Facebook Picture of Girl Flipping Off Unknown Soldier Tomb Goes Viral

Originally posted by Grimmley
I have to disagree with you on that. Most people that oppose the government, the in general military and our soldiers (not going to get into the just/unjust of wars debat here) however do not want people to think for themselves. If you do not agree then your a murder, racist etc. and yes they DO try to infringe upon you their beliefs, instead of letting people make up their on minds and conclusions.That is the major problem with the world in general, groups (insert your group here) DO NOT want you to think about anything, they want you to only have thier opinions on things nothing else. Most groups across the world are that way, as are most people. No one is tought how to do critical thinking or problem solving. the tactics most groups use is litigation and laws threaten lawsuits, and laws that effect everyones civil liberties.
Grim

I don't think we disagree, exactly. You can scream a viewpoint into somebody's ear and though you would be trying to influence their mind, you would not be forcing them to change it. Even if they do change their mind, it would still ultimately be up to them to change it [I won't discuss unjust wars if you don't discuss free will ;-) ].

You're right, most people do want others to agree with them. But, few will shoot you for disagreeing.

Also, it's worth pointing out that when I refer to people who are "anti-war and anti-violence," I don't necessarily mean people who profess to be these things. I refer to people whose actions are characterized this way.

reply to post by sonnny1


I'm disgusted by her photo however, our heros, our soldiers that have shed blood for our freedom also did so for her. "I may not like her opinion, but ill defend her right to express it to till death"

I just hope that she understands that the rest of America also has an opinion and an equal right to express it.

reply to post by FrankieNinja


Hey FrankieNinja, I'm guessing you're new to this discussion; it has been explained ad naseum (so other posters, forgive me), but it might not be clear at first: This girl's joke, is that a sign giving a command is an exercise in futility, i.e., a sign does not have the ability to enforce its demand so it's nothing more than noise. Imagine me commanding you not to eat cereal anymore, silly, right? Signs have Napoleon Complexes. You don't see signs saying "Please go about 60 mph, driving faster might make this highway more difficult to navigate than it needs to be for new, short, or impaired drivers; if you're going to drive faster, just please keep those people in mind." But, this is a much more fitting tone for an inanimate object. Instead it says, "SPEED LIMIT / 65." What kind of person talks in all-caps but gods and idiots? Who else speaks in such absolutes? So that is the basis of the joke.

I think there could also be a measure of real anti-authoritarian sentiment in flipping off the sign. Firstly, it [the sign] is an insult to intelligence, as if chaos would erupt were the sign not there. Secondly, what good is silence at all times? To let somebody mourn or contemplate, if there are such people around, that is a fine reason for silence. But, are these people not signs for themselves? And furthermore, can they not say much more with a "shh glance" than a sign could ever hope to say, and with much more appropriate means? Thirdly, when people are exposed to signs [symbols] chronically, I think it erodes their sense of reality, or something. Or perhaps, to rely on an authority that is not really there. In any case, what good can a sign do in a deeply psychological sense?

So, # You Sign!

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........('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
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reply to post by davcwebb


"Whats that old adage, when in doubt...dont!!!"

Send her to Afghanistan.. see how long she lasts... what a waste of an Oxygen user...

Originally posted by Dystopiaphiliac

Originally posted by SubTruth

Are you really this stupid? The tomb is for soldiers who were never found and could not get a proper funeral. Honor and empathy that is what this is all about. And to be honest I can see why these simple things would be lost to you.


She had every right to do what she did and I have every right to tell her she was wrong.

Are people so confused and in turmoil with their own conscious mind that they are actually letting this get under their skin? If you think she's wrong for what she did, and it hurts you in some way, you are allowing it to hurt you, and on top of that it means that you created an issue out of a complete non issue.

Well thank you for showing me the light. Do I sound confused or in turmoil. And the making a issue out of nothing------pot meet kettle.



I will say it again so people don't think I am confused. Honor and empathy is lacking in this world and that is the real issue here. People do these things more and more as the years go by. Anybody want to know why? Apologists and this thread and world is filled with them.



Don't say she is wrong you might hurt her feelings. She can do or say whatever she wants and should never be judged. The funniest part is the same people defending her would throw her under a bus in a second if it was something that offended them. It is called having a paper a**. Ideals and truth heck even facts flap in the wind daily on ATS.

Originally posted by Ketzer22
People who post in these threads with replies like "She has the right to do this, more offensive things happen, whatevs" really bother me because they try to act like their point of view transcends the thinking of us mere mortals who are bothered by the complete indignity by this stupid bitch. She's a fat, disrespectful pig who doesn't deserve the rights that those men have died to protect. If you hate the military so much why would you go to the Arlington cemetery in the first place? That's like someone who hates McDonald's goes there to eat?

I hope she loses her job. This is completely disrespectful. I have a very vulgar sense of humor and can laugh at things that might make many of you blush but I find absolutely ZERO humor in this.

This is exactly what I was talking about; Ketzer here thinks freedom means what he finds acceptable... and it just isn't.

Originally posted by SubTruth

Originally posted by Dystopiaphiliac

Originally posted by SubTruth

Are you really this stupid? The tomb is for soldiers who were never found and could not get a proper funeral. Honor and empathy that is what this is all about. And to be honest I can see why these simple things would be lost to you.


