Luna Bliss Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 minute ago, Ceka Cianci said: All this is because I responded to someone saying,In their first post of the thread, Americans are weird? They didn't quote anybody or anything else.. You all are putting context into something someone else said..All I was doing is responding to what they said. Not all of them are.. We make assumptions depending on the context in a thread, sometimes wrong and sometimes right. There was discussion about military issues before Shudu made his comment. Hence Scylla's comments regarding the military in America seem plausible to me. I agree though with your general point -- that not all Americans are weird -- but we have to look at a bigger picture to understand the general attitude toward the importance of the military in America today. To ignore this is dangerous, as we have military bases all over the world and the Cheeto In Charge loves force and power. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Rhiadra Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 38 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said: You got all of that out of, Americans are weird? Out of everything I said..It just boiled down to,Not all of them are weird..It's really not much deeper than that.. Just two of us using wide brushes. The point I was making, Ceka, is that you and Shudo are talking -- I think, and he can certainly correct me if I'm wrong -- about two different things. You are talking about Americans, and I suppose the OP specifically, as individuals. Shudo, and I think most of the non-Americans here, are responding more generally to this aspect of US culture. I know of no other nationality that reveres its military the way the US does (although sometimes maybe the French come close). As a nation, you have an actual law about this issue. For most of the rest of us, this is really odd and puzzling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilliJo Aldrin Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 minute ago, Luna Bliss said: We make assumptions depending on the context in a thread, sometimes wrong and sometimes right. There was discussion about military issues before Shudu made his comment. Hence Scylla's comments regarding the military in America seem plausible to me. I agree though with your general point -- that not all Americans are weird -- but we have to look at a bigger picture to understand the general attitude toward the importance of the military in America today. To ignore this is dangerous, as we have military bases all over the world and the Cheeto In Charge loves force and power. I really can't get upset about you calling President Trump the Cheeto in Charge (Cheeto in Chief would be better though). I always referred to Obama as the Obanination, or the affirmative action President. I do love applying his slogan to President Trump though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theresa Tennyson Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 5 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said: I know of no other nationality that reveres its military the way the US does (although sometimes maybe the French come close). As a nation, you have an actual law about this issue. For most of the rest of us, this is really odd and puzzling. So does Canada: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/military-uniform-impersonation-charge-north-glengarry-1.4895316 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Rhiadra Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 2 minutes ago, Theresa Tennyson said: So does Canada: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/military-uniform-impersonation-charge-north-glengarry-1.4895316 True. And I remember that incident. The specific context there was the use of a uniform by someone pretending to be currently in the military. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 I’ve known guys who had a uniform fetish and wore uniforms (one was military, another airline pilot) even though they had no connection to the things the uniforms were for. Not necessary “stolen valor”, just weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilliJo Aldrin Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 4 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said: True. And I remember that incident. The specific context there was the use of a uniform by someone pretending to be currently in the military. Apparently it's not a one time thing, there have been other incidents where people claimed to be veterans while attending Remembrance day ceremonies. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/fake-war-veterans-at-ceremonies-prompt-new-safeguards-from-ottawa-1.3174599 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilliJo Aldrin Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 8 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said: I’ve known guys who had a uniform fetish and wore uniforms (one was military, another airline pilot) even though they had no connection to the things the uniforms were for. Not necessary “stolen valor”, just weird. And lets not forget criminals that dress as cops in an attempt to pull people over in order to rob them... or worse https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/investigates/action-news-jax-investigates-how-to-figure-out-if-a-fake-cop-is-pulling-you-over/914485987 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceka Cianci Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 18 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said: We make assumptions depending on the context in a thread, sometimes wrong and sometimes right. There was discussion about military issues before Shudu made his comment. Hence Scylla's comments regarding the military in America seem plausible to me. I agree though with your general point -- that not all Americans are weird -- but we have to look at a bigger picture to understand the general attitude toward the importance of the military in America today. To ignore this is dangerous, as we have military bases all over the world and the Cheeto In Charge loves force and power. The thread is about guys going around in SL claiming to be in the military that more than likely are not..Should it be illegal for them to do that.. Some see it as the OP is weird.. Someone posts their first post of the thread, not quoting someone usually means they replied to the OP.. I didn't take them too seriously in what they said,but felt like chiming in to say something,not really too serious myself.. To say,not everyone is.. Now people are trying to give me some sort of history and current events lesson because I responded to a 3 worded post.. I sure thought the whole, Hold My beer for a minute, thing would have eased things back a bit.. I wasn't very serious about it myself..just idle cruising through the forums.. hehehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Rhiadra Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 3 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said: Apparently it's not a one time thing, there have been other incidents where people claimed to be veterans while attending Remembrance day ceremonies. