![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragonlady7via http://ift.tt/2rQxzKQ:
awisekraken:
iiiiiiiit’s memorial day!
well, there’s four hours left of memorial day in my timezone, I’ve had more alcohol than my bloodstream can ignore (which is like half a pint, I is a lightweight) and this is my third memorial day with Husband, so I’ll say one thing that I’ll probably delete in the morning:
wishing a veteran/current military member a happy memorial day sounds great and everything, but you’re essentially going up to this person who has no doubt lost a friend! because the US at least has been at war continuously since 2002! and before that was the gulf war! and before that was the cold war, with its associated bad times! and then ww2!
people are still being deployed to iraq and/or afghanistan! I don’t remember exactly, see earlier statement about “lightweight” and “half a pint”. but I think there are artillery peeps in syria rn! not to mention whatever tf secret shit we’ve got going on!
or maybe their friend made it back, only to succumb to things like PTSD and depression! that happens all the time! statistically 22 times a day! roughly once an hour!
my point is that there’s literally no generation of US veteran that probably hasn’t lost a friend. so by wishing them a happy memorial day, you’re going up to this person on the day that they’re remembering lost friends and the holes they left behind and going, “Hey, man, I hope you have a great day.”
please don’t. it’s not just a three day weekend.
they feel shitty, because they know this day’s not for them, and it sure as fuck isn’t for the grill sales. but because politeness, they have to pretend to be fine. so just – next year, just don’t.
maybe ask them if they want a beer. they might like that. and then you might get to hear some stories about their friends.
in parting, I’ll leave you with a link to a duffelblog article. duffelblog is like the US military community’s completely unofficial version of The Onion, and it appropriately, consistently kills it:
This Memorial Day, Gold Star Mothers Can Save Up To 60%!
it’s from 2014, and I get the feeling they retweet it every year. the shade is real on this one, my friends. the article is packed full of dark humor, like your favorite vet, so content warning for casual mention of suicidal thoughts, death, dismemberment, and traumatic injuries in general. that said, it’s fuckin’ hilarious.
awisekraken:
iiiiiiiit’s memorial day!
well, there’s four hours left of memorial day in my timezone, I’ve had more alcohol than my bloodstream can ignore (which is like half a pint, I is a lightweight) and this is my third memorial day with Husband, so I’ll say one thing that I’ll probably delete in the morning:
wishing a veteran/current military member a happy memorial day sounds great and everything, but you’re essentially going up to this person who has no doubt lost a friend! because the US at least has been at war continuously since 2002! and before that was the gulf war! and before that was the cold war, with its associated bad times! and then ww2!
people are still being deployed to iraq and/or afghanistan! I don’t remember exactly, see earlier statement about “lightweight” and “half a pint”. but I think there are artillery peeps in syria rn! not to mention whatever tf secret shit we’ve got going on!
or maybe their friend made it back, only to succumb to things like PTSD and depression! that happens all the time! statistically 22 times a day! roughly once an hour!
my point is that there’s literally no generation of US veteran that probably hasn’t lost a friend. so by wishing them a happy memorial day, you’re going up to this person on the day that they’re remembering lost friends and the holes they left behind and going, “Hey, man, I hope you have a great day.”
please don’t. it’s not just a three day weekend.
they feel shitty, because they know this day’s not for them, and it sure as fuck isn’t for the grill sales. but because politeness, they have to pretend to be fine. so just – next year, just don’t.
maybe ask them if they want a beer. they might like that. and then you might get to hear some stories about their friends.
in parting, I’ll leave you with a link to a duffelblog article. duffelblog is like the US military community’s completely unofficial version of The Onion, and it appropriately, consistently kills it:
This Memorial Day, Gold Star Mothers Can Save Up To 60%!
it’s from 2014, and I get the feeling they retweet it every year. the shade is real on this one, my friends. the article is packed full of dark humor, like your favorite vet, so content warning for casual mention of suicidal thoughts, death, dismemberment, and traumatic injuries in general. that said, it’s fuckin’ hilarious.
