Seems to me that it's saying you work for a military supporting division of your company. I don't see why someone should find that offensive.
"I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak!" - Calvin, "Calvin & Hobbes"
Posts: 18023 | Location: Sonoma County, CA | Registered: April 09, 2004
The line between wearing a shirt like that (or a “Blue Angels” hat purchased at an air show) and dressing in an actual uniform and misrepresenting yourself as a service member is quite distinct.
Posts: 8954 | Location: The Red part of Minnesota | Registered: October 06, 2002
I think you're good. It isn't like you're pretending to screw a gas tank with a burrito (for those who have been around long enough to understand the reference).
Rolan Kraps SASS Regulator Gainesville, Georgia. NRA Range Safety Officer NRA Certified Instructor - Pistol / Personal Protection Inside the Home
Posts: 23577 | Location: Gainesville, GA | Registered: October 11, 2005
It isn't like you're pretending to screw a gas tank with a burrito
If you eat enough burritos, why would you need a gas tank?
I have worked in many a defense contracting position over the years. My recollection is that service-branded wear was regarded more a tribute to the service than a claim of honor by association.
Posts: 6455 | Location: NoVA | Registered: July 22, 2009
I wouldn't worry about it. If it just said "Military", that'd be one thing. I could see how some folks would assume it meant you served. But since it has your company's name/logo, and the "military" portion denotes that you work for that company's military division, I don't see a problem.
No different than a company rep wearing something like a "Colt Law Enforcement" shirt, or a "5.11 Military/Police Sales" polo. Doesn't make people assume they're a cop or soldier, nor does it make the wearer a poser.
quote:
Originally posted by Rolan_Kraps: It isn't like you're pretending to screw a gas tank with a burrito
Originally posted by sig229-SAS: Just me, but I would not be comfortable wearing it if I had not severed.
ITYM "served." "Severed" is something else entirely
I'm w/sig229-SAS: I would be disinclined to wear it, and I'm actually ex-military. The implication's there, IMO.
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
I won’t characterize someone who would equate a corporate logo along with the word “military” as signifying that the wearer had been a member of the armed forces, but military vets usually want to make it clear which branch or war they were in rather than a vague reference. If, however, I were concerned about being wrongfully credited with being a military veteran, I’d just be ready to say, “Thanks for the thought, but this only indicates that my company supports the military.” And smile.
And FWIW, thanks to you and your company. Without the people and companies who supply our military with the fantastic warfighting capabilities they have these days, they would not be so successful with so few casualties. It has been a very long time since wars were fought only by the men on the battlefield.
► 6.4/93.6
“Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” — Plato
Posts: 47397 | Location: 10,150 Feet Above Sea Level in Colorado | Registered: April 04, 2002
Wear it proudly. If someone says, "Thank you for your service". Proudly say, "I didn't serve, but I'm proud to support. This is a shirt our company gave its employees because we manufacture WIDGETS for the military".
"If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24
Come on, no one would think you are trying to impersonate uniformed military personnel by wearing such a shirt. If you were wearing a shirt that listed a battalion or the logo of specific military unit that would be different.
Seems to me the only opinions that matter are yours and the customers/military folks who gave it to you.
If short-sighted pettifoggers give you flack, you can honestly say, "That's a fascinating opinion that you have. I can tell you that opinion was not shared by the military personnel who gave me the shirt with the intention that I wear it."
Posts: 15022 | Location: North Carolina | Registered: October 15, 2007
Originally posted by Rolan_Kraps: I think you're good. It isn't like you're pretending to screw a gas tank with a burrito (for those who have been around long enough to understand the reference).
HA! A memory of the forum from years ago.
"All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."
--Sir Winston Churchill
"The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise they will win and the decent people will lose."
--James Earl Jones
Posts: 7655 | Location: KCMO | Registered: August 31, 2002
