Jealous much, Nicole Frazier?
Robert sends us a link to the Rocky Mountain Collegian and a piece written by Nicole Frazier who says she’s an English and Spanish major, but apparently, she doesn’t like that 10% discount that you guys get at Lowes and Home Depot;
First off, I believe when businesses, such as Banana Republic, Lowe’s, Apple and Disney World handout military discounts, they are doing two things. They are establishing an uncouth definition of what it means to serve this country and encouraging a hierarchy that discredits the work of other heroes in our country, treating military personnel better based on their willingness to volunteer.
It isn’t that I am
appreciativeunappreciative (correction) of the risks they have taken. It’s that I recognize that the military is not the only group of people serving this nation.
You’re right, Nichole, we’re not the only people who are serving this country, but if you were old enough to remember the post-Vietnam War era and if you could have seen how veterans of that war were treated like second class citizens, maybe you’d see how this discount thing makes up for that to some small measure. Veterans were ashamed to admit that they served because of mouthy little punks like you who demeaned them for their service to this country.
I am advocating for reconstructing our definition of what it means to serve this country. I am thinking of the word ‘serve’ in the sense of yielding a service or product for others, not limiting it to just those who have enlisted in the military.
I figure that if we were to think of it in those terms, we would discover that millions of people are serving their country; millions of Americans who are equally deserving of discounts as any soldier.
How do you “reconstruct a definition”? A definition is what it is. There are indeed millions of people who serve the country and it’s citizens, but, how many of those you want to extend a discount, yank up their roots every two years like I did and move to some other part of the world, sometimes leaving their families behind and then spend a year or so getting shot at? Are you going to do that, Nichole. Of course you won’t.
Personally, I believe that a collaboration of education, patience and an open mind is key to improving a lot of the world’s problems. I think by glorifying the military profession with discounts is reiterating the long-held notion in this country that a strong military presence is the way to go about encouraging change. To put it more simply, encouraging a forceful approach over what I believe to be a stronger and powerful, and perhaps more peaceful one.
Go take that “collaboration of education, patience and an open mind” to Pakistan and start improving the lot of that part of the world, well, until they chop your head off or shoot you in the face. You’re known as a student, that’s because you’re still learning, that you don’t know everything yet. Even when you’re not a student any longer, you still won’t know how the world works until you’ve accomplished something. Most of our members of the military who are your age have already accomplished something. You’re far behind them, Nichole.
By the way, your local merchants who give a student discount on their wares and services should really be questioning their practices when you haven’t done anything to deserve that which you would deny members of the military, given your conditions for deserving a discount.
Category: Dumbass Bullshit
@46 well pixie stix and porn are items that go together, sugar and sugah darlin…
Ahh poor Joe, missed Nicole’s point entirely and missed the reason the response was directed towards her as it was.
Military “service” is so much more than service as defined in the civilian sector (private or government).
No one here argues that police and firefighters and teachers don’t contribute to our society. In fact you will find most here are more respectful of those occupations than the Nicoles of the world.
Nicole’s narcissistic, hypocritical rant was just plain silly. Perhaps she wanted to buy a purse at a store that didn’t offer a student discount but did offer a military discount and that set her off….but thinking that the military discount was a sign of disrespect to other service professions is just a childish response to the right of every business to operate however it wishes. As I said earlier 8 minutes of research on her part by telephoning 2 businesses and asking why they offer the discount might have changed her viewpoint and had her writing different opinion. Maybe not, in any case part of being an adult op-ed writer is understanding when you generate an opinion (as is your right under the constitution) that is unsubstantiated by any real world data, and in direct conflict with the feelings of a majoritiy of the folks affected by your opinion those folks have the right to let you know they think you are an 4sshole. You don’t have to like their response any more than they liked your silly little opinion piece, but they have the same right (and those in the military earned that right in a fashion little Nicole will never do) that she does to voice their opinions.
We all have the right to be loud and boisterous in our opinions, if you can’t take the criticism your opinion generates then tough sh1t on you for being a weak minded fool.
