E-Bay Rant

[Rizzo]

$3.50 shipping?? Forget that noise. ?

And I was so ready to hit up the local synagogue on uniform day, too. ?

[Hauptmann6]

8 hours ago, Cougar_ml said:

Some things were not meant to be collected by those that did not earn them.  

Think of being presented with a trophy for being the MVP during a sports year, then finding out everyone else has the trophy too because they bought it on ebay.  Kind of diminishes the significance of receiving it.

If I had a player I REALLY liked and I bought his MVP trophy to display because hey it's awesome cause it's a real MVP trophy and I like to collect that kind of thing. How is it diminished by others collecting them as well?

[Hauptmann6]

2 hours ago, OwlsNest465 said:

That's the point I'm making and I'm glad someone else gets it, but some people just want something to be outraged about.  

And a certain poster has something to be outraged about quite often.

[Hauptmann6]

17 hours ago, Cougar_ml said:

I'm sure there are some legitimate reasons for a person that hasn't earned one or had one presented to the family to be in possession of some of these ribbons or medals, but I don't know what they might be.

 

To collect something? If I purchased an Iron Cross would that be stolen valor? I mean there's no reason anyone would want to buy one unless they were passing themselves off as something they are not. Other than the fact it has historical/cultural significance. Same as the medal that was for sale. If I collected such things and I thought the ICE was worthy why not? Same as medals from previous wars.

How do you feel about M4 clones? You have something that looks like it should be military, that should be stolen valor too right? I mean it looks the part so you must be faking.

[Cougar_ml]

5 hours ago, Hauptmann6 said:

 

To collect something? If I purchased an Iron Cross would that be stolen valor? I mean there's no reason anyone would want to buy one unless they were passing themselves off as something they are not. Other than the fact it has historical/cultural significance. Same as the medal that was for sale. If I collected such things and I thought the ICE was worthy why not? Same as medals from previous wars.

How do you feel about M4 clones? You have something that looks like it should be military, that should be stolen valor too right? I mean it looks the part so you must be faking.

umm, what?

The topic is discussing something that's extremely rare to be issued to anyone, requires an act that many of the recipients of the ribbon don't survive.  I fail to see any type of correlation between an item that is presented for acts of heroism and only in very rare occasions compared to an item that is literally issued to pretty much every soldier that goes through basic training (if you include the M16 variants with the M4).  Trying to relate something that "looks military" to something presented to very few members of the military or governmental agency and then only in the most courageous of occasions is a very bad correlation.  Not to mention the AR15 has been available to civilians on the open market for nearly as long as the military has been using it, whereas medals and ribbons have no civilian equivalent because they are awards, not basic issued items.

Or if you want to look at it another way, a soldier may place personal significance on an M4 if it was the weapon he was issued, but in the end he had to give it back, because it was just a tool provided for use by the military to accomplish a purpose.  Ribbons and medals are not given back to the military because those are the way the military shows it's gratitude and appreciation for what you did, a job well done, or just the fact that you completed some type of assignment, like the Korean Defense ribbon.  Anyone who is stationed in South Korea for a set amount of time receives this ribbon.  Those that aren't assigned there don't, simple as that.  Anyone can buy the ribbon, it's one of the most common ribbons in the Army to get, as quite a few people end up over there.   

So would I be upset to see one sold on ebay?  Not really.  Like I said, it's common.  There are literally millions of them out there in circulation, as it's been getting issued for over half a century, and we have tens of thousands of soldiers that get stationed in South Korea every year (with a 1 year rotation)

Compare that to the Medal of Honor.  There have been just over 3500 of them issued since it was created.  It requires a whole heck of a lot more to earn than just living somewhere else for a year.  Of those 3500, only 70 are still alive.  Many receive it posthumously, and their family receives it.  Typically those receiving it do so because their actions saved many other lives.  To those who were saved, how exactly do you thank a person that died or nearly dies to save your life?  Is there really anything a person can do to pay back that debt?  I personally don't think so.  Thus the medal is a representation of the greatest debt the military can have to an individual for their actions.  To see something like that being sold is an insult to the memory of those that have died, and to the living that very nearly died.

 

 

If you purchased an Iron Cross and claimed to have any connection to it other than spending money to get it, then yes, it would be stolen valor.  If you bought it as part of a larger collection just to show all the different medals that were issued then no it wouldn't be.  

 

Don't get me wrong, I can see both sides of the argument. 

On one hand there are people that are really into having things as collectors items even if they have no personal value on their own, but have them simply to show all the ones that are available.  It seems kind of stupid to me why anyone would want to own something like this with no type of personal connection.  I really don't see the point of collecting little pieces of cloth and metal that cost a few cents to make, blowing hundreds of dollars in the process, but different people have different ideas on what's collectable or not.

On the other hand you have people that buy this type of thing in order to lie about it.  They claim to have some personal connection, whether it be their own, family, or friend.  Just because there will be individuals out there that will try to use it for some personal gain of some type doesn't mean that the people who won't do anything to abuse ownership of it shouldn't be able to easily acquire it.  

 

To those that have a personal connection to a military/governmental agency award, and know people who have literally died in order to receive the award, to have something with that type of personal meaning being available for anyone who wants to spend the $7 plus shipping to get it and then abuse the significance of the medal is absolutely horrifying, disgusting and heart wrenching.  To those that don't have that type of connection, it's no big deal, who really cares, it's just a piece of metal and cloth.  To them it doesn't stand for the courage and sacrifice (potential or otherwise) that an award like this actually represents.

 

[SigMan]

I generally believe that people who lie about accomplishments and pretend to be something they are not are scumbags who eventually get what they deserve. Then there are those who are just mentally ill and can’t seem to help themselves in making up stories. It’s sad and pathetic. 

Edited June 23, 2019 by SigMan