Am I the only one annoyed by this picture?

[Anomalocaris]

I might reply that I refuse to stand to pledge my allegence in deference to people who are too dead to sit up in a wheel chair because we blew them to bits while bombed the shit out of their country in what some of us conceive to be some defense of liberty.

I might argue their right to live trumps the seemliness of honoring the marine, whatever the marine thinks he made the sacrafice for.

[downbeatplumb]

The whole pledge of allegence seems like a form of brainwashing. Endlessly repeating vapid words with hands on heart.
Fucking pathetic.

[Diamond]

The whole pledge of allegence seems like a form of brainwashing. Endlessly repeating vapid words with hands on heart.
Fucking pathetic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2BfqDUPL1I

[Minimalist]

My son doesn't stand, nor say the pledge at school. We had to talk to my daughter about it, because she's starting kindergarten this year. We said it for her out loud, and she looked at us blankly as we, like drones recited it for her. Then we got to the "under god" part, and her eyes got a little buggy. I told her she could participate if she wants to, but she doesn't have to. She said she'll think about it. I wanted to go ahead and tell her about it, that way she won't hear it, and shout out, "GOD AIN'T REAL!".... like she did in Sunday school class at her dad's church.

---

Oh! And just like a good little critical thinker, she asked me, "which god are we talking about here?".

You should sign your kids up here, Alei. Way smarter than the average theist we get.

[Creed of Heresy]

As a man who has a brother who serves in the 75th Ranger Regiment of the United States Army...military respect is a complicated thing. I respect him, and those like him, who genuinely believe that what they are doing is going after the enemies of America who would try to do us harm. He was stuck in Iraq in 2003, despite his protests; he joined to serve in Afghanistan. He wanted to be with the rest of SOCOM and US Special Forces who were hunting for Osama and eliminating those who fought for him. Instead he got shuttled off to Iraq, a war he did not have any desire to fight in. His goals were noble; he DID want to fight someone who had caused harm to Americans. What his actions, from the orders of his superiors, entailed were...well, not as noble. He is responsible for saving the lives of hundreds of Iraqi civilians but he never shows any pride in it. "I shouldn't have HAD to save them," he gruffly says whenever anyone brings it up. Now he's in Afghanistan, and has been since the occupation of Iraq was drawn down and closed...and he has been there even after Osama get splashed. Now he's conflicted because the people who fought for Osama's ideals and goals are still alive but the man ultimately responsible at the top is dead. I don't imagine he's unique in any of this, either.

So, do I respect those who serve in the military? Yes. Yes I do. Because they're good people and most of them, not all of them, but most of them join for reasons that are good. I don't need to respect them for "defending my freedom" when it clearly hasn't been about that but I can respect them for their motives and intentions, which oftentimes are in the right place. I don't demand or ask that anyone else respect them the same way I do. But I will say this; the first person to outwardly DISrespect them to my face? I will feed them their fucking teeth.

---

Also in regards to the OP: I actually find that to be guilt-tripping to an extreme extent, which is something I absolutely abhor. In fact I find it to be disrespectful to the guys who are actually disabled from being in combat situations because they're being used, beyond their time in service, to spread a message that they may or may not support. "Speaking for the soldiers" is something I fucking hate; if they're out of the service, they can speak for themselves, they don't need anyone speaking for them anymore, yet people insist on USING veterans for their own political or ideological agendas. It's fucking sick.

[Diamond]

My son doesn't stand, nor say the pledge at school. We had to talk to my daughter about it, because she's starting kindergarten this year. We said it for her out loud, and she looked at us blankly as we, like drones recited it for her. Then we got to the "under god" part, and her eyes got a little buggy. I told her she could participate if she wants to, but she doesn't have to. She said she'll think about it. I wanted to go ahead and tell her about it, that way she won't hear it, and shout out, "GOD AIN'T REAL!".... like she did in Sunday school class at her dad's church.

---

Oh! And just like a good little critical thinker, she asked me, "which god are we talking about here?".

You should sign your kids up here, Alei. Way smarter than the average theist we get.

They may be smarter, but this place isn't exactly child friendly.

[The Grand Nudger]

This place is super child friendly, especially so in the procurement dept.

bum chicka wow-wow.

(is it just me or did the tit-shot count take a nosedive off a cliff in the last few months btw?)

[Minimalist]

There does seem to have been a precipitous decline in the boob index.

[Erinome]

The only one who can read and write was in an anime forum. I thought it was cool, he's talking about cartoons, right?


Wrong.

[The Grand Nudger]

Tentacle pron?