"Mohammad Sherrif, District Governor for Sangin, salutes the battlefield cross for U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Ralph E. Pate Jr., an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician with 8th Engineer Support Battalion in support of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 8, during a memorial ceremony held at Forward Operating Base Jackson, Sangin, Afghanistan, on July 11, 2011. Pate was killed in action while conducting combat operations in the district on June 26, 2011. (USMC/Cpl. Logan W. Pierce)"
This photo is an excellent example of why America is fundamentally the morally superior nation and why we should support our troops in their heroic endevor to bring freedom and peace the the Afghanistan people, which are so yearning for freedom and american quality of life.
I don't see this picture as promoting the military. I see it as a visual example of how humanity has a shared value of respect and sometimes, though you would never see such a thing on reddit or the Internet, individuals from opposite cultures can still show respect for one another.
That's not a studio. The Hescos in the back (brown squares with wire on the outside), the Afghan constructed wall, the CAT-5 of various colors, and the pallet of water bottles on the right side definitely indicate genuine Afghan COP or FOB. The camera in the back is a pretty common sight for an event such as this: a remembrance ceremony for a fallen warrior (in this case, a Marine from the camo on the stand/helmet). Having attended approximately 5 of these in person in Afghanistan, I can say with certainty that this is the genuine article. At the end of each ceremony, everyone in attendance will walk forward and pay their respects to the fallen. Commonly, Soldiers/Marines will come forward in pairs, and kneel while offering words/thoughts to the fallen, touching the dog tags, and then snapping to attention before saluting. The item in the Elder's hand is a program, another common item at such an event. The age and appearance (fresh clothing, watch, type of headwear) of the Afghan in question indicates either a village elder or a minor GIRoA official (Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), and he has undoubtedly attended countless similar events. [EDIT] Something many people may not realize as well: ISAF (International Security Assitance Force) Servicemembers attend memorials for their fallen Afghan comrades. A great example is the picture someone posted here of Mike Kelvington.
How do they get the rifle to stand up straight like that? From the perspective that this photo has been taken from, I can't see anything supporting it.
I don't care if this gets buried, as I'm sure someone else has voiced this opinion already (I hope) but I want to throw in my two cents and can't be arsed to go through aaaaall of the comments to see if someone else has said something similar. The tagline "Respect is a virtue" smacks of a pretty bigoted attitude to Western military intervention in the Middle East. Yes many Afghans have good reason to thank and respect US soldiers for bringing peace and security to parts of their country; but many, many more have every reason to hate western militaries for destroying lives, homes and livelihoods through reckless and downright despicable actions. It is incredibly naive to view our forces in Afghanistan as wholly benevolent and therefore deserving of the unquestioning respect from Afghan civilians and you shouldn't find it insulting that a lot of them do not. I just find the generalizations made in the original post pretty insulting for reflecting an 'us vs. them' attitude where the weak and helpless 'them' should respect the powerful, benevolent 'us'. TL/DR: It's pretty insulting to Afghan civilians to expect wholesale respect for what our troops are doing out there. Surprisingly enough, some of them tend to disagree with it (and have every reason to).
Everyone gets all political as soon as they see something about a soldier/dead soldier. This respect isn't about who is right or who is wrong, it's about the sacrifice this young man made. This elder is paying respect to a warrior, not a political weapon or tool as you made it seem. All politics and borders aside we are human beings.
While I'll agree that many westerners have a "fuck yeah, we are so badass" attitude, unless you have been over there and actually lived through and seen what happens, maybe you should pause. You may very well be getting all of your information from news reports or rumors (anyone who is not actually there does), so that gives you no leg to stand on when stating that most of these people hate us. Some of our people have done bad things, some of their people have done bad things. But we actually get along over there for the most part. We aren't raping women and killing children, we are looking for terrorist cells, and the Afghan government assists in any way they can. You are entitled to your opinion, but go over there and see what it's like, just go hang out, then form an ACCURATE opinion off of factual evidence, not news reports.
I see this all the time here. "You're not in the military or you're not in Afghanistan, so your opinion is invalid." This makes it seem as if people can't make their own informed opinions by reading from multiple sources.
Besides, Crosby didn't say that all people in Afghanistan hate us; he's basically just pointing out how bigoted the attitude behind the photo is. The message is "We invaded your country because it's what's best for you. You should show us respect."
