Message boards where folks can post anonymously always strike me as enormous repositories of outright lying. People often try to win arguments by claiming bogus credentials. During the Writers Guild strike, for instance, the Hollywood-themed forums were full of anonymous people claiming falsely to be WGA members or to have inside info on the negotiations…info that later turned out to be totally spurious. Obviously, some of the messages that claimed special knowledge or access actually did…but enough were fraudulent that it's brain-dead stupid to give any of those messages any credence; not unless there's a real, real good reason.
It's the same way with military-related debates. Debaters keep claiming military experience that they may or may not actually have. That said, I was amused by the following exchange today in a public forum over on the CNN board where the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is being discussed. I have no idea if either of the parties actually served but I thought it was worth noting…
SFC Grunt
As a 18 year Vet of the Army and the Infantry Core , this makes me sick to my stomach , I cant wait to see how the ground force reacts to this. The military is not a place for Gays and will cause nothing but trouble when this is past. So call me what you want , I have 6 deployments under my belt for my county how about you?SPC Mike
I'd rather serve with a gay soldier, than serve under an incompetent NCO that can't even spell Corps or passed correctly. Which one of these is a greater threat to military readiness?