Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

Men that look like they don't take no crap. Marine tatoos on the extra large bicep. Gun in holster. Boots. More tatoos . The short cropped hair.
A manner of speaking that demands you listen up real good.  
Don't know how your friend will look. Depends on what she looked like before.
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And as for the American Media... always the teasers and then a little blip of fluff. Didn't the Phil show come out with some chit about her being in a sex slave place ?. Now that was reponsible wasn't it ? There has been quite a bit of mis information in this case. Problem : Aruba not having the same spokeperson and reporters not fact checking before they came on the air and sensationalize with their bits of nonsence and tid bits. And what else, I do not know.
In England and here, evidence is never disclosed by the AG before a case goes to trial. Same kind of laws in Aruba. So, the silence that came from Aruba AG  left it open for the media to say whatever they wanted to.

No, that doesn't sound like my friend at all.  She has short hair sometimes but cornrows and a weave at other times with lots of tiny long braids.  I think she is too dark to have any tattoos at all as they would not show up.  As for boots and a gun, I am sure there is some sort of standard uniform they are required to wear and not likely reflective of personal taste in dress.

That doesn't sound like any Marines I know, in fact.  Sounds more like stereotyping.  I am surprised a Border Guard uniform would allow for visible biceps in the first place.  Must be warmer on the northern border than the southern one cause you sure can't see that much skin down here.

Of course, Dr. Phil has nothing to do with Fox but if not for Greta and Geraldo, I think we would know far less than we do or nothing at all.  I would imagine it is difficult to fill an hour every night without covering some things some people may not like.  With 24 hour news, all kinds of things get aired that perhaps would not on a network news hour.

Guess that's what the OFF switch is for.

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Hey, I made one comment about one or two border guards that I saw.
And dealt with. You weren't there. So don't jump all over me for
Sterotyping. Can a person have a different obsevation than you ?
I was not criticizing Marines, Borderguards or anyone. Just stating MY OWN OBSEVATION. Ok ?
Guess that's what the OFF switch is for.

Kat_Gram wrote:
Men that look like they don't take no crap. Marine tatoos on the extra large bicep. Gun in holster. Boots. More tatoos . The short cropped hair.
A manner of speaking that demands you listen up real good.
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I have to agree with you and I was going to put that in my original post of how intimidating this border guard was.  He had the buzz cut and looked like he was a weightlifter.  He was, for sure, ex-military.   I didn't see tatoos but I could imagine them...Ohh scary.  The eyes that seemed to xray your body and the too-close-for-comfort posturing with the big gun too visible.  Believe me, if I had anything to declare, my mouth would have been flapping.  I thought he could read my mind!  They know what effect they are having on you and it is done for a reason.   It not a bad thing, Anna, to have men like that protecting your border.  I have known ex-US military who are now firemen and they do have a certain way of acting and talking that is very noticable to a foreigner.  
The last thing the border guard said to us after he told us to get in the car and head back to Canada was "Did you say you wanted to enter the US to go shopping?" My female friend and I said "Yes sir,  that's all we going to do - just go to the Boxing day sale at the mall for a couple of hours and we have American money"  (like little timid mice  :lol: )
So he said " You two can go but I can't let this guy in"  So, we dumped the ex-jailbird in Canada and went back to the border and went thru - no problem... but we did have to take an hour to calm down and decide if it was worth it .

What an unmitigated bunch of military-bashing BS!  Now we Americans need foreigners to help us identify our own ex-military?  I don't think so and neither to I think what you are describing are any more likely to be ex-military than not.  Believe it or not, lots of Americans are plenty assertive without military training.  And I would even venture a guess that the three Marines killed today did not likely have a tattoo among them but be that as it may, I just think this kind of blanket stereotyping is uncalled for regardless of your experiences on the border.  

I hope they are not hiring border guards based on their niceness or timidity or how accommodating they are being.  

I am however, gratified that at least some vigilance is being afforded our northern border as well as the southern one since every thwarted attack so far had come from the north rather than Mexico.  Complain all you want about the Border Guards but please, let's leave our military out of it.  Some of us have those in harms way right now and just don't take too kindly to the negative stereotypes, and sorry but that is all this is.

And now I think I will use that OFF Switch because I surely did not sign on here to read about our military and what foreigners think of it.  Nor do I really care but think the negativity very out of place on this forum.  Fortunately, I have better and more constructive things to do with my time than read this crap.

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I wish I could find some of the Marines catgram refers to, so that we could take them out but I have no idea where to find such a character. All the kids that joined the Marines when my son was being courted for the Marine Drum & Bugle Corp band are quite docile kids, who went to church on Sunday, sang in the choir and had a lot of self-determination, some of whom joined to serve in the band, others to defend the country they love. These were the group of kids who never played sports, who never were sent to the office, who never cheated on exams and never caused trouble in the parking lot, stayed home on Saturday nights instead of getting out and creating havoc and drinking but then maybe marines are different in different parts of the world and the stereotype that other countries have painted of our Marines are nothing like the wonderful guys that I knew who are well educated and bright, serving to protect and defend those who bash them day and night.
I DID NOT BASH MARINES, GET IT ? WHAT IS THE PROBLEM HERE ?
Can I not observe a man ( doing his job, btw ) who I observed to be an Exmarine ? WITHOUT BEING JUMPED ON BY ANNA AND NOW YOU ?
I WAS NOT BEING CRITICAL , DO YOU READ ENGLISH ?
AS FOR DEFENSE OF Marines as I quoted, who said anything like that ? Not me ? So what is the point of all your freaking drivel up there this time ?
SO DON'T DEFEND WHAT I SAID  BY DRAGGING ALL YOUR CRAP INTO THIS.
Do you get it now ? Or is it my turn to be bashed and trashed here ?

