Here in Ri we have a great locaL donut Shop Allie’s. They took a stand and revoked their police/military discount. Some people are losing their minds and are calling for a ban.
The discount is 5%.
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In my experience, worship (it goes beyond respect) of military/first-responders is peculiar to the US.
And remember the Stolen Valour thing? I’m pretty sure that was a US peculiarity too.
I’ve met quite a number of US Servicepeople and the reason I know that is 'cos it was one of the first things they told me.
I’ve met people a number of other military/police from Ireland and other countries, but I got to know them reasonably well before this information were revealed. In Ireland you have to know someone pretty well before they admit to being a cop - They generally say they work for the Civil Service.
And call me weird, but I’ve never thanked anyone for my freedom. WTF is that about?
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I think we’re getting it in the UK too, although not to the same degree
It was illegal to impersonate a Chelsea Pensioner in the UK until 2008.
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I new a guy who felt it was everyone’s obligation to thank him for serving in uniform. He felt vets should get Veterans Day off by federal law. He felt they should get discounts everywhere. He even felt there should be specific tax breaks and such for vets.
I am a veteran too. Spent 8 years in the USAR. I told him point blank. I served because I wanted to. I felt a calling to. I didn’t do it for a pat on the back or a discount. If you did it for those reasons…you did it for the wrong reasons.
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Donuts. Maybe now the cops will takes complaints seriously. /s
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Indeed. My brother is a Navy vet, and he hates it when people do that. Partly because he doesn’t want to me reminded of his time in the service.
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Some people really hate paying for donuts, I guess.
Apparently, some veterans still bear a grudge against the Red Cross because they started charging for donuts during WWII.
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Did you take the tactful approach; or the “STFU, even Machiavelli thinks that mercenary soldiers are dangerous and untrustworthy” approach?
I think it’s rooted in the mythos surrounding America’s birth as the direct result of an armed uprising. We’ve somehow decided that bloodshed and death is part and parcel if not synonymous with freedom.
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I took the approach of “if the worst thing the ‘good cop’ has to deal with is be inconvenienced into paying the 5% extra we all pay for the coffee; but in the end I don’t have to be terrified every time my two sons (both African American) go out that this might be the day they meet the ‘bad apple’ and get killed…FUCKING WORTH IT. Stop being god damn snowflakes. It’s a job, start doing it right and getting your egos bent out of shape when someone doesn’t kiss your ass and bow at your feet. Start holding your own accountable. Because if my kid acts up and does something wrong I don’t go and blame the school for his bad behavior I blame myself and fix it”
I may have ranted. A lot.
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Indeed. The fact that these discounts even existed in the first place sounds insane to me.
Oh but it’s getting worse every year. I’d always thought the poppy was a beautiful and dignified way of remembrance for example but what it has turned into cannot be supported. This is one of the more disturbing pictures I have ever seen. (Despite having labeled it disturbing you can click on the picture, it’s not NSFW or violent in any way).
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Yes.
The British armed forces still recruit 16 year olds. They used to recruit at schools (so 14-15 year olds) but that went to court and was ruled illegal. The armed forces say that no-one under 18 will be deployed abroad, but that doesn’t change that we have child soldiers.
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In the US, we have the organization Veterans of Foreign Wars, which has a poppy of its own. For quite a few years, I’d usually have a poppy attached to my purse, or my car’s rear-view mirror, because my grandfather was WWII Navy, and I wanted to honor him. (Plus my grandmother was involved with the VFW-- I got the poppies from her.) But there is a difference, I think, between honoring the troops, and putting the entire military on a pedestal as some sort of heroic ideal. The first is fine; the second is not healthy.
Seeing that smiling child in the photo in the “future soldier” shirt gives me chills…
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A low-level protection racket. If the cop on the beat helped himself to an apple from your fruit stand, it was a small price to ensure that he’d be around when called upon.
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Well. As a vet I get discounts all over the place. It’s usually 10% which is the same discount for senior citizens, AAA members, etc. it’s not unusual.
What is unusual to first expect it and then pitch a fit when it’s taken away like a damn toddler.
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Truth which is also a huge red flag that something is wrong! We shouldn’t have to do favors for them to do their job. Nor should we have to curry favor to avoid their ire.
The fact that people fear being on the wrong side of LEOs explains the problem.
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