I’ve seen the same attempt to shut down the criticism of those who haven’t served here at FR. It’s ugly and un-American.
It only took 2 replies..
Go check out chainmail post 15. Didn’t take long
Folks, this exchange does not fall into that category.
hinckley buzzard probably meant that as a good-natured poke at Marines, and someone like chainmail has probably spent time being on the other end of that “oh, Marines are dummies-hahahaha-isn’t that funny” line. As long as there have been Marines, that has been thrown at them, though generally it is less common in face to face...for obvious reasons.
The criticism in the “They aren’t known as Jarheads for nothing” line was pretty mild, but longstanding and pointed which is going to sometimes raise hackles.
Maybe chainmail and others who take issue with a barb like that are thin-skinned...fine. We all know what that is like here, being conservatives and unendingly being on the side of being poked by the Left with...oddly enough, the same general stereotypes.
A poster could be just as critical about the military, but do it in quite a different way that would not elicit the same response. I see that all the time. Because only complete idiots think the military (even, or especially their own branch) is somehow perfect. Anyone who has spent time IN the military life sees there is much stupidity, bureaucracy, you name it. The bad sometimes come with the good.
There are plenty of reasons why someone who has experience in the military can and should have the option to bring up the military experience of someone critical, especially ad-hominem criticism.
And lest is it just military, it isn’t. It goes across all lines, whether a poster works on oil rigs or in an operating room.
When someone is leveling criticism in a tone that is either flat out wrong and/or isn’t conducive to a honest discussion of the issue at hand, it is well within the rights of that person to come down in the way they see fit.