whizzardry
Recently there has been a lot of talk, (like over at kirk's blog) about three guys peeing. At times like this, I'm glad I have friends who blog. Because then I can read sane comments on the news. Not like at the globe and mail. I read the comments posted about a recent article on this issue and read people say things like 'throw the book at them,' 'time for some cruel and unusual punishment,' 'bring back prohibition,' 'send them to a warzone and have them be minesweepers,' and 'send them to jail.'Here is the thing. Corporal punishment is wrong, and not something Canadians do. Prohibition didnt work. Conscription is wrong and not something Canadians ought to do.
But what about the argument that what they did was completely disrespectful?
This spring I went on a trip to Italy. It was nice. We toured around the countryside, and we toured around Rome. My impressions of Rome were that aside from the monuments, it is a big dirty city. A very cool, very historical, big dirty city. And everyone smoked. While we were touring around the city, we came to the Altar of the Fatherland, at which is located their Tomb of the Unknown soldier, complete with an honour guard of two soldiers (with rifles in hand). This monument was sparklingly clean, and crawling with officers to keep people from smoking or sitting down. In a big dirty city, this place was clean. In a place where everyone smokes, not one person was smoking. In a city full of weary tourists, no one was sitting.
Here is where we pale in comparison. We let people do whatever they want to this monument. This is how we disrespect our veterans. We do not guard the monument. It is like we dont care what happens to it.
posted by bitz @ 12:35 PM
2 Comments:
I agree. I'm happy at the way police have dealt with this. Formal apology, and community work with veterans etc. As i've pointed out countless times our boys in uniform both now and in years gone by have certainly pulled some boners in their time while under the influence yet they are our heros.
The pissers are not heros but they diserve the chance to learn from their mistakes and feel really crappy about it always knowing they were the guys caught pissing on a national treasure.
That said, while I in no way want the monument blocked off there should be at least one guards. They don't even have to be full on GG footguards as some have suggested. I'd setting for 2 Military Police officers constantly patrolling the site. They also might want to block off the site for short periods (like when 300k people leave parliament hill for eselwhere). You'd only have to close it for an hour two or three times a year.
I remember trying to chase hooligans off the monument with mark back in fall of 99 and they eventually left but apparently the hooligans now go in larger numbers and do leave quite so easily.
I'd vote for the MP solution (military police) and only two of them or so. Besides that the site should be completely open.
Cheers,
P
Totally. I think Canada ought to have MPs in strategic locations, protecting important landmarks and oh, i dunno, people. We could arm them with the latest and greatest inuit carved weaponry.
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