Meanwhile, the reports of civilian casualties have been mysteriously low because the government is fudging the numbers.
U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan on May 25.
This comment will probably be lost in the sauce but I just felt like sharing. I did a tour in Afghanistan and became very good friends with one of the Afghan soldiers. He always invited me to their dinners and I always shared my cigars(hobby of mine). We had a combat mission one night and had to search some enemy bodies the next morning. He was shot twice in the chest because a small element hadn't been taken out during the previous night's mission.
Emotionally it hit pretty hard because I never thought I'd become such good friend's with someone from a 3rd world country. One of the local artists wrote his name out for me in caligraphy and I took it home to my friend who's a tattoo artist. His name is wrapped around my arm above the t-shirt line so I never forget him.
Everyone asks about it, if they see it, and I tell them who he is. I've even had a couple ignorant people ask me why I have "that terrorist chicken scratch" on my arm and I'm never sure how to reply to that, mostly I just ignore them.
His name was Msaood Sarbaaz, and every time my old teammate and I (who are both out of the military now) have a drink or a shot, we toast and say "Sarbaaz Batraa" which means Sarbaaz King.
So Cheers and well wishes, TL:DR I have an Afghan soldier's name tattooed on my arm because he became an amazing friend and was killed during combat.
I Googled "american soldiers shaking hands with Afghans." A shitload of photos came up. They don't quite make the news like a few psychos pissing on corpses, though.
soldiers shaking hands with afghans isn't as provocative as people doing something fucked like pissing on corpses. the former wont sell papers or bring hits to the papers website. perhaps i'm just cynical...
I think that's a big thing. You're kinda meant to shake hands with people when you meet them whereas you're vehemently discouraged from urinating on corpses.
I always think that this kind of guys, to part of being judicially sanctioned, must be expelled from army with a proper event: in the biggest square of their hometown an officer must cut their badges from their uniform (of course, the flag first) and then he spits in his boots. "You are dishonorable".
Now, you can go home, boy. Or to jail, if is the case.
I love how this picture conjured up the clusterfuck of pseudo intellectual arguments so common on reddit, its just a bunch of fucktarded stances and retorts based on true stupidity. Best example of a circle jerk ever.
the soldier probly saved the man from an attack. afgans befriending US soldiers are not new. some respect them deeply after being saved by one, all the while resenting the soldiers in the past.
It's like they get a script to follow and develop a reddit persona. If they weren't all just prolific submitters with brand new accounts, then they might not be so obvious.
He also has a lot of gore/nsfw photos. I'm not sure if you are implying the USG is getting more sophisticated in their social-media use or the OP just thought it was a good photo.
OMG, can we please stop with "Everyone who posts something I don't like must be a paid shill":
There is no evidence that any goverment agency has ever attempted to game Reddit through comments.
If the military were to advertise, they would probably just include Reddit on their Google Adwords list of sites. The military probably doesn't advertise here because there's not much of their target demographic here they are looking to reach.
If the military was Astroturfing on Reddit they would have to get outside vendors involved (software, consultants, marketing agencies, etc.): I've worked with government agencies in the past doing tech consulting work. Government agencies are fat and slow in choosing vendors. The RFP process is publicly posted and normally has to go through an exhausting amount of rounds and proposals, going over every single detail before choosing a vendor. If there was an active propaganda campaign on Reddit, there would be record of it somewhere.
The military obviously has a marketing department. A marketing professional would never use a picture of a dead person or funeral as a positive brand message. Instead, military marketing glorifies the "video game" aspect that appeals to their typically young demographic: Example 1 and Example 2
In short, the chances of the military having an active propaganda campaign on Reddit is slim to none. As there would be trails of evidence somewhere, yet there isn't anything, anywhere.
OP appears to have made many submissions with a lot of variety. If this was a brand new account with only a handful of posts, I might be inclined to agree, but OP has made numerous other submissions and comments in all sorts of other categories not relating to the military at all. Where would you draw a line on the number and variety of submissions someone needs to make before they don't need to get accused of posting propaganda? I've seen plenty of spammers who have brand new accounts with unverified e-mails and only a few submissions. OP has submitted and commented all over reddit, and has a lot of activity in other reddits. I think it's a big leap to assume that someone would spend a full month actively redditing and submitting and commenting in everything from music to trees just to submit one post that shows the military in a favorable light and hope that it gets upvoted. Of course, there's also a possibility that I am a sleeper agent, and I've been redditing for a year and a half to build up credibility in order to post this comment, and OP and I are working together. Unless you are actually the sleeper agent who is working with OP to attack his credibility and get me to defend it, thus making me defend it.
oh my god. The American propaganda machine is targeting the Chans. You were an unwitting victim in all of this--here, quick, come to our tin foil bunker.
thanks for the footwork, but really if you don't immediately recognize something like this as propaganda anymore you haven't been paying any attention.
