My husband got irritated the other day
By estherlou
@estherlou (5015)
United States
August 15, 2007 9:19am CST
There was an article on the opinion page of our local paper. Apparently a young man had just served 2 tours in Iraq in the Marines and was coming home to Ohio from Camp Pendleton, Calif. H was in Texas and got a speeding ticket from a DPS Trooper. His father wrote this article saying he didn't condone speeding, but his son, because of his sacrifices should have been given a break and just received a warning instead of a $200 ticket. He ended the article stating, :I guess that's the difference between y'all down there in Texas and us in Ohio. I'm a baber and I give a free haircut to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. You guys give $200 tickets." My husband was a little hot. My thought is, the Marine knows there are rules and he's not above them. If a Trooper decides to give a warning, that's cool...they have the option. Personally, I never got a warning ticket when I made the mistake of speeding. I got a ticket every time until I learned my lesson. Do you think just because they are Vets, they should be above the law?
13 people like this
26 responses
@redyellowblackdog (10629)
• United States
15 Aug 07
I'm a non combat vet. Because I went on active duty just after the Vietnam war ended, I got to know a very large number of combat vets. They are very special people, but you are right. They do not deserve special consideration when it comes to obeying the law. Special consideration for combat vets is best expressed with increased personal respect, not tolerance of law breaking.
5 people like this
@mizrae (587)
• United States
15 Aug 07
Giving free haircuts is NOT the same thing as not giving a speeding ticket. First of all, exactly how fast was this person going? What other lives could he have put at risk? The trooper was correct to write a ticket no matter who the person may be, and the father should not have written a letter to the local paper. I'm pretty sure the Marine was embarrassed to say the least, and I'm sure HE KNEW he did wrong. We can express our thanks and gratitude to these fine men and women without letting them break our laws.
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
15 Aug 07
I can understand why your husband was mad. I got annoyed while reading what you typed. My ex-husband served one term in Iraq, my current husband is ex-military, and we have a friend that is a recent graduate of Marine bootcamp. None of them expect any special treatment for what they have done in the military. They know they are not above the law and do not expect to be held above the law. One of the problems we have in this country is that people believe that certian thing they have done or ffices they hold put them above the law. The law is there is protect everyone and everyone should have to abide by it.
4 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
15 Aug 07
No he should not. He was a Marine and should have known that he should not have been speeding. Just because he was a vet does not entitle him to any special favors. If that is kept up, someone may decide he should not get a ticket because he is of an oppressed minority or he got injured in a robbery. Say maybe because we live in Canada and when we go to the States, and if my husband drives a bit too fast, maybe he should not get a ticket because he's a tourist. No, if you speed and get caught, you pay the fine.
@youdontsay (3497)
• United States
15 Aug 07
Absolutely not. You are right. They know the rules. But, frankly, the Marines I know and love believe they are special and should have special treatment.
I agree that most are special, especially if they have served in combat. But I still believe the rules of the road are there to save lives and that everyone should honor them or pay the consequences.
4 people like this
@caver1 (1762)
• United States
15 Aug 07
I do not believe that anyone should be above the law. They fact that this person had spent 2 tour of duty in Iraq should not be a determining facter to the police officer. How was he to know anyway, unless the marine tried to use that fact to get out of a ticket.
I am thankful for our military and the sacrifices they are willing to make for our country. I would never condone putting them down or denying their rights, but they have to obey the law like the rest of us.
4 people like this
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
15 Aug 07
I don't think anyone is above the law. But in 'the old days' a vet just home probably would have caught a break.. But it doesn't actually bother me one way or the other!:)
2 people like this
@coffeeshot (3783)
• Australia
14 Nov 07
No I definitely do not think they should be above the law. The reason for speed limits is that going over the limit increases the chances of accidents that can harm or possibly kill people. Just because this fellow was in Iraq, doesn't give him a free ticket to come back and endanger the lives of others. A bit ironic isn't it, he comes back from so called 'saving' lives (tsk tsk) and his fathers expects him to get away with endangering the lives of others'!
1 person likes this
@maildumpster (3815)
• United States
15 Aug 07
That's a tough one. I don't feel that they are above the law but at the same time I do feel that if they are on their way home from serving; maybe they should get a break. I'm not saying let them get away with whatever they want but for pete's sake; they just put their lives on the line for us. For an idiot president who is forcing them to fight this war. They should get something for that. It is such a hard thing to call. I don't want them to get away with murder but at the same thing a bit of slack for a man or woman that just completed two tours of duty and is on the way home is in order.