And a final message to Nicole…businesses are private entities who can give discounts to whoever th fuck they want. This is because they have the FREEDOM to do so, which is provided and defended primarily by said uniformed services you denigrate.
Please come here and try to play a Front Range version of Sandra Korn. I’m begging ya.
@48, 50 — I have never seen Futurama. Did not know that it exists. I miss Short Attention Span Theater and Tripping the Rift, Farscape, Science Fiction Theater — all that good stuff.
I placed a comment on Ms. Frazier’s column under the name B.T. Dunthat. I gave her a D minus.
Some of the comments on her piece are priceless…
She really kicked over a hornet’s nest and to be honest- much of it is likely lost on a child who doesn’t know any better and doesn’t want to know.
We’ve all been exposed to her type in some way, shape or form– she’s learned that she’s special and that her right to an opinion trumps any opposing view. What she never learned and probably won’t figure out is that she has the right to any and all of her views and the freedom express them because of a military that has defended this nation since its inception.
She probably couldn’t tell you who Malala Yousufzai is. Nor could she comprehend that one 14-year-old girl showed more courage with the simple act of trying to go to school in Pakistan than most of us have done in a lifetime. That Malala could be shot in the head for that one act of expression in defiance of the Taliban stands in stark contrast to the world that sheltered, indoctrinated Nicole Frazier believes is out there.
She even describes her worldview as such: “Personally, I believe that a collaboration of education, patience and an open mind is key to improving a lot of the world’s problems.”
If she was lucky, she might get the “Personally I…” part out of her mouth before a Taliban member shot her in the face. But hey- we need to talk it out and war never solved anything, right?
Someone’s doing some editing over there. I put a quick non-profanity laden comment on and now it appears to be gone.
Nik,
Double check, they can be hidden but are still there. I accidentally did that on one I left right after you on Lauren’s rebuttal.
One thing she is saying is that all this neo-con, corporate-backed hagiography of the military is just one more facet of the militarization of America and justification for the march toward perpetual, endless war.
Joe, You are so far to the left that you make Stalin look like a Centrist. During my last deployment my wife got my daughter a stuffed army guy that you could insert a picture on the face so she would be able to snuggle with daddy while he was gone. I’m sure you got one and it has Obama’s picture in it.
It’s a freaking discount Joe…you know, students get them, elderly get them, firefighters, police, hell I get cell phone discounts, travel discounts, and many others just for working at the company I work for….more discounts than I ever got in the military.
One thing Joe did get right – I now know that I am superior to Nicole! I didn’t before she published this piece of trash, but she proved that I am superior to her for several reasons, not the least of which is that I do not envy her discounts.
Take them, dear child. Enjoy them while you are eligible for them. Do not envy those who get discounts for some reason for which you are not qualified. If you really want what they have, do what they did to earn them.
Oh, and while you are at it, Nicole, you might not want to brag about being an English major until you get a better handle on the use of the language.
@57
No, Joe. She’s saying she’s jealous of individuals and privately-owned companies giving a slight benefit to express appreciation to people who have at one time written a check to the US Government for the amount of “Up to and including my life”.
@68
OWB, I think it’s that “New English” that goes along with the “New Math”.
@57 Now that’s funny sh1t right there. $10 bucks off your purchase of a smaller miter table at Loew’s equals another facet of the insidious plot to militarize the nation while creating an endless war.
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum….true then and true now. Nicole doesn’t like that model which is perhaps admirable that she would like a world where everyone appreciates each other and we all solve our problems with a respectful discussion at the UN. No current or former military personnel enjoy the hardships they often find themselves working under. A world where the efforts of the military were able to be used to rebuild after natural disasters and protect prior to them happening is a lovely dream. But in the real world that is at best a distant dream that doesn’t have a chance of existing because our enemies are not interested in a dialogue with you. They are interested in murdering you and your children because your god is not their god, and they are not about to be talked out of their beliefs. Therefore it is a wise idea to believe them when they tell us they want us dead and our way of life destroyed and act appropriately in our dealings with these “people”
We need dreamers Joe, it’s you dreamers that get to think about a world like that because of the folks that Nicole thinks don’t deserve $1 off their $10 worth of Cheeseburgers and Fries at Five Guys….but make a cognitive argument pertinent to your dream, not a silly rant about a business acting to offer a small token of appreciation to the folks offering their lives to the nation.