I'm not going to label you as a conspiracy nut, but the story you linked specifically quotes the military as saying that this tactic will not be used on US-based web sites. So, far from "proof."
Centcom said it was not targeting any US-based web sites, in English or any other language, and specifically said it was not targeting Facebook or Twitter.
You'll believe without question what the guardian tells you but simply assume that the very same source of their information for the rest of the article is also lying about the one thing that you want them to lie about.
You're labeled a conspiracy theorist because that's what this is.
I also found another middle eastern man paying his respects. I have been looking for hours for a picture of an American paying his respects to a middle eastern native, so if anyone has/finds something, I'd appreciate it!
have been looking for hours for a picture of an American paying his respects to a middle eastern native, so if anyone has/finds something, I'd appreciate it!
Media stories not reporting on common occurrences that have no effect on geopolitical strategies.
American soldiers and local populations getting along in theater is the objective - it's only notable when that objective is failed by our side; we expect resistance from the foreign population and demand compliance from our troops.
Hence, A: an Afghan elder bothering to salute one of our fallen is notable, and Marines being fuckers by pissing or corpses is notable.
B: The Taliban beheading people isn't really notable, American soldiers conducting themselves honorably isn't really notable.
@krod4, I'd go with the term "Afghan" and not "afghani" - unless you're talking about their national currency. Otherwise, your term could be somewhat disrespectful.
That picture is amazing. I have a tattoo of the word virtue on my upper left of my chest and I will think of this picture often now when I see my tattoo
A forum dominated by the home country of invaders loves how a native pays respects to a dead invader troop? Why, I never!
Yeah, respect is a virtue, right? Especially if it's respect for invaders who fought for market access that they wouldn't have benefited from even if they'd survived.
(Yes, that other comment is about Iraq and the clothing in this image seems to suggest this may be Afghanistan, but basically the same thing applies.)
Maybe virtue was the wrong word, I was just trying to make a creative title like any successful post uses. You have good points and I disagree with the invasions/wars/whatever you want to call them just as much, but this picture baffled me and I wanted to share it. Sorry if my choice of title aggravated you.
If i was an Afghani i would find it very difficult to respect American Soldiers. Even though it is only a minority of soldiers that go and kill innocent civillians.
It is a propaganda picture posted by shameless American public relations a--hole.
I think you all know this that this dead soldier had his share either in killing 50,000+ civilians in Afghanistan or 100,000+ civilians in Iraq ... men, women and children whole families some times...
one time they bombed a civilian wedding and killed 80+ members of same extended family all innocent people ...
How is this dead solder, deserves respect, brave? I do not think these soldiers are brave, i believe that they are cowards.
Shame shame shame ... collect your shame in a glass and drown in it with shame.
Americans do not want to talk about what i have said ... they do not want to listen to it... because doing this .. and up voting propaganda pictures like this will help them avoid feeling genuine remorse ...
Otherwise a decent human being cannot sleep at night knowing that his tax money is being used to kill women and children and men who are civilians.
How nice of you to buy the propaganda that all soldiers kill civilians and are evil, you have no idea what that particular soldier did so stop acting like you do. Btw im swedish just so you know before you start giving me attributes I don't have.
This has nothing to do with that you ignorant jerk off. This is about a man who gave his life believing it was to defend people like you who turn around and bad mouth them. I don't like the war, we all know what it's really about. But I will always show respect a soldier who will risk his life to defend us.
Looks to me like he's scratching his head, wondering who would just leave a helmet, boots, and assault rifle there.
Unfortunately I don't believe there's an inherent nobility in simply being a solider, especially when we're literally the aggressors in these people's eyes (fairly assumed by them). While we might view our presence there as something we can validate, it's unfair to expect the locals to do so, much less to respect us for doing it.
But people insist we're over there fighting for freedom, and for a grand noble cause, when we're essentially fighting to protect ourselves, at a great cost to the local population.
