Got to meet General Petraeus today

[Hooahguy]

We were on a battalion run in DC this morning and we ran into him in front of the capitol building. Very nice guy, and for some reason took us a while to realize who we were talking to as he didnt introduce himself, but in hindsight it really was an honor to meet him.

I know someone took a picture, Ill post it when it goes up on facebook.

So I guess a discussion topic for this can be what makes a scandal forgettable? We have seem to forgotten that Chris Brown beat Rihanna, seeing that he is still an active part of society, and it didnt even occur to me that Gen Patraeus cheated on his wife when I met him. When the news initially broke I was very angry that someone I looked up to could do something like that. Maybe I forgot about it because in the end, he is only human, and he isnt exactly the first husband to cheat on his wife in history. Maybe we have mostly forgotten about Chris Brown and what he did because in the end he is just another celebrity and in this celebrity-crazed world we live in where there is an actual industry of people who follow them around in the most intrusive manner possible just to get a juicy picture. Maybe we are just so desensitized to the bad stuff that is constantly being reported about others that we have learned to simply move on, no matter how bad the infraction was. I mean, Chris Brown fans got mad when some Fox news host posted something which criticized Brown for beating up Rihanna. And it baffles me that Brown has seemingly been accepted back into the fold as his career didnt seem to suffer at all in the long term. At the same time, it didnt occur to us that the man we met was involved in a huge scandal only a few months ago.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

We were on a battalion run in DC this morning and we ran into him in front of the capitol building. Very nice guy, and for some reason took us a while to realize who we were talking to as he didnt introduce himself, but in hindsight it really was an honor to meet him.

I know someone took a picture, Ill post it when it goes up on facebook.

So I guess a discussion topic for this can be what makes a scandal forgettable? We have seem to forgotten that Chris Brown beat Rihanna, seeing that he is still an active part of society, and it didnt even occur to me that Gen Patraeus cheated on his wife when I met him. When the news initially broke I was very angry that someone I looked up to could do something like that. Maybe I forgot about it because in the end, he is only human, and he isnt exactly the first husband to cheat on his wife in history. Maybe we have mostly forgotten about Chris Brown and what he did because in the end he is just another celebrity and in this celebrity-crazed world we live in where there is an actual industry of people who follow them around in the most intrusive manner possible just to get a juicy picture. Maybe we are just so desensitized to the bad stuff that is constantly being reported about others that we have learned to simply move on, no matter how bad the infraction was. I mean, Chris Brown fans got mad when some Fox news host posted something which criticized Brown for beating up Rihanna. And it baffles me that Brown has seemingly been accepted back into the fold as his career didnt seem to suffer at all in the long term. At the same time, it didnt occur to us that the man we met was involved in a huge scandal only a few months ago.

Defenders of the status quo, such as Patreus, who "stray from the path" are condemned and villified.

Proponents of the counter culture, such as Brown, are condemned briefly but then forgiven since they were never proponents of the family values/law and order status quo from the outset. Such as Brown are only truly condemend and villified when they attack one of the sacred bovines of the counter culture, which is rare.

[Ironside]

Defenders of the status quo, such as Patreus, who "stray from the path" are condemned and villified.

Proponents of the counter culture, such as Brown, are condemned briefly but then forgiven since they were never proponents of the family values/law and order status quo from the outset. Such as Brown are only truly condemend and villified when they attack one of the sacred bovines of the counter culture, which is rare.

You also have that people have difficulty separating someone's work with the person. That works both ways, so you'll get people who like their works, who will neglect the bad things about the person, since a bad person can't produce stuff that the fans like.

Most notable with artists of course, since their works are easiest to judge.

[Greyblades]

I still think chris Brown is a mongoose.

I think when it comes to these sorts of minor misdemeanours it is the behavior of the person in the aftermath than the actual act that truly matters. If you do something bad but be truly remorseful and do everything possible to make up for it then you deserve forgiveness. If you are oblivious to your wrongdoing then you deserve scorn. If you make an empty apology and immediately revert to the sort of behaviour that got you in trouble while belittling anyone who calls you out, your a twat and deserve a few years in an iron maiden.

But what people deserve is rarely received, hence chris brown.

[Strike For The South]

Did you ask him about his moral failings?

Did you ask him how it fell to betray his republic?

Did you ask him why he didn't choose a better looking women?

I really don't buy the whole "OMG MISTAKE" line of thinking. You are a general in the United States military and you had an affair with a reporter. Quite possibly the most gutless thing done in the history of gutless things.

[Papewaio]

Because an artist who publicly beats up his girlfriend and gets a jail sentence is as much as a national security threat as a General having a secret affair that could be used to blackmail him and compromise whatever secrets he has.

What the General did is the equivalent of a sentry falling asleep on a battlefield. The generals weaknesses provides an access point for the enemy. What do you think would happen to the sentry?

[Lemur]

At the general staff level the Army is so political
Good rule of thumb: Anyone above the rank of colonel is first and foremost a politician.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Colones and Lt. Colones too, usually. Masters of Bureaucracy are the ones who really get the rank. Don't get me wrong, its not easy to be an officer at any level, but they're an indoctrinated sort of people in my opinion. Even LTs are a little brainwashed.

The military is, like academia, a little bubble that hasn't really caught up with the 20th Century - that plus the complete lack of a requirement for genuinely good generals makes Petreaus look a lot better than he is.

He's just a competent general with poor personal morals, during WWII they came 50 to a barrel.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

...He's just a competent general with poor personal morals, during WWII they came 50 to a barrel.

They had it good back then.

When I bought MY Barrel of Monkeys (http://www.ssww.com/product/?sku=W7500&cm_mmc=Paid+Search-_-Google-_-AdwordsProducts-_-W7500&aid=GOG&cid=2499)as a kid, there were no more than 20 monkeys to string together. Lucky sods.