DIYbanter - View Single Post - gummer dweeber

Hawke[_3_]

On 1/17/2012 4:10 PM, wrote:
On Jan 17, 3:38 pm, wrote:

Do you think you have to have been in the military to be offended by
some yahoo running around lying about his exploits in the military when
he wasn't even in the service? I can tell you that most Americans are
greatly offended when they hear of someone holding himself up as a
veteran when they aren't. A better question is why would you ask your
question? Don't you understand how offensive it is for someone to lie
about being in the military when they never were?

Hawke

No, I do not think you have to have been the military to be offended.
And having been in the military does not mean you are more likely to
be offended.

I asked my question because I just do not understand why Ed gets as
offended as he does.

At one time I socialized with a bunch of young men and everyone told
stories of things they had done. Some were truthful, some embellished
the stories, and some simply made up stories. Or at least that is
what I believe was the case. After a while I think I knew who told
the truth and who made up stories. But there was no way to be sure.
And it really did not matter all that much anyway. I took everything
with a grain of salt. All the stories were entertaining whether they
were true or not.

Now have I told you the story about the storm our ship was in when we
were coming back from the Far East.....It was a dark and stormy
night...........

Dan

My friends and I all did the same kind of thing. Everybody swapped
stories and many times they would get better and better with each
telling. But we knew who was believable and who wasn't because we knew
the people. Strangers never knew who to believe. For the guys we knew
weren't trustworthy we just called what they said bull**** stories. Most
of the time they are nothing but harmless scuttlebutt.

When it comes to making up stories about military exploits it is now a
crime. What do they call it? Stolen valor? Some people think it's really
a terrible thing to do and should be punished as a crime. Others
disagree. In the past this was never against the law. A lot of people
think this kind of law is unconstitutional and an infringement of free
speech. You don't have to tell the truth to have your speech protected.
So this question has two sides to it. I'm not sure which I come down on.
It seems going overboard to want to jail someone for pretending he was a
war hero.

Hawke