Originally posted by Damocles
11b, i DO understand where u are coming from, but i have to ask what qualifies as proof to you? if i claimed it happened to me would that be proof? or would my character and integrity fall into the guilty until proven innocent?

One more thing.I would tend to believe anyone I know personally, and not just in passing or casually.

I was in the US Army Infantry.
You would be surprised how many people claim they were to, but when you look into it the facts they were actually cooks, or mechanics, or REMFs of one sort or another.
Have you ever noticed, and maybe this is my misconception, but it seems to me that ALOT of people I meet who were in the Navy CLAIM to be Navy Seals, heck, even people that werent in the Navy have claimed to be navy seals.
Its like a badge of honor.
Yeah, I was in the infantry!
Yeah, I was a Navy Seal!
Yeah, I was spit on!
What Im saying is, proof for me would be more than a CLAIM.

There were thousands of troops returning from Vietnam, chances are that atleast one of them was spat on. Just because there is not any yahoo or AP articles, that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Back on topic. There is no excuse for her actions, other men would have flipped out and probably gave the woman what she deserved, a smack in the face. The soldier maintained his cool and did the right thing...kudos

Originally posted by Damocles
11b, i DO understand where u are coming from, but i have to ask what qualifies as proof to you? if i claimed it happened to me would that be proof? or would my character and integrity fall into the guilty until proven innocent? now, dont get me wrong im not claiming that it happened, hell i didnt join the army til 90. but, one of the guys in my first unit was in nam, EIB, silver star the whole bit. HE claimed it happened to him, now i realize that by now thats 3rd hand information so i can understand you'd suspect it. but i for one believe the words from his mouth.

He doesn't want proof. He wants attention. He has been supplied with a direct quote from a man who founded Mailboxes, Etc., and he called it a figurative statement.

Originally posted by SportyMB
There were thousands of troops returning from Vietnam, chances are that atleast one of them was spat on. Just because there is not any yahoo or AP articles, that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

No, a lack of evidence doesnt prove something didnt happen, but the burden of proof isnt on me to prove it didnt happen, the burden is on the people that claim 'The same things happened to our soldiers when they returned from Viet Nam'.

Maybe one of them got spit on, maybe they didnt, all I know is the misconception that is perpetuated by the righties is that this was a common occurance.

I have tried to be cordial and intelligent in my questions and have received very little in the way of thoughtful responses from the OP.

Simple questions have been met with spin and critisism of my spelling.




why not answer my questions, or better yet, just admit that there is no evidence to support the claim?

Originally posted by 11rave
Simple questions have been met with spin and critisism of my spelling.

Maybe you should stop calling people "righties", or any other names.

Pot kettle black?

[edit on 17-12-2006 by jsobecky]

Are you saying you are not a rightie?

I personally dont buy into the left/right paradigm, but I am familier enough with them to identify the tactics of both. Almost every claim of being spit upon I have been able to find comes from admitted right wing sources, and statements like "I think it's pretty obvious that you intend to discredit the brave men and women who served" are right wing tactics.
It is an attempt to call my patriotism and love of country into question.
It is a despicable low-down thing to do, and actually quite un-American.

Not to mention I have seen two references to John Kerry in this thread. What does he have to do with anything?
Its not even election time, Kerry isnt even campaigning, but the 'righties' cant help but bring up his name and blame him for all the ills of the world.

It shows how indoctrinated the right is. It is always attack mode with them, and finger pointing, and if that fails, well heck, just call someones patriotism into question, that ALWAYS works.

Myth, huh? so all those Vietnam veterans are lying? Not everyone of them claims to have been spat upon by any one. My father served in Vietnam, and he wasn't spat upon when he came back, but I do know Vietnam veterans who do say they were spat upon in the streets, and I believe them.

This woman should be charged with assault. Plain and simple she attacked this man seemingly without provocation. A little jail time might do her some good.

I have never met ONE single soldier that has had anything bad to say about the Commander and Chief .... I know there are probably alot on here ... I live in Texas ... I would be glad to take any one of you out to eat where ever your choice ... We could talk about it ... U2U me ...

Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint
This thread brings up an interesting issue of how much personal responsibility soldiers should take for the blunders of the US government. I am not saying that people should spit on soldiers or that every US soldier has murdered or otherwise directly harmed innocent Iraqis, but we should question whether they are truly blameless. On one hand, many soldiers do not approve of the USA's blunders in Iraq, so they should not be personally blamed for incidents like Abu graib or the killings in Haditha. Many are serving in Iraq against their will and would not serve if they had the option. On the other hand, "just following orders" is not a valid excuse.

Your thoughts?