Arkansas teen rejected by Marines over Confederate flag tattoo

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TMC said:
For some background, Marine Corps leadership does not like tattoos. They have not for some time, and their dislike of tattoos seems to be increasing even as tattoos are becoming more mainstream. Lots of kids are rejected for tattoos. Even innocuous tattoos can get you rejected if they are too visible (e.g. face tattoos). That said, I would tend to agree that a confederate flag tattoo is divisive and could be detrimental to good order. Recruiting is still going pretty good (although slowing as unemployment drops), so they can still afford to be picky.

For some additional background, my father was a Marine, I am a retired Marine, and my son is currently on active duty, so I have some basis for my statements.
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Thank you for sharing this, and thank you for your family for your service.
 
Anyone who inks themselves with the symbol of a defunct government whose raison d’etre was preserving slavery is either tacitly endorsing a racist world view or being remarkably clueless. Either way, they deserve all the opprobrium that’s heaped on them.
 
I wonder if this would disqualify him from any future potential draft too?
 
Darryl1958 said:
I wonder if this would disqualify him from any future potential draft too?
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I doubt it. The US military would not let liberalism affect its goals if it would severely deprive it of man power. I expect the US Armed Forces to be a mostly pragmatic institution and would not allow itself to be hampered by liberal ideology. For instance, I do not think the F-35 is entirely a boondoggle (and would at least having a fighting chance against developing Russian and Chinese fifth generation fighters), but there are some incentives within in the military-industrial complex and demands of several branches of the military to render it cost-ineffective. Stealth and avionics are very valuable.

Maybe one should get a tattoo of a hammer and sickle to evade the draft. It would show sympathy towards America’s enemies and render one with questionable loyalty and lack of commitment to American values. Imprisoning people for having such tattoos would be an infringement of freedom of speech (since the tattoo is a form of political speech).
 
Benedict_Option said:
Well, that’s what you get for trying to enlist with the Yankees. Should’ve signed up with General Lee’s Brigade. Oh no, wait… 😃
Seriously though, as a southerner and a student of history, flags are very important. A lot of regions have flags, especially in Europe. You can’t just change your flag just because it went through bad things in history. The South isn’t going to get a new flag. If the U.S. ever falls apart, the South doesn’t have to worry about what flag its going to use. I like the flag because I like southern identity, and nothing else. We ain’t gettin’ rid of it.:dts:
If you aren’t a southerner, think of it this way: Obama said he hopes people stop clinging to their guns and religion. Well, in the South, the confederate flag is included in that list of things.
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Hate is, and will always be, rampant among leftists. It’s a crying shame that the gender-neutering crazies have even taken over the U.S. military. I’ll bet if the guy with the tattoo was a “transgender”, (s)he’d have been hailed as a hero and welcomed with open arms! :grouphug:
 
RACJ said:
Hate is, and will always be, rampant among leftists. It’s a crying shame that the gender-neutering crazies have even taken over the U.S. military. I’ll bet if the guy with the tattoo was a “transgender”, (s)he’d have been hailed as a hero and welcomed with open arms! :grouphug:
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Wow, speaking of hate, you appear to have a lot of hate and contempt for those putting their lives on the line for our country.
 
Latias said:
I doubt it. The US military would not let liberalism affect its goals if it would severely deprive it of man power. I expect the US Armed Forces to be a mostly pragmatic institution and would not allow itself to be hampered by liberal ideology. For instance, I do not think the F-35 is entirely a boondoggle (and would at least having a fighting chance against developing Russian and Chinese fifth generation fighters), but there are some incentives within in the military-industrial complex and demands of several branches of the military to render it cost-ineffective. Stealth and avionics are very valuable.

Maybe one should get a tattoo of a hammer and sickle to evade the draft. It would show sympathy towards America’s enemies and render one with questionable loyalty and lack of commitment to American values. Imprisoning people for having such tattoos would be an infringement of freedom of speech (since the tattoo is a form of political speech).
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Well, if the military does not want a tattoo to be a way to avoid the draft, then they are setting the wrong precedent, largely due to liberalism one might suspect.
 
didymus said:
I was never a Marine nor any other service. I was rejected when I tried to enlist in the Army because I am epileptic.
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Oh goody…another ‘never been there, never done that’ who somehow thinks they’re qualified to speak for those of us who have ‘been there, done that.’

I was in the Army in the late 80’s/early 90’s, and believe you me, even back then displays of the Confederate flag could get you a lot of hassle. I’m far from surprised that somebody with a tattoo of it on his body got rejected.
 
TMC said:
For some background, Marine Corps leadership does not like tattoos. They have not for some time, and their dislike of tattoos seems to be increasing even as tattoos are becoming more mainstream. Lots of kids are rejected for tattoos. Even innocuous tattoos can get you rejected if they are too visible (e.g. face tattoos). That said, I would tend to agree that a confederate flag tattoo is divisive and could be detrimental to good order. Recruiting is still going pretty good (although slowing as unemployment drops), so they can still afford to be picky.

For some additional background, my father was a Marine, I am a retired Marine, and my son is currently on active duty, so I have some basis for my statements.
Click to expand...
The Army isn’t really crazy about them either. When I was in, there was a rule that if you had a tattoo, it better not show when you were in uniform (including the summers, when the sleeves were rolled up.) And if you were in PTs and your tattoo showed, you could usually count on the CoC making remarks about them. It almost seemed easier to just not have one at all while in service.
 
Benedict_Option said:
Seriously though, as a southerner and a student of history, flags are very important. A lot of regions have flags, especially in Europe. You can’t just change your flag just because it went through bad things in history. The South isn’t going to get a new flag. If the U.S. ever falls apart, the South doesn’t have to worry about what flag its going to use. I like the flag because I like southern identity, and nothing else. We ain’t gettin’ rid of it.:dts:
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So, by that metric, his Confederate flag tattoo is indicative of divided loyalty; loyalty to a distinct identity of a vanquished enemy country.

Frankly, I think it’s best that he was denied entry. If, by virtue of being an ardent supporter of the Confederacy, his loyalties to the ideals of the United States are questionable, then who’s to say where his loyalties might lie ten, twenty years down the line?
 
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