Do you know what this is?

[BINOWGAYLATER]

If you're like 30 or under, do you recognize this when you see it on a bumper sticker, or as a pin on someone's cap?

I got a very disturbing response from a young person recently, which is why I'm asking.

My last thread lasted a full two hours -- so you better hurry up before this slips to page 4 .

k/thanks

 

[bankside]

I'm over 30 and i have no idea. Nor have I ever seen it on a bumper sticker, nor on anyone's hat.

 

[bw92116]

Some battle? D-Day?

 

[gsdx]

I don't recognise it either. Are you sure it isn't upside down?

 

[HoodedRat]

I'm 50, but I have no idea what it is.

 

[SilverWolf]

It's a Vietnamese service ribbon apparently.

Darn you!




And yes, I had to Google it.

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

it's fine that non-americans don't recognize it -

but I thought better of our own.

what was disturbing? well, first i had to explain what the pin represented --
then to kinda add insult to injury --
I got "I THINK i read about that in History class, don't really remember.' [/B

and it' Vietnam (NOT Vietnamese) - saying it that way - it's like it's their ribbon..
Everyone who served during the "conflict" has one, regardless of branch of service.

in another ten years, are young people gonna say -- 9/11 ? yeah, so what? I have no idea why you're making a big deal of it.

 

[bw92116]

Where did you look up what it meant? I have been meaning to look up the meaning of all my father's ribbons. He served in the USMC in WWII and the Korean conflict.

 

[gsdx]

I THINK i read about that in History class, don't really remember.'

I'm not surprised. At the time, nobody wanted to be there. Canada's population increased significantly with all the draft dodgers who crossed the 49th. It's an event that a whole lot of people tried to forget.

I remember the war. Just don't remember the pins or bumper stickers.

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

There are a few things the world needs to always remember.

from where I sit, they are:

Remember Pearl Harbor

Remember the 50,000 men killed in Vietnam.

Remember the Pueblo

and

Remember the Twin Towers (and do everything possible to insure that it doesn't happen again.)

and these are not to the exclusion of remembering the tyrants of the world or the mass murders, etc.
and we need to remember lots of good people too , who left their mark and changed peoples lives in a good way.

 

[Latimer]

It's not generational: few Americans would recognize any of these ribbons, or would ever have recognized them.

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

People will always become more detached as a war or terrorist event moves further away from the present, even if it had a direct impact on generations that are still living. If you weren't explicitly harmed then its going to have even less of an effect on you. That's not to say that people will lack empathy, but I don't feel like that's the same.

My point exactly -- it's a "all about me" world.. which I find sooo wrong. and way too many people have absolutely no empathy for these events - because -- it didn't affect them. (or so they think)


You weren't "explicitly harmed" by the Civil War - or the Emancipation Proclimation or Rosa Parks getting on a bus-- but they all had an impact on your life -- which is reason enough to teach others about them. (even if they didn't - they're still important ) - Not to get on a soapbox - but there are Vietnam veterans who STILL wake up in the middle of the night because they hear bombs going off 50 yards away. It's just sooo sad.

and just like the twin towers - there are many many 40+ year old people who never knew their fathers - and there are the 69 (I believe) children that were born AFTER 9/11 also. They were impacted - so I guess they will never forget.

 

[FPNY]

I remember all of those events, they happened during my life time and I am from a military family. Unfortunately as time goes by and the population gets younger, and time goes by people don't realize the importance of individual events. I knew that pic was part of a military uniform, but I didn't know which one.

 

[borg69unimatrix]

I've seen those various color combinations on bumper stickers, and had no idea what they represented. I would never have guessed they were Military/War recognition things.

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

It's not generational: few Americans would recognize any of these ribbons, or would ever have recognized them.

I would agree with this -- EXCEPT for the Vietnam Service Ribbon -- There are thousands of Veterans who wear it (proudly) daily -- Everyone should
know what it means - my 12 year old Grand Nephew knows what it means - and his father was not in the service.

I've seen those various color combinations on bumper stickers, and had no idea what they represented. I would never have guessed they were Military/War recognition things.

and yet you never asked? (the person displaying it) ,,,,,, (sad)

Veterans wear this to remind others of what happened, not to remind themselves.


Every January I hang out my "Remember the Pueblo" sign..

once in a while i get "what's the Pueblo?" True, they weren't born when it all went down - but geeze, it's like saying i never heard of JKF -- and using your age as a convenient excuse.. There's a reason the call it "history".


k/ I'm done.

 

[borg69unimatrix]

and yet you never asked? (the person displaying it) ,,,,,, (sad)

Veterans wear this to remind others of what happened, not to remind themselves.

As I stated, I see them on Bumper Stickers/rear windows of cars while driving. Not really conditions for starting up a conversation.

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

so......between now and January, you're gonna get one of these?

and people will think you're missing your house in New Mexico.........

 

[freefall]

I don't see why a service ribbon should attract disturbing reactions...except the one saying it were a Vietnamese whose father died in the war.
But yeah, not knowing a hint of the history is kinda sad. I'm not very good at history lesson during high school, but at least I have something more to say than "Oh, I remembered studying that but don't really remember," when asked about my country's history.

 

[healingduck]

I will probably get flamed for this, but this is just my opinion.

People who were not alive or experienced things like the Vietnam war obviously will not know what that is if they saw it unless they have knowledge of what it stands for. Obviously by this thread, you can see most people don't. As far as people being indifferent about what happened, I completely understand why they aren't affected by it. Personally, I realize it was a tragedy and terrible time in history, but I have no emotional connection to the event whatsoever, so it doesn't touch me the same as say 9/11. This doesn't mean that I don't care that it happened, it means that it was before my time and I obviously wouldn't be as passionate about it as say someone who was in the Vietnam war or had a sibling serving. I have extensively researched the Vietnam war and I empathize with people who were alive during that time, but I'm sort of detached from it.

Sure enough the same thing will happen with events like 9/11. People who experienced first hand and vividly remember the events are gonna be more moved when they think back to that day versus someone ten years from now who was born in 2003. I don't think the majority of people have a "Who cares" attitude about either event, but more so they don't have a memory of it, so in some sense they can't feel the same way others do about it.

I dunno, the guy you talked to may have very well been insensitive about it, but to me it sounds like the guy just rubbed you the wrong way. More so since he said he "thinks" he remembers reading about it. Its not his fault he is ignorant. lol

 

[thisisinteresting]

People are ignorant!? Holy shit