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/fake-war-veterans-at-ceremonies-prompt-new-safeguards-from-ottawa-1.3174599 Oh, interesting! I didn't know that. I'll stand by my basic point though: all of these instances are specifically about wearing a uniform, and doing so to impersonate either a soldier or veteran. That said, I note that the US law is specifically about impersonating someone who has received a military award with fraudulent intent to gain. However one wishes to parse these specifics, I am still convinced that there are some very real and tangible differences between how the US feels about its military, and how most of the rest of the world does. I don't mean to imply a value judgement in suggesting that: it's just a cultural difference that explains, I think, the response of non-Americans in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilliJo Aldrin Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 minute ago, Scylla Rhiadra said: Oh, interesting! I didn't know that. I'll stand by my basic point though: all of these instances are specifically about wearing a uniform, and doing so to impersonate either a soldier or veteran. That said, I note that the US law is specifically about impersonating someone who has received a military award with fraudulent intent to gain. However one wishes to parse these specifics, I am still convinced that there are some very real and tangible differences between how the US feels about its military, and how most of the rest of the world does. I don't mean to imply a value judgement in suggesting that: it's just a cultural difference that explains, I think, the response of non-Americans in this thread. Yes, in America we take pride in and show our appreciation for the efforts of people that have served in the military, and those that serve in the military today And let's not forget, we aren't just keeping America free, we are keeping the entire world free. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) 59 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said: Often, comparing spending "totals" doesn't give a very accurate picture. The "per capita" numbers and "per GDP" numbers often give more realistic information: (This is from the Wiki, but based on the same 'Stockholm International Peace Research Institute' that gave that $610 Billion figure in the above picture) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditure_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditure_share_of_GDP (note that US isn't even in this list) And military spending as a share of total government spending - again the US isn't in this list: Edited March 24, 2019 by LittleMe Jewell Typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luna Bliss Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 13 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said: The "per capita" numbers and "per GDP" numbers often give more realistic information: Why is per capita miltary spending even an issue? I fear you've lost the plot yet again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 minute ago, Luna Bliss said: 14 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said: The "per capita" numbers and "per GDP" numbers often give more realistic information: Why is per capita miltary spending even an issue? I fear you've lost the plot yet again... Interesting point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Nova Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 When I left the Legion (about 135, iirc) I vowed never to admit to have been in it. Oh damn! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Gregoire Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 21 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said: However one wishes to parse these specifics, I am still convinced that there are some very real and tangible differences between how the US feels about its military, and how most of the rest of the world does. I don't mean to imply a value judgement in suggesting that: it's just a cultural difference that explains, I think, the response of non-Americans in this thread. There are those who do revere the military, many of whom are lifers. The rest of us, not so much. We have a healthy respect for them but never lose sight of the fact that they are human like the rest of us and are not infallible. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luna Bliss Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 25 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said: Now people are trying to give me some sort of history and current events lesson because I responded to a 3 worded post.. I don't think people are trying to give YOU some kind of history and current events lesson...I think some (myself included) just kind of riffed off your interpretation of what Shudu meant by saying Americans were weird. You had your interpretation of it, and others have theirs. Don't forget you told Scylla her interpretation was invalid, and this can provoke a defense... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionalein Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) Is it that time of the thread again? IBTL! Edited March 24, 2019 by Fionalein 2 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luna Bliss Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 25 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said: And let's not forget, we aren't just keeping America free, we are keeping the entire world free. We are keeping America dominant -- but that's not going to last much longer.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Gregoire Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said: I fear you've lost the plot yet again... The actual "plot" of this thread has nothing to do with military spending at all. 31 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said: Why is per capita miltary spending even an issue? One cannot really evaluate what a country spends their money on without also taking into account how much is spend per person and how much is spend based on their GDP, in addition to the 'totals'. ALL of the figures are pertinent to a well informed non-biased discussion. Throwing out a single statistic is way too common in our media these days. Toss out a single statistic and you can shock people. Give the same statistic in various comparisons and there is a chance at a more realistic discussion. Edited March 24, 2019 by LittleMe Jewell 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilliJo Aldrin Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 hour ago, Luna Bliss said: Why is per capita miltary spending even an issue? I fear you've lost the plot yet again... The only plot is that some people think America is a jingoistic warmongering nation that wishes to enslave everyone and create a worldwide hegemony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar Legion Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) Oh for ... This absolute crapfest again? Hey, how about instead of simply locking the thread, the users who decided to bring Real Life politics in and just couldn't resist trying to pull the thread into a needless "discussion" of said politics ... actually see some kind of action taken to clue them in to not pull that crap? Do note the description of this section: "Second Life discussions welcome here! Please follow the community guidelines." Want a discussion of actual real world politics? Take. It. To. Another. Forum. Edited March 24, 2019 by Solar Legion 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Gregoire Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 hour ago, anna2358 said: When I left the Legion (about 135, iirc) I vowed never to admit to have been in it. Oh damn! B.C. or A.D.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilliJo Aldrin Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 55 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said: The actual "plot" of this thread has nothing to do with military spending at all. One cannot really evaluate what a country spends their money on without also taking into account how much is spend per person and how much is spend based on their GDP, in addition to the 'totals'. ALL of the figures are pertinent to a well informed non-biased discussion. Throwing out a single statistic is way too common in our media these days. Toss out a single statistic and you can shock people. Give the same statistic in various comparisons and there is a chance at a more realistic discussion. Didn't someone once say, there's lies, damned lies, and statistics https://www.york.ac.uk/depts/maths/histstat/lies.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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