Use the following scenario to answer the questions below:

You are on a Boeing 737-200 flying from ATL - CLT. The aircraft has 8F seats and 6F seats are occupied. Flight time is 37 minutes. There are 2 soldiers flying home from Iraq and they are on the final leg of their journey (Hint: 2F seats = 2 seats that could be occupied by soldiers).

Question 1:

You are the GA or FA on an unnamed airline headquartered in ATL who is on the verge of bankruptcy. What do you do?

A) Announce over the PA system how honored the airline is to be taking them home and immediately upgrade them complimentary.

B) Sit them in the rear of the aircraft and don't even offer them bottled water.

What do you think happened? (Hint - A is the wrong answer)

Question 2:

You are one of approximately 25 passengers on this flight. The pilot makes an announcement acknowleding the soldiers and asks all passengers if they would be courteous enough to let the soldiers off first - in case there is a camera crew to welcome them home. What do you think happened?

A) Immediately after the announcement, all passengers broke out into gracious applause.

B) When the plane landed the passengers waited for the soldiers to collect their belongings and applauded as they walked down the aisle.

C) Both of the above.

D) Neither of the above.

(Hint: A, B, and C are incorrect)

From the 12 defining indicators of a fascist society...

5. Military Glorified

Supremacy of the military - The military establishment receives a disproportionate share of government resources, even as pressing domestic needs are neglected. Individual soldiers and military culture are glamorized and made constantly visible.

This provides both an object for public glorification, as well as sharp warning to possibly restless citizens that the power of the state stands close at hand, ready to use its great potential for violence.

csb - your response is incredibly offensive.

Only a fool would fail to recognize that virtually any response to this topic will be offensive to some (substantial) group of people.

I find it unfortunate that the OP chose to put this topic in TravelBuzz instead of Omni, where it belongs. The post has nothing to do with travel, and everything to do with sociopolitics. The purpose of the post is neither to inquire nor to inform; the purpose is to generate a discussion about people's attitudes towards the military. That's Omni. Not TravelBuzz.

I agree with Wideman on this one.

Regardless of what forum this belongs in, we are obviously not a fascist society, so, yes, incredibly offensive. Inappropriate, as well.

flygirl555 is obviously pretty exercised about this incident -- she posted the whole story, without the "SAT" wrapping, in the DL forum already. So this thread adds nothing.

csb, your contribution is IMHO disgraceful demagoguery, especially on Memorial Day weekend.

I find the responses to csb's post more interesting than the post itself. There's a "let's attack the truth" theme to them.



csb,

It seems as though there are 14. Many seem to apply to this country even more so. 14 defining characteristics of Facism

I would propose that willingly giving up the freedoms that past veterans fought for is disgraceful, especially on Memorial Day weekend.

There's no truth in what he said.

There was a rather asinine implication, but no truth there.

This is an internet bulletin board; you cannot expect much character on it unforunately. Just be happy for the things you find which ARE worthy of respect. In New York, we are in the midst of Fleet Week. The sailors got a total standing ovation at Yankee stadium yesterday. ^ So don't let the behind-the-keyboard negativity get to you. They are in the minority....at least they are in New York.

Whether or not you are a fan of the war -- there is nothing wrong with showing some respect to military men and women in uniform.

I don't disagree at all, but csb equated showing respect to military personnel with fascistic sympathies, which is what i meant by demagoguery.

On an individual basis, I have no problem with showing respect for individual military members. It may come as a shock to some, but I, after talking with him and getting to know him, upgraded a young soldier on a DFW-RNO flight last year.

What I have a problem with is the mass fetish that this country has developed for the military--an unthinking, unquestioning worship in which "support the troops" has become code for "don't dare question the policies they are being asked to carry out." Just because somebody is carrying out the duties for which they have volunteered does not automatically make him a hero and object for uncritical worship.

The very notion of blindly calling every troop a hero is nonsense. What about those "troops" involved in the ever growing catalog of abuses--from minor and petty bullying on the streets, to full-blown crimes, to actual war-crimes? The perpetrators may not be a majority but they certainly are proving to be a noticeable minority within the ranks of our beloved troops.

I only wish that the "support our troops" crowd would devote the same energy that they put into shouting down anyone that questions the role of the military in our society towards protesting the cuts in VA hospitals, soldier benefits and counseling services for returning soldiers.

The negative reaction to your post, I believe, was because it suggested a blanket condemnation of our military, and further suggested that any recognition of returning servicemen and women was a bad thing to be avoided. Perhaps that is not what you intended, but it certainly came across that way.

Honoring those who serve their country and have died for their country is hardly new or a recent "fetish." This country has a 200 year long tradition of publicly and privately thanking those who put themselves in harms way, either voluntarily or drafted to do so. These are ordinary men and women who not infrequently exhibit extraordinary valor when called upon by their country. Far from being some kind of pro-war code, "support the troops" is a recognition of the sacrifices these men and women are making to answer the call of their country. You may not wish to make this sacrifice, and that is your right, but to denigrate those who do rings terribly hollow.


Every campaign since the beginning of time has produced absues of some degree. That is the nature of war and the nature of man. All we as humans can do is try to identify abuses when they occur, and correct the situation when possible. The abuses that have occurred in the current conflict hardly compare to some of the horrific abuses that have taken place in past conflicts. Just ask the veterans of WWII. To be dismissive of all our servicemen and women because of current abuses does them a great disservice. How do you identify the handful of those who have gone over the line from the overwhelming majority who are serving with honor and integrity? I know of no currently available "abuse detector" so that you can say thanks to some troops only and not to others.

This statement suggests you don't believe the military HAS a role in our society. I would posit that no one wants to have a military in any society, but that reality offers little alternative. And I would further posit that the "support our troops" crowd IS working to improve the lot of our servicemen and our veterans. Perhaps this work does not make the news headlines, but that does not mean it isn't ongoing.


Flyingmama
... very proud mother of a twice deployed U.S. Marine