Damn Thieves!!!!

[Mr 5 0]

vtec8ter:

Sorry Cadet, but your criticism of OnMyThirdStang is misguided.

Her boyfriend's convertible top was needlessly vandalized and the replacement cost is $500. of his hard-earned money. Her friend's homes were ripped off by low-life's. This is very frustrating to anyone, to say the least, and to know that even if the police catch the people who did this the money or valuables are usually never seen again and most courts tend to give the criminals a slap on the wrist - if that - for these non-violent 'crimes against property'.

Your military duty is admirable and respected by all but your comparision of having to fight and possibly die in a war defending your country and her losses and discontent with the criminal justice system's treatment of convicted criminals are absurd. There is no comparison and the attempt to link the two are simply wrong. Apples and oranges, as it were.

I love my country very much but even so, I realize that it's far from perfect, especially the criminal justice system. In part due to liberal politicians and soft-headed judges finding more compassion for criminals than victims of crime. Making laws and rendering legal rulings that seem to do little to protect honest citizens from those who prey on them.

I know the military instills a fierce love of country and that's admirable but getting on the internet and jumping on a person who is simply upset over vandalism and thefts in her neighborhood as somehow being unappreciative of her country and borderline unpatriotic is out of line in my opinion.

By that distorted standard, anything short of death in battle is not worthy of mentioning here. Any complaint about the United States government is being unpatriotic. Is that what you really believe? I hope not. Check with your military instructors, they'll y verify for ou the fact that the First Amendment specifically covers complaints against the government.

This is an open forum for general discussion. A lot of folks have gripes and complaints about various aspects of daily life, including cops and courts. However, complaining about them does not equal being unappreciative, disloyal or unpatriotic to our country. We can always improve and open discussion is useful and sometimes a sort of catharsis for some folks.

We respect your position as a military man vulnerable to war duty, possible injury and even death and we can understand how, seen through that prisim, a small theft will appear rather minor and complaints about the justice system, petty.

You need to understand that only a few see daily life from your position. Some of our members deal with a life-threatening illness on a daily basis but still manage to have understanding and empathy for other's seemingly minor problems of daily life. You would do well to emulate them and try to see outside of your own specific perspecitive and attempt to understand that each person has their own concerns. We can't all be military and we can't all be blind to the lesser evils that exist outside of the mid-east.

Empathy, understanding for the other guy's problems and the realization that everyone who finds some flaw in the justice system is not de facto unpatriotic or unappreciative of America is a sign of maturity that I hope you'll recognize and attempt to adopt along with your admirable love of country and loyalty to it that we all share.