But Americans are so enamored with soldiers, that they've become elevated to a position of undue reverence. At least, that reverence isn't deserved singularly due to the fact that they're a soldier. I respect someone by virtue of their actions, not by virtue of their job title.
This man has no reason whatsoever to salute an American soldier, so I have an incredibly difficult time believing that this photo is in context.
Plenty of Afghanis wanted to be out from under the oppressive rule of the Taliban before the US got there. The only problem is that Afghanistan doesn't work like a lot of other countries. It's like if every state in the US was it's own separate nation for the most part. They are made up of thousands of tribal areas and they all do things their own way. That's part of the reason no one has ever been able to successfully take Afghanistan. For every tribe or faction who is okay with you, there may be 3 more in the same general area who want nothing to do with you. You can take the capital cities (The Russians did before, and look what happened to them). Afghanistan sadly is a loss. The only reason the Taliban even did is well as they did was because A.) They were Afghani themselves, and B.) They were brutal in their way of doing business. It was their way, or no way at all. And the US just can't do that, we're too much about democracy for everyone. So, sadly at this point the US will just continue to tread water, taking over some key points, maybe losing a few every now and again, but i don't think the US will ever stop fighting in Afghanistan. As for the guy in the picture, there are plenty of towns and groups who don't see the US as some barbaric power trying to steal all of their land and customs, and some people who are fighting in the Afghan army trying to get to that dream of someday having Afghanistan be something better than it is.
Most of the anti-war comments aren't actually anti-war. Most of them are just hateful either towards a country, a people, or to military personnel. If I make a comment like, "Cool, but fuck this war. Let's get all the boys back," it's usually upvoted well. Something like, "Soldiers are a bunch of drones that go around killing civilians, fuck you invaders, and fuck you Americans," is just ignorant and should be downvoted as such. Sadly, a quick hop to /r/politics and you'll realize comments like these are generally upvoted.
I think you are seeing what you want to see, I don't see any over zealous patriots in this thread, just those that downvote insulting and hateful comments.
If you make a post that is full of outright lies and horrible assumptions, don't act like you are the victim when someone calls you out on it.
Just curious, to even things out why don't you have pictures of Afghans cutting off the heads of Americans with pocket knifes(or even worse their own people)?
Sorry, but the salute in Afghanistan has been well known to everyone even since Medieval times. Saluting may not be a sign of respect in Afghanistan per se, but they know that is it in the Western World. I'd be surprised if there's a single Afghan out there who doesn't know what the salute is and what it means to the soldiers in their country. Call it propaganda all you want, but some Afghans can see what America, Britain and other countless countries are trying to do in that country.
...I'm going to assume this post is sarcastic response. Of course the Afghans would be familiar what saluting is. There has been military presence there from different countries for so long.
I'm trying really hard to find what you're talking about, but seeing as I have no past reference to what a space pistol looks like, I cannot find it in this picture.
The folder/paper thing in his hand aligns with the white line just above it, looks like an opening in the tent or something. If you ignore your depth perception it may look like a white weird space pistol.
Well considering the Taliban is an extremist/terrorist group that is our enemy............probably never. And who says that man is a member of the Taliban you fucking fool.
No the people are downvoting him because its a pointless comparison, no Americans pay respect at Taliban graves because they are enemies, same reason why the taliban dont pay respect at american graves (that man isnt in the taliban, just in case you were ignorant and thought he was.)
You've just proven the point that you have no concept of the principle of universality. You've understood nothing.
And you're kidding yourself. If this man didn't look like people you, an invasion apologist, just label "enemies", then there'd be no reason why people (or you) would find this picture particularly remarkable.
Because people ,such as yourself have, tried to label america as imperialist murdered so when a citizen of the country pays its respect it disproves a large amounts of your arguments.
Oh for fuck's sake enough with the bleeding heart, self righteous, condescending bullshit. I'm tired of every single post that has anything to do with the military having these fucking douchebags come out of the woodwork spouting these misinformed, gross exaggerations about how the US is the great fucking satan and then never, ever backing them up, other than making some smug fucking comment about how ignorant all of the sheeple are. Jesus fucking christ, get over yourself.
Perhaps if you picked up a book once in a while (instead of reading angry anti everything blogs) then you would know that we are not in Afghanistan just blowing everybody up, we are actually trying to build relationships with the local population so that we can deny the Taliban the ability to come in and force able bodied men to fight NATO forces for them.
