Stolen Valor

a reply to: penroc3

I am an actual veteran, dude. I served in the US Navy. Not my brother (like you)- me. I served.

This guy lying about serving doesn't cheapen my service. That's stupid. Why would it? Oh man, my service to my country means less now because this guy is going around saying he was in the Coast Guard.

See how ridiculous that is? You won't see it, because then you will have to admit to yourself that you acted way too harshly to this guy. You could have just taken him aside privately, and said "Dude look, I don't believe you that you served in the Coast Guard." But what did you do? You called him out in front of his entire geoup of friends.

And you feel like you did him and the community some big brave favor. Ridiculous.

I hope you see your error here, and apologise to the guy.

You asked in your OP if you were wrong to do what you did. What you should have said, if you were honest, was "I want you all to chime in and tell me I I did a brave and awesome thing by outing this guy in front of all of his friends, for something that in reality makes zero difference in my life. Post if you back me up; don't post if you're going to tell me the truth."

Thats always struck me as super strange, people faking this.

Yet i had seen tons of videos on yt over the years of ppl getting busted on camera for this, I guess I enjoyed the cringe factor, but man ppl are weird af, humans love the idea of a premade identity, some more than others so much more they live a lie, # like this aint even in my scope of thinking so when I see it, it just strikes me as so bizarre.


Humans, eh?

a reply to: KansasGirl



its more about the lie than the content of the lie.

it doesnt matter what branch he said he was in, there are people who have died for their country and he is using others braveness and sacrifices for some strange social credit.

and yea i did do a favor to the group around me, maybe you're okay with people lying to your face but i'm not and i never claimed it was some service or that it took some amount of bravery

and this incident was just the cherry on top of allot of other BS.

why should i say sorry to a liar? i didnt do anything wrong. i gave him many opportunities to explain himself but he just dug a deeper hole.

originally posted by: blueman12
I don't understand.. why lie about being in the coast guard..

I also find this odd. If you're gonna make up a fake military career don't be a puddle pirate, tell everyone you were in the Kriegsmarine and a U-boat commander.

a reply to: penroc3

You do come across idiots like that in life , who claim to be a action man figure yet would struggle to burst their way out of a paper bag .

I came across one months ago in a friends house who claimed to be in the SAS , He was so drunk he could not spell SAS and even after i politely told him my old school friends and buddy's were high up in that and the SBS and i stay near a lot of the retired ones and do work for them the muppet still tried to tell tall tales


Tell the truth and shame the devil

Just kick his ass. A good solid ass kicking. Maybe a kick to the face, too, cause he said CG and not the MARSOC/Raiders, SEALS,NCDU , DEVGRU or Delta. I mean if youre going to pretend, who pretends to be middle class when you can pretend to be a millionaire.


Youll feel better.

I served in the British army for nine years, Royal Military Police, but i always try and see another side to everything....including those who lie about their service.

I've seen people who wanted so badly to get into the forces, but didn't for whatever reason, that's a hard one for some people to take. They may have trained for ages, and thought about nothing else but joining their unit....with no other back up plan. I kind of feel sorry for people like that.

Then there are those who have their own difficulties, those who obviously have learning difficulties and the likes, whether mild or severe. It's like a sort of role play, and they are happy in their little fake world. Not doing anyone any harm, just pretending to be who they look up to or always wanted to be.

Then there are those that for whatever reason, just make up their service....now to me that's just a little bit sad. Unless they are doing any harm, they are obviously doing it to either impress, or to feel part of something. I just let them get on with it. Sometimes the stories are so over the top they even make me smile.

I know a couple of people who do this. Nothing major but they'll tell a few stories of their service, which i know don't add up, it would be impossible to do the things they say in the short time they were in, but i just smile and let them live out there dream for that few seconds. It's not hurting me, it's not hurting my mates, either the ones that survived or the ones that didn't.

The only time i frown upon stolen valour type scenarios, is when it comes to putting others at risk such as lying on a resume for employment. Most employers nowadays have good vetting methods, but should someone slip through the net, stating for example that they've done tours in certain conflict areas with a specific unit, then when they get that private security job, you find themselves filling their pants at the first hint of hostile action.....that's when it gets dangerous.

Sad thing is, most ex forces know that being in the military isn't as glam as it's all cracked up to be. That's why i almost feel sorry for these people rather than feel and show hate and wrath.

If i really felt that someone was out of order with what they were claiming, i'd probably have a quite word with them, i certainly wouldn't pull them up in front of others, or film it on video.....that's just as much of a dickish move as the person pretending to be a soldier.

When someone films these acts and puts them on social media for all to see, don't they for one second stop to think what that can do to a persons life? Social media as we all know is a hate filled place full of trolls and people who just generally love a witch hunt. They don't care about the effect it has on others. Yes some people need speaking to, but not setting them up for bullying across the web...unless bullying is your thing of course.

Also, we have to remember, some military personnel like to think they are god-like and above the status of a civillian. The "I'm better than you" mentality can also play a part in people getting on their high horse so much about people pretending to have served.

At the end of the day, if someone dons a uniform to play dress up or fakes a story to make themselves feel better....and does no harm with it, why get crappy over it? It doesn't take away what you did. It doesn't take away what your colleagues did. It doesn't mean they are disrespecting what you did during your service. You might think they are, but that's your problem. They are probably just wanting desperately to fit in.

This is where you see who was a good thinking soldier and who wasn't.

CX.

a reply to: KansasGirl

Agree with you on this....it takes nothing away from anyones service if someone else wants to lie about something.

CX.

a reply to: CX

takes something from mine

so your wrong. If i feel like it does, it does or are you going to tell me im wrong about what i feel like


and out of all the replies every one but 2 people agree with me

originally posted by: penroc3
a reply to: CX

takes something from mine

so your wrong. If i feel like it does, it does or are you going to tell me im wrong about what i feel like


and out of all the replies every one but 2 people agree with me

Doesn't mean either you or i are wrong.....it means we have a different opinion....and forgive me if i'm wrong, but you posted this for an opinion yes? Otherwise it should have gone in the Rant section.

This reply in itself tells me that we are going to have to agree or not...to disagree. The number of people who agree with you versus the number that don't doesn't make something right either....i once stood opposite hundreds of neo-nazis in Germany at a protest....i was very much outnumbered and certainly disagreed with their thinking.....does that mean i was wrong?

I never said you or anyone feels like this is wrong. I just look at it another way.

I certainly feel that people could save themselves a whole lot stress that they don't need if they stop, breathe, think for just a second before rushing in with that typical squaddie mentality and wanting to beat the living daylights out of people for something they don't agree with.....and think of things in a different way.

Emotions are merely the story that you attach to them.

My last posting was in a place called Crossmaglen in S. Armagh, where i didn't do police work, i served with many of the best units the British army has offer. Look it up if ever you're bored, during the troubles it was not a nice place to be, i worked with the likes of the Para's and the Royal Marines, many other infantry units, and also liased with members of the special forces.....but even they would say the same....if you let something like this get to you, how on earth would you react if you needed to keep your cool on an op?

Not everything needs a reaction.

Again, not saying you're wrong....just that we have different views on it. Which i think is good, imagine this place if everyone thought the same?

CX.