I like Franklin’s version better, VoV: “Those who beat their swords into plowshares usually end up plowing for those who kept their swords.”
I’d like to see teachers (or many other professions) given discounts, flyovers and prayers at football games, multiple national holidays in their honor, etc. etc., but I’m not gonna hold my breath.
@65
I’d like to live in a nation where people believe in personal responsibility. Where they recognize that things shouldn’t just be handed out because it’d be “nice”. Where the vast majority believes in getting what they earn, and no more. Where class culture and naked, undisguised envy are reviled.
But I’m not holding my breath either.
Hondo, certainly that is more succinct…..
On a side note for the folks who talk about turning the other cheek, even Christ said “he that hath no sword let him sell his robe and buy one…”
I always took that to mean when the Lord is in your presence you need fear nothing, but as he was leaving this earth in the hands of men for a time it would be wise to defend yourself from those who would harm you.
Understand I am not a particularly religious fellow, but it does not mean I have not read one of the more important manifests of modern times.
@67
And along with that, Gandhi remarked that one of the worst abuses the British inflicted on the Indian people was taking away their guns.
The Dalai Lama said it’s reasonable that if someone is shooting you, you take up a gun and shoot back.
I’d like to see teachers (or many other professions) given discounts, flyovers and prayers at football games, multiple national holidays in their honor, etc. etc., but I’m not gonna hold my breath.
How many more examples do you need Joe? Many do!!! Teachers get discounts all over the place, Apple was already named as giving discounts to educators…and I know, I was a teacher! I am a lab technician at a utility company and I get discounts. Labor Day is for all other professions. Every job I’ve ever had has the day off on Labor Day yet not one has ever given me the day off for Veterens Day…and I’ve never felt like they owed me that day off either, hell, I never got that day off while I was in the military…you are truly an irascible dick.
For Joe, it is not about discounts, and it never was. It is that his ilk really do want to go back to the post-Vietnam attitudes about servicemen. Because to them, the slightest hint of honoring a vet or their service is ‘glorifying war’, and will thus lead to “…the militarization of America and justification for the march toward perpetual, endless war.”
Idiot!
I find myself wondering if she’s going to apologize, claim she “was taken out of context” or pretend that the VRWC is after her.
And it’s really saying a lot when you have a Communication Studies Major slapping her around like a naughty puppy in the rebuttal.
“millions of Americans who are equally deserving of discounts as any soldier”
Hey, numbnuts. Thats called a sale.
“I’d like to see teachers (or many other professions) given discounts, flyovers and prayers at football games, multiple national holidays in their honor, etc. etc”. Joey, you mean like this, “Teacher Appreciation Week is a week long celebration in the United States observed the first full week in May. Teacher Appreciation Day is the Tuesday that falls during Teacher Appreciation Week”. http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/teacher-appreciation/when-is-teacher-appreciation.html Is that what you’re whining about, Joey? And, a “flyover”? From the military you so loathe? I doubt that the hippies could conjure up a flyover, dipshit. They’d be high enough, but they lack the qualifications to do that which you wish for.
How about Obamaphones, Joey? What are the qualifications for an Obamaphone? Other than to be a schlub.
@69
Every job I’ve ever had has the day off on Labor Day
Well, for me it was every job except the Army. I usually worked at least half the holidays when I was in.
I am you guys posted this, I have to get my VA ID updated to say service connected so I can get my discount at Home Depot. I have a pretty big project coming up and I could use the discount….
Joe I bet that burns you a disabled veteran getting a discount from a mega corporation…oooo EVIL!!!!!
