To those who have served ... you're not all heroes

Originally posted by EvolvedMinistry
I apologize to the mods, but I have to do this once more because it is not having the desired effect.


I want to re-iterate a post I made earlier because I don't think it really penetrated the minds of anyone who relentlessly keep posting.

And reposting....

Here is a great perspective.

Enjoy
Stagering Information

here is an honest question to all the people who are bashing soldiers. To all the ones who think that all soldiers should not be fighting or following orders.

Do you think there should be no Army, and no soldiers?

I'm a 'Nam vet.

I don't count myself a hero, although some folks have called some things I did heroic. I just did what was necessary at the time.

Working 55 hours at a stretch in temperatures of 50+ degrees F below zero on2/3 rations is not heroic, just cold, tiring, and hungry.

Working through the Hong Kong flu isn't heroic, just painful and debilitating.

Working on a flightline in 140+ F, isn't heroic, just hot, sticky and exhausting.

Answering the question "How's it going today?" with "Not bad, nobody's shooting at me today" isn't heroic, just a bald statement of my reality.

Gauging the fall of rockets to decide whether to continue working or dive for cover isn't heroic, just pragmatic experience.

Waiting for an airplane to return that never will isn't heroic, just painful grief that must be swallowed but never forgotten.

Breaking up a civilian bar robbery isn't heroic, just necessary to protect my girlfriend.

War is pure hell, not something to glorify or eagerly embrace. Ask any vet, they'll back me up on that. No one I knew in combat or out thought of themselves as heroes. We were just folks doing a very tough job, under extremely trying circumstances, sometimes for reasons we heartily disagreed with.

I'm not a hero, don't claim to be.

I'm just a veteran.

You can disrespect the wars I've fought in all you want, hell, I have some pretty strong attitudes about that myself. But you should at least acknowledge that the job's tough physically, enotionally, and spiritually, and give credit where it's due. Veterans never claim herohood...that's for non-vets to argue about, because they've never seen a true hero, as we have done. True heroes are usually dead ones. And even they would argue they weren't.

So your premise is wrong, OP, the hero thing is in YOUR head, not ours. Anyone who's served knows that there ARE true heroes, but they are few and far between, the rest of us are just folks with a broader experience of bad things than most people ever become aware of, much less go through.

We've gone through it and come out the other side, changed forever.

At least respect us for that, for just one day, then you can go back to ignoring us again.

Ulala, I am going to quote Voltaire;
"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

Originally posted by djquinn
Ulala, I am going to quote Voltaire;
"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

That... is something we have - as a nation - conveniently forgotten.

Today, it is... 'I do not agree with what you say... and I will fight to the death to silence your right to say it.'

That kind of freedom or life is not worth dying for.

reply to post by Ulala


Did you 'Serve' or are you just another Freeloader off American Society?

reply to post by Boomer1941


serve? this one is barely smart enough to breath on his own.

Originally posted by Boomer1941
reply to post by Ulala

 

Did you 'Serve' or are you just another Freeloader off American Society?

He's not American...

But I'm sure there is a Veteran somewhere in his countries past who fought and died for his right to spew his version of Morality.

PEACE

You have every right to post a thread of this nature. You have the right because men and women are dying, defending your homeland. I must ask you a question:

Have you ever served in ANY branch of Service?

If yes, then how could you have the audacity to post such a thread??
If no, then I can see why you would have your views the way they are. It's not uncommon for civi's to not understand what it's like to serve in the Armed Forces. I won't bash you for voicing your opinion. In fact I commend you on your boldness on such a somber day.

And no, I don't know a single soldier, sailor, marine, or airman who categorizes themselves with the HEROES of WW2. Those guys are legend. They will never be forgotten. And everyone I ever served with understood that.

Originally posted by network dude
reply to post by Boomer1941

 

serve? this one is barely smart enough to breath on his own.

I agree. These are the same people that operate on these mindset as the "victims" of Katrina.

By the way, Apache, that was an awese post. Star for you. Bless you. That's what I was trying to say. I just added some angst comedy in the mix to get some attention for the cause. America is great because of people like this. The guy's who never complain about things when they get mad. The same guy who will fix a flat for you when you are broke down with a suit and tie on. These guys fight day and night just to live. They internalize all of these idiots talking bad about soldiers, yet they still talk cordially to you. I personally don't like messing with sleeping beasts. You never know what side of the bed he'll wake up on.

