Two posts in one day? Yes my friends I'm working hard to catch up. Ive been working on this post the last two days, I wanted to get my research right before I went on a limb. So with out further ado....
This has been building for some time now but after this past weekend I finally had to say enough is enough. I have been on the sidelines of the military blogging scene for a while now and what other have said have made sense to me. One web site Old War Dogs, particularly hit a nervy. While I'm not going to repeat the entire posting, I will say that after this past weekend not only do I agree with it I would like to pass it on in an attempt to help spread this message.
OK, lets get you caught up with me, here is some background and definitions to get you up to speed:
Ethnic group:
Lectric LawLibrary's Lexicon US Code 18: ETHNIC GROUP - A set of individuals whose identity as such is distinctive in terms of common cultural traditions or heritage.
Answer.com Ethnic: Of, relating to, or characteristic of a sizable group of people sharing a common and distinctive racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage.
ABC World Net An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. This boundary may take any of a number of forms รข€” racial, cultural, linguistic, economic, religious, or political and may be more or less porous. Because of this boundary, members of an ethnic group are often presumed to be culturally or biologically similar, although this is not in fact necessarily the case. Another characteristic of ethnic groups is continuity in time, that is, a history and a future as a people. This is achieved through the intergenerational transmission of common language, institutions, values and traditions. It is important to consider this characteristic of ethnic groups if we are to distinguish them from a group of individuals who share a common characteristic, such as ancestry, in a specific point in time. On the political front, ethnic groups are distinguished from nation-states by the former's lack of sovereignty.
Lets take a look at the "boundaries" step by step to see if Veterans past/prestent(Active Duty) and our dependents could qualify under these definitions:
Members identify with each other? Yeah I think Veterans, active duty, reserve, guard and our dependants identify with each other. NEXT.
Distinct group with common cultural heritage/traditions? I have heard this term used several times when referring to the military life style and our enlisted, officer, service heritage i.e. cultural history. Also believes and traditions: Never leaving our fallen behind, promotion, retirement, change of command ceremonies. So, yeah I would say we have our own traditions and heritage! Next.
Distinct linguistics? Rodger, 5by5, Whuwah, Sir Yes Sir, Skull F*&k (sorry had to include it :), Wall to wall counseling, Exchange, Class 6, Bingo Fuel, RTB, Incoming, Wingman, munition,
boat, ship, Air Boss, TACON, say again-Over. SecDef, SOCOM, etc. Yup we're good here, Next!
Distinct economic? Paid poorly, BAH, BAS, have our own grocery stores, shopping centers, and stores that cater to our unique needs (commesaries, exchanges, clothing sales). Heck we have a section of tax law just for us. so..... Next!
Polictical? Um couldn't you call defending the rights of others political? What about defending the Constitution. Heck we even have our own uniques laws ala UCMJ, So Next.
Religious? well this one we don't meet full unless you call our the belief that we include everyone regardless of what they believe. After all we do have our own chaplains who cater to our special needs.
So we pretty much meet the definition. So what does this mean? If we could be or are considered an ethnic group then a whole set of laws that are designed to help us and prevent oppression like say hate speech laws. If we soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen past and
present and our families are an ethnic group then there would be no difference between the penalties that could and SHOULD be brought against someone who holds up a sign that says “Thank god for dead soliders.” than there would be for some one who held up a sign that said “Thank god for dead Whites/Blacks/Hispanics/Jews/Christians/Muslims/Pagans/
Also if we were recognized as a ethnic group it would only take simple math to figure out that we would be considered “minority” ethnic group.
I have no clue how to get this recognized in a legal/official manner, so any Veteran-American lawyers out there reading this who wants to take up some pro bono work drop me a line/e-mail I would line to find out how we could move this effort forward.
Read more: Veterans as an Ethinic Minority
Just a disclaimer I am not a lawyer, which is why I asked for one's opinion, so before you go taking what Ish says as legal advice I ask you to take a moment and think and contact a real lawyer before acting in any way which might lead you down a possible run in you local, state, and/or ferderal police departments.
Have a good Friday and weekend (just in case I don't get a chance to post again this weekend).
Ish
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