stolen valor

cm1179

cm1179

cm1179

Soldato
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i've been watching a few yt vids on instances of this in the US. i wont link to any due to expletives but they're easy to find.

i didn't realise how big a thing this is in terms of the disrepectful levels it involves to go ahead and carry this out.

seems to be a US thing though does this go on in the UK? the people who do this need help!
 
cm1179 said:
i've been watching a few yt vids on instances of this in the US. i wont link to any due to expletives but they're easy to find.

i didn't realise how big a thing this is in terms of the disrepectful levels it involves to go ahead and carry this out.

seems to be a US thing though does this go on in the UK? the people who do this need help!
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Who needs the help; the people who 'steal' or the people who accuse?

Both need help in my opinion.
 
Time was when every pub in the country had a regular who reckoned he was 'the second man into the Iranian embassy'.
 
The more and more you read about certain parts of the USA the more I am generally freaked out by their sicofantic and nationalism tendencies.

Stolen valor stuff is the icing on the cake for me. It's funny and disturbing at the same time.
Some are just nutballs and others are just low life crooks.

I have an old school mate that moved to Virginia to marry a yank. Hes now a gun maniac, republican loving, 4 wheel pickup truck driving redneck. His Facebook feed is frightening and comically cliché. Not bad for an Essex boy.
 
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Yeah I live in Hereford, half the old blokes down the pub will claim to be ex SAS.

Maybe they are maybe they aren't I don't care.
 
We don't take it quite so seriously or vehemently in the UK, but it does go on.
Stolen Valour itself is quite a dramatic term, whereas we just call them 'Walts', referencing Walter Mitty.
People do out and shame the Walts, although it's more of a sport and mickey-take than a serious public lynching like the US seems to do.

Dunno if I can link, due to the language, but go to ARRSE - The ARmy Rumour SErrvice and look up Walt in the ARRSEpedia.
Tells you all you need to know.
 
We need this here the number of walts in the UK is getting ridiculous, from the local security guard with the paratroopers beret badge, who ways nearly 20 stone to the little scrots trying to get people to buy alcohol/ fags/ bus fares for them outside the offies because they're soldiers...
 
Yeah that's usually the case. Know of a few who actually were but not enough to know if they go round blabbing it.

Does anyone else find it ridiculous watching Americans rush up to shake soldiers hands and thank them for their service?
 
Abraxaz1 said:
little scrots trying to get people to buy alcohol/ fags/ bus fares for them outside the offies because they're soldiers...
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With few exceptions, that's really not even Walting since if they're not old enough to buy such stuff, they won't be old enough to be serving.

soundb0y said:
Does anyone else find it ridiculous watching Americans rush up to shake soldiers hands and thank them for their service?
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Unusual... not so ridiculous, when you consider how they treated their Vietnam guys and I do think the nation is still on a guilt trip over that... In some ways it's quite nice, but at the same time it's a little weird when we mostly think of it as just doing the job you signed up for.

I have had a couple of people try that with me when they found out I was in the Forces. I didn't actually know what to say.


Longbow said:
What colour is the boathouse in Hereford!?
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Green.
That always shuts 'em up!! :D
 
Had one guy (who genuinely had done 13 years army engineers) go off on one when he misunderstood what I was saying and thought I was claiming to be special forces :( I've never been military but have previously worked with the armed forces including having done tabs in full gear which is where the conversation was going.
 
Efour said:
The more and more you read about certain parts of the USA the more I am generally freaked out by their sicofantic and nationalism tendencies.

Stolen valor stuff is the icing on the cake for me. It's funny and disturbing at the same time.
Some are just nutballs and others are just low life crooks.

I have an old school mate that moved to Virginia to marry a yank. Hes now a gun maniac, republican loving, 4 wheel pickup truck driving redneck. His Facebook feed is frightening and comically cliché. Not bad for an Essex boy.
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One thing I find really funny in a sad way is how a lot of threads on say reddit will have someone, after a terrorist attack, ask how they can be brainwashed so easily. This from a country where most of the country is brainwashed into believing their military is some mighty strong arm of justice around the world.

This is a country that paid the NFL multiple million to get the players to go out and stand up for the national anthem as historically they used to be in the locker room for that. A country that has changed the national anthem to add religion(the under god part wasn't always there) to make it more compelling. A country that ridicules and makes an example of kids who won't stand up and recite the pledge of allegiance every day in school from what say 4-5 till 18yr old.


The guys that care about stolen valour or the guys who have been completely brainwashed into thinking their actions with the army are honourable and for the good of the world, protecting peoples freedoms and right to free speech, etc.
 
I read a story on cnn recently about a student marked down for not standing up during the anthem. The action was reversed out of respect for 1st amendment rights and the teacher who was new advised this was incorrect. The student is native american and did not feel comfortable which sounds fair enough I guess

Longbow said:
Of course, but probably a lot less: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sas-imposter-in-court-after-wearing-194607

What colour is the boathouse in Hereford!?
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Great movie, I like how he never accuses him of anything just that its obvious. I wonder if sean beans character had never stood up, would he say anything. If both sides of the road are elevated and the target below in the road does that point stand, maybe due to recoil it does.
 
Plastic Solders as i like to call them, i had one come up to me in Birmingham in full cemo begging for money.

Started of the conversation with "Do you love your country?" alarm bells started immediately ringing
 
ttaskmaster said:
We don't take it quite so seriously or vehemently in the UK, but it does go on.
Stolen Valour itself is quite a dramatic term, whereas we just call them 'Walts', referencing Walter Mitty.
People do out and shame the Walts, although it's more of a sport and mickey-take than a serious public lynching like the US seems to do.

Dunno if I can link, due to the language, but go to ARRSE - The ARmy Rumour SErrvice and look up Walt in the ARRSEpedia.
Tells you all you need to know.
Click to expand...

I've just had a read through the WALT hall of fame. Brilliant!
 
silversurfer said:
I read a story on cnn recently about a student marked down for not standing up during the anthem. The action was reversed out of respect for 1st amendment rights and the teacher who was new advised this was incorrect. The student is native american and did not feel comfortable which sounds fair enough I guess



Great movie, I like how he never accuses him of anything just that its obvious. I wonder if sean beans character had never stood up, would he say anything. If both sides of the road are elevated and the target below in the road does that point stand, maybe due to recoil it does.
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I think if the student hadn't been native american then they might not have backed down. There are honestly countless stories I've seen on reddit in the past few years about a kid either being expelled, being suspended, getting detention or getting marks on their record for refusing to recite the pledge. They really make a huge deal of singling out those people who don't do it, essentially those who don't conform and intimate kids into conforming. It's downright Orwellian.
 
Serving military in the US get massive amounts of privileges so it really isn't surprising that they Walt so much.

We went through New Hampshire in the US from the UK on det in 2012, basically going on a month long work/party det, the most humbling and welcoming thing ever. We had been to Afghan the previous autumn but these guys do it for all military flights that come in US or not. I felt pretty ashamed by the welcome we got but the vets just said 'hey, we couldn't be there to welcome you home last time so this is making up for it!'

All local people from the town that take their own time and money to do stuff like this:


e: forgot to mention that when they did the flag bit and national anthem for us, it was really embarrasing not knowing the words to sing along, so afterwards we just broke into god save the queen instead, they really liked that.
 
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