Posted on 08/31/2007 7:45:19 AM PDT by USMCWife6869
I'm absolutely furious. Last night, I went to the 7-day Store here on base. As I was pulling up, Evening Colors was sounded. As any Marines out there know, when colors sounds, you either stand and face the flag, or you stop your vehicle if you are driving.
So, I stopped my car, because I was JUST in front of the store, and all the Marines coming out of the store were stopped and at attention, and other civilian workers stopped walking, and there is this guy.....
He was sitting on a bench outside. He didn't stand, he didn't stop flipping his newspaper pages, he didn't acknowledge in any way that our flag was being lowered. Mind you, the flag is right across the street from the 7-day store. As colors finished, this Marine, who was clearly up in rank, rips into him. He informs him of protocol when on base. He informs him that even if he is not a Marine, the rules on base are clear that you still show proper respect at Colors. So the disrespectful guy goes off on the Marine. He says he isn't a Marine, he doesn't care about Marines, and he is a Mexican citizen anyway, so he doesn't have do respect our flag at all.
Of course, my kids are with me, and when he says he doesn't care about Marines, my 8-year-old starts crying. She has had a tough time on this deployment, and she was devastated that this man was saying things about Marines, which she took to mean her father personally.
This battle went on for a while. The supervisor did nothing when about 15 of us went in to complain, and when I said I was going to complain to MCCS directly, they refused to give me the employees name. Oh yea, did I mention he WORKS THERE????????
I'm still following up this morning. From what I understand from a friend who was there later, someone called PMO on the guy, not us.
No you’re not wrong to be upset.
There surely aren’t any Americans who would snap up that job???
If I were visiting Mexico I would behave in a respectful manner at a Mexican ceremony. You are right to be angry.
I think you over-reacted.
To escalate this confrontation to the point it made your daughter cry...
To escalate this confrontation to the point it has consumed several hours of your time....
One idiot is just not worth it.
Hugs to your eight year old.
Tell her that my girls are very proud of their daddy who is a former Marine. They think that Marine daddies are the best and she is right to be very proud of you.
If she would like a couple pen pals (9&7) they would be very glad to write to her and have a new friend.
PM me if she would like some letters of encouragement.
Loosening some of the laws for Americans might make a difference. For instance I’m a former felony drunk driver so I can’t work in an airport but aliens of unknown origins and backgrounds can.
I’m so sick of these illegal invaders I could just spit!!! Keep fighting the good fight, USMCWife!
*Decides to walk on the streets when the above person is driving, it’s safer than the sidewalk.*
I’m surprised you didn’t slap the man in the face.
How 'bout 20 million of them with the same arrogant attitude?
"He says he isn't a Marine, he doesn't care about Marines, and he is a Mexican citizen anyway, so he doesn't have do respect our flag at all."
Yes, one of these is too many.
There is a new mayor here who surveyed local business and found those willing to hire felons and then had a job fair. 200 people got jobs the first day. It woud be very interesting to see if recidism could be reduced by helping felons find jobs like this. Most go a year without, now, after getting out of jail.
Who runs the 7-11? I would think this is a franchise like any other 7-11 store, meaning that the military does not control it. No? Yes?
No one should tell you how to feel. If you are angry, I’d suggest writing a letter to the head of the appropriate place. I would think that is the corporate headquarters of 7-11 in Dallas.
I always wait a couple of days before I do anything regarding this kind of incident. It helps me regain proper perspective and for some reason the letters are always better a few days later.
Golly gosh
Elvira, the closet illegal alien, got a job in an airport
No you’re not wrong to be furious
I was in the USAF for 7 years and everyone and everything stopped for “taps”
Report him and call ICE
Maybe he didn’t know he had to stand at attention, and after the Marine “ripped into him,” he became defensive. Now he’s never going to stand at attention for colors, or he’ll do so begrudgingly.
I’ve never lived on a military base, but I’m more upset that a noncitizen is allowed to work there.
Obviously you don’t want to hire child molesters as school janitors or murderers as cops. However there are a lot of people like me who are excluded despite my loyalty to my country that isn’t found among legal and illegal immigrant employees.
Also there are millions of Americans and immigrants who are still driving drunk and are a far greater danger than I am.
What it is a Mini-Exchange, which is run by Marine Corps Community Services. It’s basically a small PX.
I spoke to the manager just a few minutes ago. Apparently, there is a rule in his own hiring paperwork that states he must follow the rules of the base when on it, and the Colors thing is a rule. The manager of the store was livid.
The conversation between this man and the Marines around him was very hostile. It was more vulgar than I cared to get into, but the reason I had gotten so angry is because when I asked him why he refused to follow the basic rules of common decency he asked me “who the hell are you”.
I want to make it very clear that the very reason I deal with the frustrations of living in base housing is because the payoff is this: I am not good at dealing with people who disrpespect my country and my husband. I am not polite to people who make horrid claims against our military. I don’t like protesters. I know, however, that it is their right in this country, so I stay on base as much as possible to avoid confrontation about it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go around looking for trouble, but I have a hard time holding my tongue. I work for a public high school, and many teachers have made their feelings clear about what my husband is doing in Iraq. So dealing with that uses up all my “kindness quota” for the day. I shouldn’t have to deal with this crap when I am on the safety of a USMC base. I know I probably should have walked away, but he just made me so furious.
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