I'm still not sure what the big hooha is about, and I find the
arguments of double standards quite weak and unlikely to stand in a
court of law.
Is proposing in uniform unheard of? Most militaries have a
tradition of that, in fact they often go out of their way for such
events. Is a kiss an acceptable part of a proposal?
Certainly.
Is kissing in uniform unheard of? Not unless we want to chase down
all those soldiers who kissed their loved ones after coming back
from Iraq or East Timor. No, the restriction given out was a more
general restriction on being publicly amorous which ought to be
applied with common sense. In the same way it's unacceptable to
play with the officer sword but acceptable to use it in parade.
Both actions involve holding the sword but it would be illogical to
deem all acts illegial by virtue of holding the sword. There are
kisses, but different kisses in different situtations mean
different things.
Those who think that all kissing is unacceptable in uniform
probably didn't sit down to think a little bit about the law. It's
about as ridiculus as a thread I read somewhere back saying that
you cannot defend yourself from attack because you would be
breaking the law by causing hurt to somebody... which had anybody
read the law at all would know it's really another thing.
If it was a Cpl and not a Cpt who proposed would he be fried? I do
not think so but then again it depends on his unit. Which brings us
back to my first point... if the unit is willing it can, and ought
to happen. Certainly being a Cpt gives you more pulling power, and
that is the way of things. But injustice? That's pulling it a
little.
And thirdly, if I myself could have done it... I would have gone
for it. Frankly I don't think the Cpt bothered if 1, or 55,000
people saw it, and people who took a saner view of him might
realize that. The guy is in love, and that's a greater motivation
as opposed to attention-seeking (and that is very unlikely).
And no I don't think it's shameless... it's only shameful if you do
something wrong. I don't think it was wrong.