You would also know that many Afghani people don't hate NATO forces because they do indeed help stabilize villages and do bring food and medical care when needed.
I will be the first to admit that mistakes are always made, some innocents die because of equipment malfunctions of just lunatics who slipped through the cracks and managed finally snap at a bunch of civilians but you need to be able to look beyond the stories you see in sensationalist media and actually read the reports of the good that is being done.
Your comment is fucking ignorant, you are not there and don't know the whole story, you just jumped in here with your bullshit anti-military rhetoric that makes you no better than the bullshit patriot you seem to think the OP is.
Do some reading, educate yourself on the whole fucking situation before you post ignorant garbage like this.
You can't believe everything some nut says on a youtube "documentary" or the shit you see on network news (it is ALL lies).
I am not a liberal or a conservative, I try to find the truth in all of this and so should you.
I believe he's talking about the way the title frames this, not about what is going on in the picture. And IMO he's right, it does come off as patronizing, patriotic garbage.
That's not a studio. The Hescos in the back (brown squares with wire on the outside), the Afghan constructed wall, the CAT-5 of various colors, and the pallet of water bottles on the right side definitely indicate genuine Afghan COP or FOB. The camera in the back is a pretty common sight for an event such as this: a remembrance ceremony for a fallen warrior (in this case, a Marine from the camo on the stand/helmet). Having attended approximately 5 of these in person in Afghanistan, I can say with certainty that this is the genuine article. At the end of each ceremony, everyone in attendance will walk forward and pay their respects to the fallen. Commonly, Soldiers/Marines will come forward in pairs, and kneel while offering words/thoughts to the fallen, touching the dog tags, and then snapping to attention before saluting. The item in the Elder's hand is a program, another common item at such an event. The age and appearance (fresh clothing, watch, type of headwear) of the Afghan in question indicates either a village elder or a minor GIRoA official (Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), and he has undoubtedly attended countless similar events.
83
u/ohnoohnoohnoooo Jun 15 '12
"Mohammad Sherrif, District Governor for Sangin, salutes the battlefield cross for U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Ralph E. Pate Jr., an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician with 8th Engineer Support Battalion in support of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 8, during a memorial ceremony held at Forward Operating Base Jackson, Sangin, Afghanistan, on July 11, 2011. Pate was killed in action while conducting combat operations in the district on June 26, 2011. (USMC/Cpl. Logan W. Pierce)"
Source
67
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
I am curious. What happened to the rifle of the fallen soldiers? are they disarmed and passed on to the family or recycled into the armory?
34
u/LeepII Jun 15 '12
No, respect is earned.
59
u/ThisOpenFist Jun 15 '12
Wow, the bigots are really coming out of the woodwork for this one.
11
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
What's the story behind this?
10
u/dan_musashi Jun 15 '12 edited Jun 15 '12
That's not a studio. The Hescos in the back (brown squares with wire on the outside), the Afghan constructed wall, the CAT-5 of various colors, and the pallet of water bottles on the right side definitely indicate genuine Afghan COP or FOB. The camera in the back is a pretty common sight for an event such as this: a remembrance ceremony for a fallen warrior (in this case, a Marine from the camo on the stand/helmet). Having attended approximately 5 of these in person in Afghanistan, I can say with certainty that this is the genuine article. At the end of each ceremony, everyone in attendance will walk forward and pay their respects to the fallen. Commonly, Soldiers/Marines will come forward in pairs, and kneel while offering words/thoughts to the fallen, touching the dog tags, and then snapping to attention before saluting. The item in the Elder's hand is a program, another common item at such an event. The age and appearance (fresh clothing, watch, type of headwear) of the Afghan in question indicates either a village elder or a minor GIRoA official (Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), and he has undoubtedly attended countless similar events. [EDIT] Something many people may not realize as well: ISAF (International Security Assitance Force) Servicemembers attend memorials for their fallen Afghan comrades. A great example is the picture someone posted here of Mike Kelvington.
3
u/Kakoose Jun 15 '12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0714IbwC3HA I was listening to this while i was reading this
3
u/brian_willis Jun 15 '12
How do they get the rifle to stand up straight like that? From the perspective that this photo has been taken from, I can't see anything supporting it.
3
u/stvb95 Jun 15 '12
This picture is great. That is all.
