Hi Don,
I have gone over the thread here twice now and see nowhere I stated it was acceptable for the vet to state that position as well.
Likewise, in reading what Monkeyleg stated in the original posting about the vets comments I did not see him mention the vet making that statement. I have reread it twice and don't see it if it is there.
If you are referring to the vets reported comment about "seen what those can do" I still see no reference to the vet making that statement. I took that quoted remark as an explanation for the vets opinion on civilians owning them. No more or less.
If you are indeed referring to that quote in the first post about the vets comment and that you took it as an us vs. them attitude when he said it, that would be your opinion on the comment. I don't see where the vet was making it an us vs them by the quote [ above ] alone but you may certainly have taken it that way.
As to whether he meant what you suggest or he meant what I thought the comment came from in his thought process I can't say.
I can say I don't look at it as an us vs. them problem. I don't agree with that attitude but certainly others may have no issues with it. I don't agree with it because I feel that delineates us as a nation and creates another set of barriers/hurdles to overcome to come to terms with each others ideology.
Where I'm concerned, due to the LE background, where I hear it more often from brother officers [ who really do have an us vs them attitude all to often for my taste], I don't hang with the us vs them crowd in "blue". Their attitudes are not to my liking and in that venue I see too many with that attitude who abuse their position and force their prejudices on the public.
I have many issues with the boys I have been forced to work with over the years on different depts. I believe that we need to be objective in our actions and too many [ for my taste ]police officers and even admin at times have the impression it is us vs them on the streets, which it is not. I think it is a jaded view and not one prone to objectiveness.
It [ the us vs them thought process ] also leads to dicrimination which comes with its own set of issues.
Though I am not sure I have given you an adequate answer to your questions, I hope that clarifies a liitle further my feelings on the us vs them comment in mercedesrules post.
The us vs them can be used for about any scenario.
The vets vs non vets
The haves vs the havenots
The liberals vs the conservatives
Etc, etc, etc.
I don't agree with the thought process behind it as I feel it is counter-productive.
There is one us vs them I do believe in [ there may be a few more but not right off the top of my head ]. Thats when it concerns the safety of the US and it's citizens from those who would do us harm.
Even vets who have been there and done that have been known to return to the country they fought in as soldiers and come to terms with the former enemy. I would not be one of them but I understand their point of view whether I agree with it or not.
Brownie