Trispoke wrote:
Anyone else not care or see this as a big deal? IMO, people are wound up way too tight and go looking for reasons to be outraged.
Of course it is in poor taste. But disrespectful? Meh. She tried to be funny in front of the sign. If you are reading more into that then....well, you are reading more into it.
If you have visited the Tomb of the Unknown, you'd probably see this as a 'bigger deal'. You do have to hike up a hill for a reasonable distance past thousands of headstones. There is absolutely no doubt, as you make the trip, that you are going to a special part of the cemetery. When you get there, there is a guard pacing back and forth in front of the Tomb and you look out over the thousands of graves you just walked past. People don't talk, except in very low tones. Most just sit on the steps letting it all sink in. Many weep.
I escorted a group of over 200 fifth grade kids there two years ago and I was worried about their ability to respect the place and the symbolism. Not the slightest problem. Even they got it, including the ADD kid I was chaperoning. Now, I have never served, but both of my parents did. However, I couldn't stop some tears from falling when Taps was played at the changing of the guard. If you have just the slightest appreciation for loss of life, this place will make you feel it.
This isn't a place for liberals or conservatives to express personal agendas or opinions. It is a place that is intended to remind us of the sacrifices that have been made by all sorts of people in order for us to enjoy the rights that we have. The graves there contain liberals and conservatives.
I find it almost impossible to comprehend that people would hike all of the way up to the Tomb without a reason. 99.9% of the visitors want to pay their respects. It is clear that these two women went up there with the intention of disrespecting the place and they hiked all of the way up there to do it. Seems bizarre. You would have to be a pretty self centered and cold hearted person to pose for pictures like those after you got there. If I was their employer, I would give them a chance to explain their motives, but I doubt there is any way they could explain away the pics. I'd almost surely fire both of them whether I was a liberal or conservative.
FWIW,
Greg
If you are a Canuck that engages in gratuitous bashing of the US, you are probably on my Iggy List. So, save your self a bunch of typing a response unless you also feel the need to gratuitously bash me. If so, have fun.
"Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f___ things up" - Barack Obama, 2020