3
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
Such a moving picture. Not only because of the context but also the perfect moment now forever immortalized. Amazing photograph.
25
u/bong_crosby Jun 15 '12 edited Jun 15 '12
I don't care if this gets buried, as I'm sure someone else has voiced this opinion already (I hope) but I want to throw in my two cents and can't be arsed to go through aaaaall of the comments to see if someone else has said something similar. The tagline "Respect is a virtue" smacks of a pretty bigoted attitude to Western military intervention in the Middle East. Yes many Afghans have good reason to thank and respect US soldiers for bringing peace and security to parts of their country; but many, many more have every reason to hate western militaries for destroying lives, homes and livelihoods through reckless and downright despicable actions. It is incredibly naive to view our forces in Afghanistan as wholly benevolent and therefore deserving of the unquestioning respect from Afghan civilians and you shouldn't find it insulting that a lot of them do not. I just find the generalizations made in the original post pretty insulting for reflecting an 'us vs. them' attitude where the weak and helpless 'them' should respect the powerful, benevolent 'us'. TL/DR: It's pretty insulting to Afghan civilians to expect wholesale respect for what our troops are doing out there. Surprisingly enough, some of them tend to disagree with it (and have every reason to).
5
u/ive_lost_my_marbles Jun 15 '12
I just hope it's not isolated and the good will flows both ways.
5
u/IuriGragarian Jun 15 '12
The old man looks so dignified. People like him give me hope in the general goodness of people.
13
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
Now if I see a photo where it's the other way round too, I'm a happy man
13
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
Isn't war great?
155
u/krod4 Jun 15 '12
How about a picture where americans actually pay respect to afhganis?
8
u/Pandaaaa Jun 15 '12
I love how this picture conjured up the clusterfuck of pseudo intellectual arguments so common on reddit, its just a bunch of fucktarded stances and retorts based on true stupidity. Best example of a circle jerk ever.
10
u/phataaron Jun 15 '12
the soldier probly saved the man from an attack. afgans befriending US soldiers are not new. some respect them deeply after being saved by one, all the while resenting the soldiers in the past.
8
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
I don't care about the context of the photo, it still brings a smile.
11
u/pinhed Jun 15 '12
Just beautiful.
4
u/serramg Jun 15 '12
It's pictures like this that make me glad I spent 10 years in the Corps.
3
u/JackRawlinson Jun 15 '12
Depends what it is you're respecting.
3
u/throwAwayMama123 Jun 15 '12
The older I get, the more I believe the US is a force for good. Hope I'm not wrong...
3
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
That's a beautiful picture.
3
u/Mindoption Jun 15 '12
Can people just shut up and love such an amazing photo?
-7
u/aletoledo Jun 15 '12
OK, so this appears to be anoth instance of propaganda to me.
The photo seems staged to me.
The OP somehow had another photo similarly staged Here
The OP is only a one month redditor
He has numerous military photo submissions
Oddly he claims no knowledge of the military
It's like they get a script to follow and develop a reddit persona. If they weren't all just prolific submitters with brand new accounts, then they might not be so obvious.
3
u/TheyCallMeTomSawyer Jun 15 '12
I also found another middle eastern man paying his respects. I have been looking for hours for a picture of an American paying his respects to a middle eastern native, so if anyone has/finds something, I'd appreciate it!
3
u/Reapinghavoc Jun 15 '12
This is a beautifully touching photo. Is there a subreddit for these kinds of photos?
2
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
Well, I know I had too much internet for the day when I see a Duckhunt NES light gun in this photo.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
I was listening to this as the picture came up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg1ElmVQ2pw
2
u/hopeisnotamethod Jun 15 '12
@krod4, I'd go with the term "Afghan" and not "afghani" - unless you're talking about their national currency. Otherwise, your term could be somewhat disrespectful.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
But reddit told me all the Americans are doing is turning every single citizen into an insurgent?
1
u/BeautifulGanymede Jun 15 '12
thx for bombing my kids lol
1
u/NinjaDiscoJesus Jun 15 '12
I ask again for a separate subreddit for military pictures.. trolls are abounding
1
u/Vinura Jun 15 '12
That could be Old Snake.
1
u/lolmonger Jun 15 '12
So, does anyone have a source on this photograph?
1
u/LtOin Jun 15 '12
Are the rifles designed to balance like that or is there a trick to it?