Gosh why did you ask such a hard question?
2 people like this
@ChaJudLeoBit (1656)
• United States
19 Aug 07
Part of being in the Military is learning discipline and knowing how to follow the rules. No telling how fast he was going to get a $200 speeding ticket. I'm glad his father gives free haircuts, since there is no law broken there. If his son had hit and killed someone and gone to jail, would he still feel that Texas was picking on his son?
1 person likes this
@mamasan34 (6518)
• United States
16 Aug 07
My husband is in the Army and if he got caught speeding I would fully expect the officer to ticket him appropriately and for him to accept it without complaint. There are laws that need to be abided. I don't care what state your in! It was the Troopers determination that he needed the ticket. $200 ticket, means that he was going way above the speed limit and that is not excusable.
1 person likes this
@estherlou (5015)
• United States
20 Aug 07
I tried to find out about the $200 ticket and this is what I found online. The fine for speeding in Texas starts at $120.00 for 5mph over and there is a graduated scale up to $185.00 for 25mph over...so who knows about $200.
@EvanHunter (4026)
• United States
18 Aug 07
I dont think anyone is above the law. I wonder how fast he was going to get a $200 ticket that doesnt sound like he was doing 10 over, if it is than I guess they have some pretty strict speeding laws there. Anytime I have been pulled over I got a ticket once by the same state trooper within a one week period, that hurt but I knew better.
1 person likes this
@granger1900 (125)
• United States
15 Aug 07
To get a $200 ticket, I'm guess the Marine was speeding pretty good. After two tours in Iraq, He deserves a great deal of consideration and I don't mean not giving him a ticket. But concern, consideration and validation about how important he is, how important his life is.
Speeding at high speeds is risky behavior. Something this Marine has been doing on a daily basis for a very long time in Iraq. Engaging in risky situations, I mean. There is not automatic switch to turn off this Marine's adrenalin system, his daily mode of survival.
In some way, perhaps, he was merely recreating a situation he was accustomed to, that of survival and adrenalin surges in risky situations. Any ticket given him should not be as a reprimand or punishment but with concern and need for boundaries to help this Marine acclimate and decompress from being in war.
2 people like this
@Foxxee (3651)
• United States
16 Aug 07
I don't care who you are. Everyone should be treated the same.
If I have to get a ticket if I speed, then so should the next person who speeds. Simple.
Plus, Marines should set a good example. And in my eyes, this Marine should of either not of been speeding, or took the ticket and handled it like the Marine he is.
1 person likes this
@2timothy (794)
• Philippines
16 Aug 07
As Manila mayor Alfredo Lim says, "the law applies to all or to none at all." If speeding (lawlessness) can be considered a conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentlemen, he may even have to face more serious disciplinary action by the court martial.
1 person likes this
@soccermom (3198)
• United States
15 Aug 07
My hubby was a Marine, and my Father in law is a well known police sargeant on the local police force. Neither of these facts have ever gotten my hubby out of a ticket, and they shouldn't. It doesn't matter who you are, the law is the law. Although I do think maybe the cop could've been more understanding. I also wonder how fast this Marine was going to warrant a $200 ticket, that seems awful high for just a couple miles over.
1 person likes this
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
15 Aug 07
Sure they should get SOME special treatment for what they did but a free pass for breaking the law is not one of them! A free haicut is NOT the same as letting someone out of a speeding ticket. There is just no comparison. I think the men and women who serve our country should be honored but not by letting them get away with illegal actions. They also deserve our respect...but only when their actions continue to merit it.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (63252)
• United States
15 Aug 07
I agree, Esther. Its one thing to need a trim of the hair and another to risk the lives of others around you by speeding. I am in Texas and I can tell you that more people need to be stopped from speeding. I've been doing 70 (the speed limit) and have had other drivers pass me like I'm standing still. I hope that trooper continues to do his job & give out more $200 tickets. Maybe that marine will become a trooper himself some day & be doing it too.
1 person likes this
@Vixx06 (162)
•
16 Aug 07
I have to agree with you husband. We are all very grateful for the armed services for protecting our countries. If a young child had been on the road and he had hit them, there would have been more chance of that child being killed if he was speeding than if he was doing the proper speeding limit. The armed forces are there to procect and serve. They should be following the law as an example. The vets father giving a free hair cut is totally different. In his case he is not endangering peoples lives. Here in the UK if a solider breaks the law it is very much frowned upon. I have 4 family members in that forces but if they are breaking the law they would get harsher treatment as they would be seen by the military police.
