You have got to be F'ing kidding me...

[cboy4]

Check this out: I got into a discussion with a group of people about how we need to bring the troops home.

I happened to mention seeing on TV a Marine who lost his leg in Iraq and how I feel the mess there is not worth brave soldiers like him losing their body parts.

Do you know some Republican prick chewed out my ass saying Marines ARE NOT "soldiers" -- they're "Marines," and that I should feel ashamed because it's unbelievably disrespectful to refer to a Marine as a soldier.

Alright fine, my mistake, I was disrespectful, but Christ, I was just trying to be sympathetic.

Oh, but you know what? He supports don't ask don't tell for law abiding patriotic gay people like myself. He thinks it's just fine to ban "homo's"(which was his word) but oh my God, I refer to a Marine as a soldier, and he about craps his pants.

Now I'm very disappointed with myself and sad because I wasn't able to immediately come up with a strong response. :( :banghead:

[atommom]

1. Don't blame yourself. You are not the one with the major

psychiatric disorder. :hug: And it's doubtful that a good comeback would have made any impression on him whatsoever. Just step away ... :yoiks:

[Catherine Vincent]

2. Did his hero shrubby make that mistake a while back?

I doubt if the repuke would have said anything.

[zanne]

3. And they call us touchy.

Coming from the northeast, where there are very few bases, I don't even know the difference between and colonel or a sergeant, and I find it offensive that some military people expect civilians to know all about their ranks and their culture. They're on bases, for Pete's sake! I just don't think it's very important for civilians to know the proper etiquette.

[swimboy]

4. I want to cut you some slack.

You were trying to talk reasonable with someone who appears to be insane. You made an honest mistake involving what I would classify as arcane knowledge. We're not born knowing what Marines call themselves. He can't deal with the forest so he obsesses about a little tree.

And better to allow gays to serve in the armed forces than people who can't get their heads out of their asses.

[Solly Mack]

5. I'd have said "that distinction doesn't make him any less legless"

but then I'm mean.

I pick at Marines calling themselves "Marines" and not soldiers all the time. It's usually good natured ribbing...

[ProfessorGAC]

12. I Would Have Said Something Similar

I would have said "It's a distinction without a difference, and i'm not showing disrespect. So stick with the matter at hand."

People like that need to be slapped down.
The Professor

[Jim__]

6. He's disrespecting soldiers.

I understand that there is interservice rivalry and that's fine. But, to claim that calling a marine a soldier "unbelieveably disrespectful" is to imply that a soldier is less than a marine. That is an unbelievably disrespectful to all soldiers.

[Solly Mack]

9. but that's exactly the indoctrination Marines get

that they are better because they hit the ground first...great pride in being front line cannon fodder.


However, unofficially, Special Forces hit the ground first...and that's Army. So... lol

[DS1]

28. You forgot Force Recon

:P

[Solly Mack]

35. LOL!

touche! :)

[BOSSHOG]

11. Roger that Teammate!

Professional Marines respect their fellow servicemembers who happen to be Soldiers. and the vast majority of Marines are professional.

[DS1]

29. Seconded

:thumbsup:

[spanone]

7. Fuck him. Assholes are born everyday, you just encountered one.

He's talking semantics and you're talking policy. He'll never get it.

[Javaman]

8. did this repuke prick even serve in the marines?

this is their tactic, to distract from the main point of the conversation by pointing out something irrelevant minor to the conversation. To get around this, I usually ignore their comment and continue on, even if they are still trying to continue with their pointless point.
Then if they call me on it, I just say it's irrelevant to the point. And unless they wish to have a civil conversation, it's over. They usually blather on, I zip it and walk away. They get really pissed at not having their inane comments acknowledged. :)

[BOSSHOG]

10. I would let a Marine decide whether it is "disrespectful"

if someone called them a Soldier; not some right wing yahoo in a chat room. I served 24 years and the camaraderie between the services is incredible. I was in the Navy but served with Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Coastguardsmen. We are all very proud of our service and our uniforms and there is a steady stream of good natured kidding of members of the other services. However, when it becomes necessary (wartime) we are all teammates. "Soldiers" if you will, united to support and defend the constitution so dumbasses can attempt to be badasses on the internet. I would like to know if your antagonist has any time in uniform.

I don't think its fine to ban "homos." I think its a ludicrous, antiquated policy. I spent an inordinate amount of time dealing with my heterosexual Sailors who spend their time writing bad checks, beating their spouses and drinking to damn much. There is zero rationale to ban homosexuals from serving in the military. Please lurkers, especially those who have never served, set me straight.

[bigscott]

16. set you straight?

very funny!! Please - I agree dont-ask-dont-tell is ridiculous but we find the uniforms unflattering anyway. And all us "homo's" really are not that patriotic anyway. BTW, we prefer "fags" to "homos" :sarcasm:

[cboy4]

34. You made me laugh...thanks!

:)

[Ian David]

17. How about an all-gay "Private Security Firm" (mercenary group)

You could call it "Asked And Answered" (as opposed to "Don't Ask Don't Tell.")

Or maybe Pinkwater Consulting.

The government will pay you ten times as much money.

You can pick and choose which wars you fight in.

And you can get decent healthcare.

[demnan]

13. I thank all those who have served

It is too bad that so many who did serve and were homosexual had to hide this fact, because somebody thought it wasn't safe for homosexuals to share base bathrooms or even trenches with people they might be attracted to.

