Returning service people (wife, person, member, narcissistic)
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Every week or so the news runs a story about a service person who returns home unexpectedly and surpises their kid at school.
I think this is horrible. The poor kid- I mean, I'm sure he/she is thrilled to have their parent home, but to surprise him/her at school with tv cameras in front of all of their friends. It just seems to be in poor taste and not fair to the child.
I think it all depends on the situation. If your child attends a DoDDS school, then there would be a whole bunch of kids getting the surprise of their lives. On an individual basis I don't see much wrong with it. I'm sure any embarrassment is long forgotten by the overwhelming happiness of seeing a parent return from a deployment. Plus the military has many rules and regs regarding it's service members (especially in uniform) and the media.
I'm sure for the most part that these kids attend a school on base. It brings tears to my eyes when I see these happy reunions and knowing that so many don't get a happy reunion with a parent.
Also I think it reminds the public about our service men and women who are serving this country and the effect it has on their families. Sometimes we, those in the military and the families, feel like the public has forgotten about those serving this country.
And yes I take this personally since I have three sons serving and I have one currently in the middle east.
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These have all been public schools. Although we have several military bases, the kids are all in public schools here. I just think it is exploitive, not telling the kids that the parent is even coming home. I'm sure that the kids aren't permanently damaged, but it just seems wrong. Some of the kids seem totally freaked out by the surprise.
The ones around here have been in public schools and mostly elementary age. Often the class has sent cards to the military parent and are just as excited when that parent walks in class and surprises their kid. It makes me happy ... a feel good moment for me.
Every week or so the news runs a story about a service person who returns home unexpectedly and surpises their kid at school.
I think this is horrible. The poor kid- I mean, I'm sure he/she is thrilled to have their parent home, but to surprise him/her at school with tv cameras in front of all of their friends. It just seems to be in poor taste and not fair to the child.
Am I missing something?
I agree that those news spots seem to be terribly inappropriate and not in the best interests of the child. However I wonder how many of them are orchestrated by the service person's own family. I'm a very private person, yet there are many who are hoping for their 15 minutes of fame or to have material to upload to youtube for the extra attention. We do live in a narcissistic society.
I am also getting tired of occasionally encountering someone who feels that their family should get special treatment because they have a family member in the military. I have never supported invading Iraq and I certainly never asked anyone to sign up to the military to protect our country. And some signed up just for the educational benefits and the bonuses. And of those, I know many that plan to spend their bonus on buying some brand new high hp car when they get out. So much for their noble efforts.
You might actually be surprised how often this happens AND DOES NOT GET REPORTED!
If you want to blame someone, blame the DoD media people - they are the ones who get in touch with the media - not the service member
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