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Angry Facebook veterans are officially the Tumblr social justice warriors of the veteran world.
If you’ve been in the veteran/military Facebook page circuit lately, you’ve probably seen at least once or twice a collective, hive mind outrage at a shirt that Under Armor put out called “Band of Ballers.”
As you can see, it’s clearly a parody of the iconic Iwo Jima flag raising from World War II.
This is an outrage! I guess? Don’t get me wrong, I understand the significance of the Iwo Jima flag raising photo (especially as a Marine), but what bothers me is that every week there’s some new collective butt-hurt about some stupid thing that impacts absolutely no one. This week was “Band of Ballers,” last week was minorities stepping on the American flag. Every week there’s something new to be upset about floating around the veteran community and it gets old really fast.
Here’s the thing…
If you truly believe in Freedom of Speech and support and defend the United States Constitution, you will defend even those you disagree with. You should embrace the fact that you are offended, because this is America, and people have the right to offend you.
Unfortunately the vocal minority of the veteran community seems to be the loudest, and any time there’s some insignificant slight that happens, it makes the rounds. I can’t tell you the countless amount of Facebook messages and emails I receive every day that are some conversation with a civilian that dislikes the military, or a dumb Facebook post that’s anti-military, or something as stupid as a shirt called Band of Ballers that I’m supposed to “make famous.” I also can’t describe to you how much I don’t care every time I see it.
This is America.
You cannot demand censorship of someone just because they offend you.
The saddest part of this comic strip is that I almost didn’t do it because I was genuinely worried I might offend some veterans, but then I realized that’s exactly why I needed to do it. To sum this up, everyone just needs to chill the fuck out. Under Armor had no malicious intent with their shirt, and they certainly aren’t the first people to parody the Iwo Jima flag raising.
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