It's unbelieveable that people use a word like "homo" anymore. That should be considered as inappropriate as the N word.

[global1]

14. Tell Him You Think Soldier Is More Respectful Than "Fodder Unit"...

which is what the *'s 41 & 43 think of all those who serve in uniform.

[renie408]

15. Yeah, its hard when you are gasping for breath and you feel

like your brain is going to explode to frame an argument.

[cboy4]

18. Yes, I forgot to mention this person said he served in the Marine Corps

However, I haven't served in the military. I'm "just" a civilian who didn't know the difference between soldier and Marine.

And I'm not even really upset about the gay comment -- I'm used to people making remarks...I just thought he acted very mean toward me considering I was saying something compassionate about the Marine who lost his leg.

Maybe he was angry I feel the troops should come, but he really embarrassed me and I don't think that was fair.

[Jed Dilligan]

19. I'd say you were right. Check it out:

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/soldier

Main Entry: 1sol·dier
Pronunciation: 'sOl-j&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English soudier, from Middle French, from soulde pay, from Late Latin solidus solidus
1 a : one engaged in military service and especially in the army b : an enlisted man or woman c : a skilled warrior

This is from Merriam-Webster's online dictionary. Except for "especially in the army," your reference to the marine as a "soldier" fits each of these definitions. Especially, I hope, "c".

And from the University of North Carolina:

[insane_cratic_gal]

20. Reminded him Marines are actually Navy

put that in his pipe and smoke it.

[sui generis]

21. damn damn damn

why couldn'tita been me

you should feel ashamed????

to a civilian all military are "soldiers", and some kinds of specialized "soldiers" are marines, sailors, airmen, and infantry. To a "marine" all civilians are civilians. You don't run around telling marines that they should feel ashamed for talking about civilians instead of babtists, republicans, or people with green eyes.

And another thing. Gays ARE in the military. Gays serve openly in almost every other western military in the world, and if the American military serves next to openly gay soldiers and marines in other militaries, I HOPE he craps his pants.

Remember anyone who tells you that you should be ashamed isn't worth the piss poor protoplasm they're made out of.

[pocket]

22. jarheads will do that

they think they are something special

[DS1]

30. Because we are

[yellowcanine]

23. Webster: One who engages in military service and esp. in the army.

So in a tight ass strictly speaking way your wing nut "friend" is correct, but just barely and certainly not in the broader sense of common language usage. I very much doubt that many active or retired Marines would object to being called a "soldier". Marines after all do fight in the infantry so in practice when they fight side by side with army regulars they are soldiers.

[Jed Dilligan]

24. A good link

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/dickg/soldier.html

[cboy4]

37. That was interesting reading...thanks

for the link!

[dogday]

25. My Son Is A Soldier in The Army National Guard in Iraq

Regardless of what you call them, they are dying by the thousands and losing their limbs in larger numbers. They are all in a shit load of hurt in Iraq....

[mtnsnake]

26. Tell him that Marine wannabes aren't real soldiers either

[DS1]

27. What a shit. I'm a former-Marine, and I get called a soldier

all the time by people who don't know there's a difference. I doesn't matter, I don't care, this guy just leaped on that because he couldn't find a way to disagree with your initial argument.

I've even had people correct ME! I can't stand the "former" aspect, so I say it like it used to be said - ex-Marine. My chickenhawk GOP nazi dentist's assistant tried to correct me, insisted I said "former". F that.

[Jed Dilligan]

31. chickenhawk GOP nazi dentist's assistant

LOL

[sui generis]

36. remind them what the "semper" part of semper fi means.

The funny thing is people claiming some special rights because they belong to (or know somebody who belongs to) this organization or that organization. Just like highschool.

Not all marines are created equal, and without a doubt the hollywood movie marine image that most of those chickenhawk GOP nazi dentist assistants have in their head is not the face of real marines in service, although there are a few who believe their own hype.

Odd thing none of the marines I know are asshole jarheads either - hollywood is just too damn hard to keep up with.

[deadmessengers]

32. My dad does that

My dad's a Marine, who served in Vietnam. He corrects people who refer to him as a soldier (or, an ex-Marine - the only ex-Marines are dead ones, as he says) about it all the time, because he's (rightfully) damn proud of his service. But, he's not a DICK about it, and he doesn't consider it 'disrespectful'.

Of course, he's also a good Democrat, which explains a lot.

[mmonk]

33. That person couldn't see the forest for the trees.

That distinction wasn't part of the point. So they got stuck in one of the trees.

[FreedomAngel82]

38. Quite sad

:hug: And I thought they were all called soliders? Just like being in the marines it's your branch and what you do. Like with the navy. Do they call navy seals soliders? :shrug:

[Lex]

39. Sounds like a brain-washing thing.

No disrespect meant to the Marines who bravely serve our country, but really, soldier is a word that is understood by all to mean any military men or women.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

40. Fuck him. Did you know that the DoD plans to get 40% of amputees

back into service! I can't remember the current figure, but it's something like 10% going back to Iraq.

(source: "America's Secret Shame" documentary which aired on Channel 4 about a month ago.)
http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/A/americas_secret_shame/

[seabeyond]

41. he should be f*in ashamed more concerned with name, than their

life.