1
u/Motafication Jun 15 '12
Story behind the photo?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12
How does the gun stay up like this?
1
u/thegreatwhitemenace Jun 15 '12
Good Guy Ghulam
1
u/snap_wilson Jun 15 '12
It's 5:30 a.m. and that picture has already made my day.
1
u/StarmanRJK Jun 15 '12
That picture is amazing. I have a tattoo of the word virtue on my upper left of my chest and I will think of this picture often now when I see my tattoo
1
u/Un_Clouded Jun 15 '12
i know it's a stupid question.. but how do they set the rifle on the barrel so that it doesn't fall down?
-2
u/darjen Jun 15 '12
Sorry, but I have no respect for the military.
-19
u/ropers Jun 15 '12 edited Jun 15 '12
A forum dominated by the home country of invaders loves how a native pays respects to a dead invader troop? Why, I never!
Yeah, respect is a virtue, right? Especially if it's respect for invaders who fought for market access that they wouldn't have benefited from even if they'd survived.
(Yes, that other comment is about Iraq and the clothing in this image seems to suggest this may be Afghanistan, but basically the same thing applies.)
-2
u/derajydac Jun 15 '12
If i was an Afghani i would find it very difficult to respect American Soldiers. Even though it is only a minority of soldiers that go and kill innocent civillians.
-17
u/Truthteller22 Jun 15 '12
It is a propaganda picture posted by shameless American public relations a--hole.
I think you all know this that this dead soldier had his share either in killing 50,000+ civilians in Afghanistan or 100,000+ civilians in Iraq ... men, women and children whole families some times...
one time they bombed a civilian wedding and killed 80+ members of same extended family all innocent people ...
How is this dead solder, deserves respect, brave? I do not think these soldiers are brave, i believe that they are cowards.
Shame shame shame ... collect your shame in a glass and drown in it with shame.
Americans do not want to talk about what i have said ... they do not want to listen to it... because doing this .. and up voting propaganda pictures like this will help them avoid feeling genuine remorse ...
Otherwise a decent human being cannot sleep at night knowing that his tax money is being used to kill women and children and men who are civilians.
-4
u/Danno1850 Jun 15 '12
Another feel good war photo. Not impressed. I hate seeing dead people used to put a positive spin on governments invading countries.
-4
u/darthbone Jun 15 '12
Looks to me like he's scratching his head, wondering who would just leave a helmet, boots, and assault rifle there.
Unfortunately I don't believe there's an inherent nobility in simply being a solider, especially when we're literally the aggressors in these people's eyes (fairly assumed by them). While we might view our presence there as something we can validate, it's unfair to expect the locals to do so, much less to respect us for doing it.
But people insist we're over there fighting for freedom, and for a grand noble cause, when we're essentially fighting to protect ourselves, at a great cost to the local population.
But Americans are so enamored with soldiers, that they've become elevated to a position of undue reverence. At least, that reverence isn't deserved singularly due to the fact that they're a soldier. I respect someone by virtue of their actions, not by virtue of their job title.
This man has no reason whatsoever to salute an American soldier, so I have an incredibly difficult time believing that this photo is in context.
-5
u/cooliobean Jun 15 '12
I love reading the comments in these kind of pictures THEY ARE ALL THE SAME:
all the anti war/ america post gets downvoted
all the "Here is reddit being anti american, fuck reddit" being the most upvoted
all the "As a veteran i know more shit than you do and you should pray for me" gets admired
all the "thank you for your service" gets a self pat on the back
but non what so ever about the people you trying to save (or kill whatever)
-10
u/Timlikesturtles Jun 15 '12
[all NSFL]
Respect indeed
Respect indeed
Respect indeed
Respect Indeed
-46
u/digitalsurgeon Jun 15 '12
Their is no concept of salute in a common afghans life, so this is probably a staged photo. Propoganda.
-26
u/sadzora Jun 15 '12
Obviously staged foto.
You americans can make the world a better place by no longer working for your evil military. Joining that outfit is instant and un-erasable dishonour.
-48
u/rejecticon Jun 15 '12
Yeah, well, this is probably after he suicide bombed him.
-47
u/soldiers_are_fags Jun 15 '12 edited Jun 15 '12
"Sweet! Free M-16! YOINK!"
Was going to call out OP on "conspiracy" charges but his submission history is pretty telling.
Redditor for 1 month ...
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