I sincerely hope that this post helps raise awareness
about US military veterans and the folly of prejudging stereotypes about them.
On Friday, January 18th, Mary Claire Caine, finished
grocery shopping at a Harris Teeter in Willington, North Carolina.
Her car was parked in one of the reserved
"Veteran Parking" spaces that the grocery store chain provides for
those who served our nation. As a veteran of the US Air Force who served in
Kuwait and on the flight line of the F-117 Nighthawk, Caine of course has every
right to park there.
However, when she returned to her car and finished unloading the groceries from her cart, she noticed a note taped to the passenger
window, written on sharpie.
It reads:
Yeah, this "Wounded Vet" despite being able
to print decently couldn't have been bothered to spell-check his work at the
beginning. Oh well.
Caine was devastated to say the least. No one had ever
questioned her qualification for parking in that space before, until now.
"The first thing I felt was confusion that there
was a mistake, and that I had to talk to this person and ask them why they were
so quick to assume I wasn't a veteran and that I was taking privileges that didn't
belong to me," said Cane.
She continues. "For a split second I thought, 'Am
I a worthy enough veteran to park in this spot?' And then I got very angry at
myself for even considering that."
Instead of tearing up the note and throwing it away,
Caine waited by her car for a few minutes, hoping that the note's author would
emerge from the sliding doors of the grocery store to talk to her. Nobody came.
Because she was a woman, and her car is donned with
real estate agent information on the back rather than the armed services bumper
stickers, it's clear that the author of the note drew a wrongful and hurtful
conclusion about Caine.
"I think they took one look at me when I got out
of my car and saw that I was a woman and
assumed I wasn't a veteran and assumed I hadn't served my country," Caine
speculated. "They have this image of what today's American veteran is and
honestly if you've served in the United States military, you know that veterans
come in all shapes and sizes. I question whether the person who left the note
was fully aware of that."
Caine herself knows that the likelihood of ever
finding out who left the note and was so quick to judge her by her appearance
is slim to none -- unless the store has surveillance videos of the parking lot
-- but she hopes her experience will teach a lesson to other people who may
have wondered the same thing about a female veteran, or any other veteran that
doesn't fit the stereotypical image they hold to.
"I want them to know they owe me and every other
female service member who's fighting now and who's fought in the past, an
apology for jumping to conclusions," Caine said passionately. "It's
true what the soldiers missing in action slogan is: 'All gave some and some
gave all.' And, I think that's very important that sacrifice is sacrifice and I
earned the title as a veteran and I'm proud of that."
Well said, ma'am!
Since the story broke over a week ago, there has been
an outpouring of support for Caine.
A Harris Teeter Spokeswoman Danna Jones wrote in a
statement:
"Harris
Teeter shoppers write, call, tweet and post to us that they loves these spaces,
and we were disappointed to learned what occurred with Ms. Caine. Our teams are
in the process of reaching out to Ms. Caine, so we can offer her a token of our
appreciation as well as thank her for her service and for shopping at Harris
Teeter."
Caine said in a statement that she appreciates people
offering her gifts, but asks that people consider donating to the Wounded
Warrior Project instead.
That is true class ladies and gentlemen, something
that the author of the note clearly knows nothing about. I myself personally
question if the author of the note actually was a "wounded veteran"
rather than just some bitter little nobody who goes out of their way to key car
doors and attack anyone they feel is an "easy target" for their own
twisted sense of amusement. I personally hope that is the case rather than the
alternative, but regardless Ms. Caine handled the situation as reasonably well
as anyone else in her situation.
I myself served in the US Navy briefly - five months
before being honorably discharged for medical reasons. Legally I may be
entitled to veterans benefits, but I never take them because I personally don't
feel that I've ever done enough to earn them since I was had only just finished
basic training and was at school when I was unable to continue to serve this
country of ours. For me, it's not just
enough to wear the uniform, you also have to earn it through full enlistment
service, if not actual combat.
It sickens and disgusts me whenever someone dishonors
a veteran, or speaks ill of those who volunteered to serve this country. It's
worse when someone poses as a veteran to take advantage of the few privileges
that individuals who fought for American freedom receive. Such people deserve
to be exposed and humiliated whenever they are encountered.
I hold our soldiers and veterans - both living and
dead - in the highest regard and speak out to support them whenever I can. It
is because of those men and women (and in some cases service dogs) that we live
in an (allegedly) free country today. That we are able to enjoy those barbeques
on US Memorial Day and those fireworks - and yes more barbeque - on the Fourth
of July.
Those people - those veterans who come on all shapes,
sizes, and genders - who volunteered to serve, to protect and defend America
deserve our appreciation and our respect.
On a final note, as Ms. Caine pointed out selflessly,
there are real wounded veterans out there who still need plenty of support. On
my blog page is a link to the Wounded Warriors Project. Support our American
Veterans. And to Ms. Caine, and all other veterans of the United States Armed
Forces, thank you for your service to this country and to its people.