Holidays? I had six-day duty section rotation, meaning 24 hour availability regardless, every six days. When holidays rolled around, we all traded off. If you stood Thanksgiving duty, you got Christmas off. Unfortunately, it was only an 8-hour per person section, but people stood duty twice on holidays so others could have the day with their families.
Did everyone actually read the piece or just the rant on her article? I saw nothing claiming she was jealous, envious or any of the like. Seemed she just felt that firemen and nurses etc also deserved discounts for their service. Where is the article all the above commenters are reading? Because its certainly not the one this student wrote.
@78
That was only part of it. She also wrote
Personally, I believe that a collaboration of education, patience and an open mind is key to improving a lot of the world’s problems. I think by glorifying the military profession with discounts is reiterating the long-held notion in this country that a strong military presence is the way to go about encouraging change. To put it more simply, encouraging a forceful approach over what I believe to be a stronger and powerful, and perhaps more peaceful one.
So it’s not just that she thinks other people should get the discounts (which is really a business decision… she’s more than welcome to start her own business with her own marketing choices), she doesn’t like stores “glorifying” the military by giving them a 10% discount.
@78, first sentence of the editorial:
Every time I see a sign taped to the cash register or to windows of businesses that says something along the lines “10 percent Military Discount,” a wave of indignation passes through me.
@#78, do you know how to click on a link? The links are provided, one in the lead-in, another in the posts.
@78. I’m in a good mood and have so marked my calendar. I’d like to keep this rare mood for at least a fwe more minutes. Nevertheless–JKLivin, why do you suppose Ernestine Hemingway selected Veteran discounts, as opposed to student discount, union-member discounts, or any one of myriad other discounts?
Okay: Here’s a hint, as my good mood fades into oblivions. JKLevin, do you suppose that the notion of service as equal in all forms might have something to do with it, such that the service rendered by a trash-pickup volunteer or food pantry volunteer is the equivalent of a man or woman serving our country in the military?
Okay, I’m done. Screw the mood. Levin, Levine, or whatever–THINK you stupe.
Yes, I did and I think her kind of stupid hurts…there are lots of different people who get discounts based on their job and station in life. She is too dumb to realize it.
Yes, because being a garbage collector for eight hours a day, five days a week, is equivalent to being 10,000 miles from home for a year or locked in a steel pipe for 2 1/2 months at a shot.
And for the record, JKLevin, I provide a “public service” even now. Don’t believe me? Turn off the fucking lights and see how long the thin veneer of civilization lasts. I’m not bitching about what discounts I do or don’t receive in my current occupation (which, incidentially, are more than what I received on AD.)
@78 — Pay attention, please. A — Ms. Frazier’s writing graphically demonstrates that she is functionally illiterate. The three-sentence paragraph quoted in @79 above clearly demonstrates a lack of simple skills in English such as sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, syntax, use of vocabulary, and on and on ad nauseum. That paragraph consists of two badly written sentences and a sentence fragment. “I think by glorifying the military profession with discounts” is a clear example. If she had used “that” instead of “by”, it would make sense, but she did not do that, and that sentence is overwritten, pretentious and doesn’t make any sense, nor does the fragment which follows it. In fact, her entire article gives me a flipping headache. This is only one example of many in her op-ed piece that smacks of the spoiled-brat attitude prevalent in her generation. The ‘gimme, gimme, gimme’ pitch doesn’t work with anyone who has worked hard for a living and/or has served in ANY kind of service occupation, whether it’s as a firefighter, a cop, or a soldier/sailor/Marine/airman. B — Everybody here read the op-ed piece that she wrote. Not only did many people find her whiny and self-involved, because this is a site where most of the respondents are military, active or out, the response here, and at the Rocky Mountain Collegian website, was an overwhelmingly annoyed population demographic. Her op-ed was, in fact, rebutted by one of her fellow students on that paper. C — Her opening sentence made it more than abundantly clear that she dislikes and detests the military, and objects to what she sees as favoritism offered to active duty military, when in fact, the same discounts and more are offered to members of other service groups and to students. That she singled out the military and objected to active duty personnel benefiting from discounts supports my saying that she detests the military in every possible way and sees us as an unnecessary part of anything. We all, therefore, may legitimately wonder how she would feel, should a suicide bomber blow up a big truck loaded with… Read more »
Get rid of those pesky, insulting student discounts! Make ’em pay full fare for the bus ride!