And you can screw off too !
Did I complain about a border guard ? I stated what happened. Why do you feel the need to make something out of nothing ?Did I even remark whetther I felt this was bad or good ? NO

Why are you making something out of nothing , eh ?
Bored today ?

I am done with this forum. Please delete my membership.
For me, to have these wild accusations made up out of whole cloth is just too much.

Let it go Kat_Gram.  I don't understand the rancor and I am not going to try to.   I know that you and I didn't mean any harm to anyone.  Please don't leave because of this.

Oh geese, don't take it personal. Someone else was the one having a bad day, not you.

Been there done that myself, just shake it off and let it go.

Dear Anna and Kat_Gram alphabetically,

You both are behaving poorly. Not setting a good example. Not helpful to the rest of us who are still looking for Natalee.

Ever hear of "United We Stand, Divided we Fall?"

Oh, good grief; where is the spirit of the holiday season?  How about seeing the good side of this, and thanking Leslie and KatGram for letting us know what a good job our border patrols are doing to help keep us safe!

And Happy Holidays, Ya'll!

I can't believe you are posting here.

Well, Louise, it is the season of miracles. :lol:

Darleen, you are behaving poorly too. And have you no shame, venturing into Monkeyland?

Kat Gram,

I've always enjoyed your posts.  I know you did not mean to criticize or bash anybody.  Please put this behind you and come back. All Monekys are needed here.

I agree. Don't let anyone chase you out of here. Come back! Do you remember Alex Haley's "Roots" when he, as a slave, held up his newborn baby to the sky and said "I name you Kizzy." It means "stay put." Come back here and never leave.

Yet you cannot forgive Darleen and demand she stay away.

carnut-

kat_gram isn't darleen and only you or Sam would make such a ridiculous comparison

It's the season for charity and kindness, equal to darleen's miracles which is what I intend to focus upon. So please don't pick on Louise.

Thank you Darleen and Holiday greetings to you - God bless us every one!

Please everyone.....don't fight.  :(  

Let's just call a ceasefire.

Anna, Kat Gram and all our monkeys,

Please do not leave. We need each and everyone of our Monkeys. We are all family whether we want to admit it or not. Like a family we do not always agree 100% with each other. Also like a family we should try to ignore some of the hurtful things that are said. JMHO

Was it Louise who said " United we stand, divided we fall?"

Jesus said, “The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel:
The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love
your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment
greater than these.”   Mark 12:29 31

Carnut,
You had a thread on not stereotyping but then I guess it all depends on who you want to suck up to at the moment.

We have lost some really good posters in the past over military bashing and I just wish we could refrain from negative descriptions and lumping them all together like this.  One of our posters who left over this had direct FBI connections as well.

The only Marines I saw today were nothing like those described.  In fact, there were three of them collecting toys for Toys for Tots, the nation's largest annual toy drive just as they have done for decades.  Sure hope their tattoos, jackboots, piecing eyes and scary demeanor won't scare all the little kids!   :roll: Funny how they never have in the past.

And for what it's worth, I have encountered Highway Patrol who would just as likely fit that description as would other members of law enforcement.

Marines can be musicians, photographers, chefs, physicians, lawyers, etc.  They do not all fall into any sort of generalized description any more than anybody else and are entitled to be free from being categorized as scary, rude or having a certain physical appearance.  I tried tact at pointing this out but just got told I don't know how to spot these ex-marines.  Well, I certainly should having been reared in a family with a large number of them and not one has a tattoo, piercing eyes, is scary or any of that.  

And yes, I did find it offensive on a day when three of them died in the service of their country.  Sorry, but that's just the way I am.  We can agree to disagree but I think general stereotyping is not a good thing to do about anybody.  

Obviously, there are plenty of you who think this is a good thing to do but I wonder how you would feel if it were your son or daughter being so described or your uncle, nephew, etc.  How about if that person is in harm's way at the moment?  The Marine presence is huge right now in all combat regions of the world.  I doubt you would like that nearly so much.  But you never know, takes all kinds, doesn't it?

Yes, others are entitled to their opinion but I am also and that's mine.


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My late Dad was a Marine and risked life and limb in WWII and was proud of his service until the day he died.  Was he big and burly, fitting Kat Gram's description?  No, in fact, at 5'7" he probably would not have been accepted as a Marine had it not been wartime.  Yet I understood Kat Gram's description as simply that - a description - used to paint a vivid picture of her experience and advance her story. It is a common practice of authors and storytellers to provide a physical description to "paint" their story. Kat Gram was obviously successful, as everyone seems to know the kind of guy she was talking about!  She conveyed her experience without a value judgement, and proceded to tell the darned story.  Where is the harm, and where exactly is the bashing?  

Incidentally, my Dad was vehemently opposed to the war in Iraq and it made him ill to hear about casualties.  Just another one of those Democratic America bashers, I guess!

I need and want to apologize to Anna and Tylergal for my very extreme and rude and over the top response to their posts. My angry reaction was uncalled for. I am sorry that offense was taken to my original post. It was certainly not meant to offend anyone.
What I would propose is that Klaasend close and expunge the whole topic. It is causing more problems that it warrants. My bad behavior is causing me some anxiety and regrets.
Monkeys are better than this. I sincerely did not mean to be so vexatious.