, having a crush on or acting foolishly around the interns (as teenagers are sometimes wont to do when they see someone really cute.)
Who decided what behavior constituted this disorder?
Anyone who observed a behavior that he/she/ or an intern him/herself thought was ‘googly eyed” and reported it.
As already said was a private company, she behaved in a way her employer felt was not appropriate.
Head of the company, head of the volunteers office, their definitions, their determination.
oh yeah, misandry?
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YOU try to paint me out as some dumb girl who is only interested in fashion, rather than reply to the many comments I made on this topic…. and YOU call me SEXIST????
That is RICH!!!!
and in case you do not understand what that phrase means…. (being you failed to understand that Hand your ass to you, is FIGURATIVE)
It means that your comment was ironic…. a slang for … That is FUNNY….
JAG – “Hand (my) ass to (me) sounds like a threat. Do I perceive that as a forerunner of violence to come, or just general… oh yeah, misandry?
junction shamus:
“(1/2)Arlington is THE highest place for military honor and respect to fallen heroes; (3) It is also my father’s resting place. Were it that JAG had more respect for her grandfather.”
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I agree with your comments about Arlington National Cemetery though I think Gettysburg and Normandy deserve some mention, too. It’s beyond me that any adult could stand in the midst of the immense sacrifice that place represents and still act as though she were on a middle school trip to Disneyland. There are some lines you do not cross in a society lest you feel the wrath most all of us — not an observation particularly legal or well sourced or even logical, but somehow deeply human.
I have a fourth choice, but it’s completely personal – Remagen. My father was in one of the first troop units to cross. When I was stationed in Hanau (near Frankfurt am Main), I decided to make the trip up there to see first hand what my father’s stories were about.
After a day of checking out both sides of the former bridge site, I returned to the gastatte where I was staying. In the stube, an older gentleman was drinking a beer. After introductions, he asked me what brought me there.
I explained the situation about my father, to which he replied, “So your father was one of the first? Well, I was one of the last, and it might be that I shot at your father. All I can do is apologize to him for shooting, and as for you, all I can do is get you drunk…”
Some quick estimation of this man’s age made me think he was one of the mid-to late-teens left behind to defend the bridge in the German retrograde.
Not necessarily well-told, but certainly well-remembered.
JunctionShamus,
What have you done lately? Today you made an ass of yourself. I have made clear several times that I was soldier because of the draft, no other reasons. And I made also clear that I have had no clue as to what was happening or why in Nam, even when I was designing B-52 base at Ban U Tapao for that war. (Still secret base today. Try and look at it on GMap.)
But you still won’t tell us what you did. I have given my career in summary several times.
But I have never regarded my service as giving me rights to kick ass, as you did.
Sure, my friend, I have both warmed to you as a person and liked your ideas—-two separate processes.
And if I use unpleasant argumentation tools, such is the way of JTblog unfortunately. But you came out kicking ass. And that leaves little room for discussion.
So was the expat dig a friendly clap on the butt? I am an American citizen, solely so, and prepare to do whatever duty that calls for. But agreeing with their foreign and domestiic policies is not one of them.
Rows of crosses turn me off. Prefer the wall and the statues at the Nam memorial.
Last for now: Translate REMF and DILLIGAFF.
BTW what were you saying here?
“BTW – Whether someone agrees with me in whole or in part, I’ve never considered that as having them fight my battles for me. Interesting that I’ve drawn some very strong support regarding past issues from you I707. While I’ve appreciated that, I’ve never been of the opinion you had my back in a particular “fight”; it was just agreeing on an issue. No more, no less.”
Explain so I at least know WTF you are talking about.
I707 – Re: Ex-pat? Just needling. I know by your previous comments your there for personal reasons, and not anti-US, maybe anti-devolved American society. I respect your opinions more than most as you are a dues payer. While you might have been drafted, you went willingly. Put it on the line for any eventuality.
In my personal e-mails, I have a tag-line which reads: A veteran – whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve – is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America,” for an amount of “up to and including my life.” That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it. — Author Unknown
I still stand by this, not for myself, but out of respect to the men and women who were willing to do so voluntarily, or did when ordered to do so.
While I’d rather you see for yourself, I’ll tell you I was an intel analyst and CI special agent from the late 70s to the late 80s. The details are on my page. Nothing high-speed/low drag, but interesting enough to say the least.
Re: My boot + her ass. 66.6% figurative-33.3% literal. For “a swift kick in the ass comment,” you and JAG had no problems in escalating the battle to one of argumentum ad hominem, and objectively, I might say, “So, who are the asses now,” but I won’t. Maybe the three of us have gone about the ass-route gloriously, so I’ll extend an olive branch at this time, to get back to the core issue, of who was the first ass… My vote, Lindsey Stone.
Re: “BTW – Whether someone agrees with me in whole or in part, I’ve never considered that as having them fight my battles for me…” It sounded as though you were castigating someone for picking up my spear. Perhaps the error was mine.
Finally – the answer to your (and others’) questions about acronyms:
REMF – Rear-echelon mother-f***er
DILLIGAF – Does It Look Like I Give a F***
I’ll let you get back to your evening’s activities.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob
you and JAG had no problems in escalating the battle to one of argumentum ad hominem, and objectively, I might say,
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REALL????
Do YOU NOT recall writing the comment below???? and may I point out, This was the FIRST comment you made…. and, as you can SEE, you addressed ME, PERSONALLY… I do NOT in ANY WAY see you arguing the topic….
YOU attacked my character…… You went to my profile, rather than addressing my comments…..
“@JAG – If I saw your gravatar profile correctly, you’re “into fashion” and living in Sweden? Seems that something so fleeting as fashion would be indicative of a belief in conspicuous consumption and elitism. Beginning to think you don’t really don’t have much of a dog in this fight, deflecting the primary issue to one of consumerism.”
YOU are the ONLY ONE who addressed me in this fashion….
If you thought that I would be sitting here too busy reading my Vogue Magazine to come here and defend myself…. YOU were sorely mistaken….
NOW…. If you wish to actually debate or argue a topic, then I suggest you
cease with addressing me as if I am superficial, elitist dumb twit….
Make NO mistake…. I will NOT sit idly by while you try to paint me out as something I am clearly NOT…. I will come, defend myself, and hand your ass to you…..
@Gene – Misandrist; M-I-S-A-N-D-R-I-S-T, misandrist!
As used in a sentence: “My ex-wife’s attorney came off as a misandrist.”
Thank you, feeling smarter already! Giving myself a promotion from dumb-ass to moron, even as we speak!
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“Adding the word “Please” to the sign would change the command to a request, a more sensible sentiment.” – If people were more respectful, would such a sign be necessary, whether it said ‘Please’ or not…
junctionshamus,
“I’m having trouble thinking of the female equivalent of a misogynist to describe you. If I knew what it was, I’d say it;”
The word you are looking for is misandrist, from the root misandry.