Does she realize that she attends the same university as Sal Guita, MOH recipient? My son will also be attending CSU as soon as he’s done with tech school and his CCAF degree.
My uncle, who received the MOH posthumously, was a CSU graduate for whom they had an honor ceremony. In fact, CSU has had 3 additional MOH recipients:
http://www.news.colostate.edu/Release/4864
Maybe she should research the history of her own school before shooting off her mouth.
Thank you Lauren Stieritz for showing her where her priorities should be.
He does? Oh, SNAP!!!
I’m gone for just one day and everybody gets spun up! Awesome responses. I think I will cut and paste ALL the comments from this blog and respond to Lil’ Miss Frazier. Funny thing about her view of the world and the military – little does she know the sacrifices we make (or have made) as outlined, and particularly the fact that we are not public servants. Most everyone here is either currently serving or have served, and have made significant sacrifices, including having been robbed of our youth and health (bad knees and hearing here, coupled with some other things that likely would have never occurred had I not spent 25+ years on active duty…), so a discount isn’t such a bad thing to signal a sort of gratitude. In any case, I wish her luck in getting that job she so desires in English/Spanish. Lord knows we need more English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers.
JKLevin, you are clearly not an English major are you? As others have pointed out the first sentence explains the young lady’s indignation at the sight of discounts. Perhaps indignation is a word lacking in your vocabulary?
in·dig·na·tion/?indig?n?SH?n/
Noun:
Anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment.
Since that word is in her first sentence I am wondering what opinion piece you read? Most folks here read and were able to comprehend the article rather well, as were the local who read and posted their opinions as well which were overwhelmingly critical of her juvenile rant.
It’s interesting to note that in a free society where businesses are allowed to operate with marketing tools as they see fit she was advocating for somehow not allowing a military discount at Banana Republic. How would she achieve that? She called a military discount and uncouth definition of service to America, do you not understand that word either?
If being a former Guardsmen, and associating with the folks here makes me an uncouth definition of what defines honorable service to our nation then count me as uncouth. These uncouth folks and the generations of uncouth military personnel preceding them are responsible for providing the “couth” Ms. Frazier the opportunities she has today. So instead of worrying about somebody getting 10 bucks off their 100 dollar jeans at Banana Republic, maybe she could write and op-ed piece on how fair it is that the nation sends a young man off to a foreign land where is injuries leave him without a limb and they take forever to provide adequate care for that young man when he returns? Now that would be tackling something that is actually worth being indignant over instead of some trifling nonsense over retail discounts.
Oh for heaven’s sakes, 10% is terribly little for her to get out her keyboard and mangle a few sentences over. Really with a command of English as poor as hers she really ought to prioritize better. She is probably aware that her lack of skill at a poorly-chosen major program of study bodes terribly badly for her future. Hence she lashes out, inarticulately, at people who have done nothing to, and quite a bit for, her. It eases the pain she must feel when she lets herself think about how dreadfully prepared for the real world she is.
While misguided, blind to logic, and quite nastily vindictive, she may be a more apt candidate for putty than opprobrium.
Oh damn. ‘for pity.”
I see and hear this crap every day here at my liberal institution here in the great NW.
They bitch and complain but yet want funds.
Only problem: they do not want to work or make sacrifices for it.
Hey, I like bologna. I became used to eating it. After a while, I could afford mustard. I worked for it.
Entitlement.
I need a drink.
Out.
@95.
That was me.
Sorry.
I probably do not need another drink but F@#$ it, its the weekend!
Out.
@AngloAm, if I had a choice, I think ‘for putty’ is truly an appropriate way to say what you meant.