The world is full of people who do stupid things in front cameras. Some of those people are servicemembers. And some of those films go viral.
The latest example of servicemember-led foolishness is all over the internet as well as various news channels (such as CNN) today. A video posted on YouTube and several other sites shows what appears to be a group of Marines urinating on the bodies of what appears to be dead Afghans.
The first reaction I hear from others when stuff like this happens is: “why are [insert service -- Marines, Soldiers or otherwise] so stupid [or evil, or out of control, etc.]?”
I typically respond: “The world is full of stupid people. Some of them are _____ [insert service person -- in this case “Marines”].
But it does seem like the most heinous, well publicized (or, perhaps, over publicized) acts of stupidity are conducted by people in uniform. And that puts other well behaved servicemembers and their loved ones in a tight spot. We now get to answer for their actions.
Because of these headline grabbing antics, the public is blocked from hearing about the things that make me feel proud for being married to a servicemember. Now, when I tell a civilian that I'm a MilSpouse, instead of getting an immediate platform to brag on my servicemember and the selfless things our troops do everyday, I have to spend time answering for someone else’s ill advised actions.
The obvious response to something like a video of Marines urinating on a deceased enemy is shock and horror. But in the little time we get to share our world with civilians, aren’t there more important things to talk about?
Do you ever get asked about the dumb things other servicemembers do? What do you say?
