THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411100876
SECTION: HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: MARY MAHONEY
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
THE UNITED States Constitution guarantees all citizens the freedom of speech in its First Amendment. As a military family member and a member of the Hampton Roads community, I am tired of listening to people exercise that freedom to ridicule our armed forces.
On a daily basis, we read and hear about many types of prejudice. One that I find prevalent in the Hampton Roads community is military prejudice. I hear many conversations about the armed forces while standing in line at the grocery store, waiting to check out books in the library or while purchasing movie tickets. Even people I know talk to me on the subject. But they all begin the conversation the same way: ``Nothing against you and your husband Mary,
but . . . ''
Years ago when I informed my parents of Bill's transfer to this area, my mother showed me photographs of her neighborhood in Norfolk. They depicted signs that had been posted in this area that read, ``Dogs and sailors keep off the grass.'' She told us that many folks did not like the military being part of the community.
A lot has changed since then. There are no more signs, but the derogatory words still flow easily from the mouths of some community members.
People blame the traffic problems in Hampton Roads on the number of military members in the community. I've heard it explained that the accident rate in our area is due to so many out-of-state military members driving on our roads. Just a thought: Could the problem with traffic possibly be caused by poor planning and the lack of mass transit in this region?
Recently I mentioned to someone that my family and I had plans to go out to dinner. I was told I should reconsider my plans because it was the first of the month. Puzzled as to the date's significance, I was informed that we should never go out to dinner on the first or the 15th of the month because those are the military paydays and there would be long lines at every restaurant!
Years ago as a young military spouse, I quickly became defensive when I heard things being blamed on the military members. Now I laugh.
There is still one thing that disturbs me each time I hear it or read about it in the media. I become annoyed when businesses blame their lack of economic growth on the deployed military. These are the men and women who are willing to leave at a moment's notice, who are willing each day to put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms. It's greed that many businesses focus only on the amount of money they might lose while the service members are deployed.
The only people who have a right to complain about the armed forces are military members and their families. When and if we do complain, we do it among ourselves.
The purpose of military members in our community is not to cause traffic problems, make people stand in long lines or to help businesses earn a profit. The armed forces are here and in other communities across the United States to support and defend the Constitution.
Remember, Nov. 20th is National Military Family Recognition Day. Why not take a moment to thank military members or a member of their family for all their contributions to their country and this community.
- MEMO: Mary Mahoney writes a monthly column about military life. by CNB