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Nothing wrong with thanking anyone who is doing a good job. I'm all for it.
But I don't know very many truck drivers with PTSD (unless they're former military) - so it's not as likely to climb all over them if I say, "Hey, thanks for keeping America running!" They're not likely to have some sort of survivor guilt or traumatic experiences that my gesture of gratitude might bring to the surface.
They would, however, probably think I was sort of weird.
LOL! They would probably ask what are you smoking.
LOL! They would probably ask what are you smoking.
And I'd say, "Some stranger on an internet forum told me I should thank you for keeping America going," and he'd be like, "What a weird woman... give me your tears, gypsy lady..."
If he is wearing his old uniform or medals on Veterans Day (or other patriotic day), then I feel it's safe to warrant an appreciation of his past service. I hope I'm not wrong.
If he is wearing his old uniform or medals on Veterans Day (or other patriotic day), then I feel it's safe to warrant an appreciation of his past service. I hope I'm not wrong.
I think that would be fine - after all, he's intentionally bringing attention to the fact that he's a veteran, and in some circumstances there's nothing wrong with that.
That's one situation I would say was pretty safe to say thank you. If they didn't want the attention, they wouldn't be wearing their uniform.
On the other hand, if it's something like presenting an ID at Sears to get 10% off on tires... that's not really the same sort of situation. There are some cashiers who see the ID and say, "Oh, I have a son who's serving," or something to that effect, but they leave it at that, which is pretty harmless I should think...
I agree with him. It's empty. If you are really thankful and feel the service is meaningful, offer your own and suit up.
This is an idiotic statement......haven't read the numerous pages of responses but your "offer your own and suit up" mantra is ridiculous - It would discount anyone middle aged or elderly (or young children for that matter) from thanking a veteran for his service to the country. It would also leave out anyone disabled, handicapped, etc. from expressing their gratitude.
To look at the other side of this... shouldn't it be a given that we're thankful for veterans? I know we have Mother's Day when we thank our mothers, but do we often, regularly tell them thank you for raising us? We do recognize them on special occasions, but not every time we run into a mother.
As a nation, we SHOULD be thankful that we're being kept safe with a military. (Some posters have expressed different views, fine, but they can express those views without repercussions because of... drumroll... the fact that we're not under a dictatorship... which we probably would be had we not had a military to begin with. But anyway.) So, right. We should be thankful. There were times in the past when people were NOT thankful - i.e. Vietnam. So now we have to point out that, yes, we are.
Genuine question - were any veterans told "thank you" pre-Vietnam? Like, WWII, WWI, and before. I remember reading lots of military themed poetry and prose from those eras, some honoring the service members and some not - but I don't recall if it was a thing. Is it just a U.S. thing in this era? Does it happen in other countries as well? Do civilians thank their military members outside of parades and military appreciation days and such?
I don't randomly thank vets or anyone else I see in uniform for their service because I don't know what they did/do while in it and I don't know what kind of person they are. Joining the military doesn't make you Mother Teresa by default.
I know we're conditioned to be grateful that someone went to war instead of us or could possibly have to risk their lives instead of us regardless of anything else, but I have difficulty with that last part - with tunnel vision and things said so blindly so often that they don't even mean anything anymore.
How many people do you see thanking police officers and firefighters for their service? Few if any because that's not a part of our programming. Police officers die all the time in the line of duty trying to protect someone or the community or themselves and have the privilege of being looked down on thanks to fellow officers who abuse their authority.
Firefighters risk their lives to get people out, not for any complicated ideals, but because life is worth saving. They die in fires where there wasn't even anyone to save, they were just trying to keep it from spreading, to make sure that there wouldn't be someone who'd need saving. Hell, forget lives, they'll stand there all night trying to save your darn house.
When I thank someone, it's because I know them, I know their story, and I'm grateful - truly grateful. Not because it's "what you say when you see them". If I'm not inclined to thank everyone who puts themselves in harm's way for me or the idea of me in spite of not knowing anything else about them, I'm not going to single anyone out for the privilege.
For all I know, all they did in the service was rape and murder innocent civilians for fun. Not saying that's pandemic in the military, just saying that sort of thing matters to me - the thought that I could walk up to someone and unwittingly be thanking them for that.
"Think of the Vietnam vets- I'm sure they would have loved to hear people thank them for their service."
The first time anybody thanked me was about 40 years after I came back. I was actually affected by it. I simply said, "You're welcome." It happens more often now. That's what I say every time.
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