She had every right to do what she did and I have every right to tell her she was wrong.

Are people so confused and in turmoil with their own conscious mind that they are actually letting this get under their skin? If you think she's wrong for what she did, and it hurts you in some way, you are allowing it to hurt you, and on top of that it means that you created an issue out of a complete non issue.

Well thank you for showing me the light.

Do I sound confused or in turmoil. And the making a issue out of nothing------pot meet kettle.

I will say it again so people don't think I am confused. Honor and empathy is lacking in this world and that is the real issue here. People do these things more and more as the years go by. Anybody want to know why? Apologists and this thread and world is filled with them.

Don't say she is wrong you might hurt her feelings. She can do or say whatever she wants and should never be judged.

The funniest part is the same people defending her would throw her under a bus in a second if it was something that offended them. It is called having a paper a**. Ideals and truth heck even facts flap in the wind daily on ATS.

Yeah man, I hear ya. For example, I've seen a poster on this very thread call somebody stupid while in the same breath appealing to empathy. I don't see why the posters on this board and the subject of the OP is out of empathy's jurisdiction - maybe you can help me understand.

reply to post by Samtzurr


Ok, I see what you were saying before, I dont think I read it the way you were meaning before. But yes I concur to that.

Grim

She asked for all the cyberbullying and harassment. Same as a chick in a short skirt is just asking for rape.

Cyberbullying and harassment is wrong, unless they voice an opinion you don't agree with of course.

If she goes and drinks some bleach, is everyone gonna cry over her like they did boob showing girl?

Free speech works in more than one way. Yeah she has the right to be an idiot. We all have the right to call her an idiot. Her employer has a right to not employ idiots. In this case she is getting her just deserts. The only one to blame here is her.

Seriously how stupid does a person have to be? First to do something like that and second to think hey it would be a great idea to post this where everyone can see how big of an idiot she is. She is the reason some people doubt Darwin.


The only sympathy I have is for her parents. They are probably wondering where they went wrong raising her. Her job was working with people who have probably lost someone in a war. It’s disrespectful and dumb to make matters worse it was a company sponsored trip. There is no way she should keep her job and she deserves every bit of ridicule this has brought to her. Eventually this will be forgotten by everyone else but hopefully it is a lesson that she will not forget.

I can’t say which was more stupid taking the picture in the first place or thinking it was a good idea to post it on Facebook later. Her friend should lose their job as well but they will get off lucky because the world doesn’t know their face.

Seriously if you want to feel sorry for someone feel sorry for her parents and the shame she brought them.

Originally posted by lee anoma

Originally posted by camaro68ss
that sign is right infront of the tomb, shes looking right at the tomb in the picture.

Just to point out, those signs are movable.
They are at the entrance to the cemetery to remind you of respect for the ENTIRE area, not just one tomb.

You can tell she is at the entrance because she is right by the staircase leading into the cemetery.

I don't live far from Arlington. Like maybe 15-20 minutes. I'm 5 minutes from a similar military cemetery.

They don't have those signs in front of EVERY grave.
That would certainly be a whole lot of signs, don't you think?

She's mocking the rules on the sign, not an 'unknown soldier'.

- Lee

edit on 21-11-2012 by lee anoma because: (no reason given)

edit on 21-11-2012 by lee anoma because: (no reason given)

If you support her actions so much and you live so close why don’t out go down and take a picture of yourself doing the same and post it on Facebook with the added caption that you were just disrespecting the sign and you feel the cemetery is separate maybe you can get public opinion to change if you feel so strongly about it.

Just make sure it isn’t a company sponsored event. Your employer shouldn’t care then right.

reply to post by davcwebb


very sad.

Yeah she has freedom of speech. When you post on any public site, Facebook, Twitter, etc. you are then subject to everyone's opinion of that speech. It seems most people were outraged. I have to say it upset me to see the disrespect at the site of the Unknown Soldiers Tomb. Whether she was beside the tomb or not doesn't matter to me. It was still disrespect and just plain stupid on an adults part. These soldiers died for your rights and that doesn't mean you either agree or disagree with the wars or if you even care, you still should show respect. Somewhere a mother, father, sister, brother, wife, grandmother, grandfather, etc lost a loved one.

Personally i would feel insulted by a sign in such a place instructing me how i should behave.All i see is a young woman mocking the sign...not the sentiments of the place behind it.
I think her only "crime" was maybe not being sensitive to how others may perceive her actions and thus become offended by them.
Does this mean she deserves to lose her job and her credibility? I think not!
Thank goodness i was a teenager and young woman in the days before internet, I'm pretty sure it would have got me in hot water! But here i am years later managing to be a well adjusted member of society....well almost
Give the girl a break!

absolutely horrendous behavior! no respect, no dignity and certainly no class!

reply to post by Samtzurr


Nice semiotic analysis. S&f

reply to post by Frogs


Maybe she didnt want the whole world to see it or expect or even assume that the whole world would get it.

I think this is the unintended outcome of posting things online...an "inside joke" takes on outside meanings when people not in on it hear, read or see something.