One last thought:
try telling this to people in Israel where it's mandatory to serve.

reply to post by SLAYER69


I'm presuming he's British there fore you'd be right , over a million soldiers have died in the last 100 years in conflicts all over the world not to mention all of the commonwealth US and Russian soldiers who died.I don't like my government but a thread like this on our remembrance day is at the least insensitive.

Originally posted by EvolvedMinistry
I want to re-iterate a post I made earlier because I don't think it really penetrated the minds of anyone who relentlessly keep posting.


Many of you have failed to recognize that it wasn't the OP's intent to participate in this thread. Has anyone noticed, or realized why the OP has remained silent? The OP wanted to start a "popular thread" and observe how his words were able to manipulate the respondents (i.e. YOU) into debate. His thread is getting tons of replies, and he's able to validate for himself the power of his apparent puppeteering skills. Look how easy it is to stir the masses and manipulate them by their own beliefs!!! This happens to you guys on a daily basis whether you are aware of it or not. Be it through the constant manipulation by mainstream media, or whether they are topics fabricated by people just wanting you see you dance and fight for your schemas, it is really pathetic to see how reactionary we have become as a civilization.

Think about it folks. You've been hung on the strings of the OP and are dancing according to his choosing. WAKE UP. If the OP can do this to you from posting just a few words, image what the MSM can do with the full power of media leveraged at their very whim. As far as I'm concerned, the OP developed one hell of an experiment here.

Who is to say that it is an experiment? And so what if he has been offline, he did say his bit, if he has nothing else to contribute so be it. At the end of the day, none of this is forced, and many people feel more able to post in the shadows of the internet. As for the mass media using this tactic, it does, people will believe a supposed 'News outlet'. Despite the outlet in question has slowly becoming an 'opinion/entertainment' outlet.

Heh, lets react to this thread the same way the muslims do and burn up $hit. Let's light cars on fire in Paris. Break store windows in other cities. March and yell hate and death all over the world. Let's riot and trample people and make a big mess. Let's kill people who made cartoons of Mohammed and threaten to kill more.
Nah, let's use free speech instead and enjoy what all those have fought for over the years.
God Bless America.

GOD BLESS GOD BLESS all of you who fought.I thank you for my freedoms you are the true patriots.Come home safe boys Come home safe!!

reply to post by INQUISITION11


So are you classing all members who are british here in ATS the same as the OP? One certainly would not like to think so. He might have a right to his opinion or spew his rhetoric. But there are those whom have commented so on this thread, come from the UK, whom disagree with his views, or his opening statement.

I hope that clears thatone up to anyone who thinks us all inthe UK deserve to be nuked, as one member has already posted.

Should we all sit around a campfire and sing kumba ya my lord?? Just to keep the peace

reply to post by JJay55


You act like them, then you become them.

Does not resolve the issue, it just adds fue to the fire.

And for the record it is not all Muslims who act like that, although maybe the western media, potray it this way!!

Wars are orchestrated by the wealthy to make money.

If you served, you most likely volunteered because you felt it was your duty to uphold the freedoms most of us take for granted, not to help old Mr Rothschild make a buck.

Thank you to all who have served for your intentions were most likely good.

Know that you were played like a record, round and round.

reply to post by Ulala


If you said that yellow-bellied sapsucker trash to my face I'd wash your mouth out good.

How dare you go against the ATS herd mentality? You better lick those gestapo boots because without them killing women and children in Iraq, Afghanista, Iran, and Pakistan for what they did to us on 911, you wouldn't have any freedoms. You better sing lyrical praises to our glorious guardians or else you're a terrorist with al-qaeda. Perhaps you'd sing a different tune if you got a tazer to the scrotum or face, which is what you deserve for speaking out facts against our glorious guardians of the state. Land of the free!

Originally posted by Bombeni
reply to post by Ulala

 

If you said that yellow-bellied sapsucker trash to my face I'd wash your mouth out good.

Well then you do not understand what freedom is.