Two young disrespectful and stupid women have been placed on unpaid leave from their jobs after one took a picture of the other at The Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery pretending to yell and raising her middle finger. Lindsey Stone posed for a picture next to the sign that reads “silence and respect.” Her co-worker, Jamie Schuh, took the picture and they put it on Facebook.
The photo went viral and thousands of people were furious, Some people even left angry comments on the Facebook page of their employer, Living Independently Forever, Inc.,(LIFE) a non-profit organization in Hyannis that helps adults with disabilities on Cape Cod.
One veteran who served in the Air force for 20 years with two tours in Vietnam, said, “I can understand why veterans would be all upset over this. It’s disrespectful, she’s telling us to go “F” ourselves and I don’t think that’s real bright and good for anybody.”
Stone’s parents were properly embarrassed by their daughter’s imbecility; her father said, “She had no intention of upsetting or offending anyone. It was poor judgment and she regrets every part of it. I don’t think she was reacting to the site (Arlington Cemetery), she was reacting to the sign. I’m appalled myself.” Her mother added, “She is very, very sorry for what she did, and she never meant it to be disrespectful to anybody.”
But Sarah Wunsch, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Massachusetts thought the punishment didn’t fit the crime:
Other people have the right to say, ‘I think she’s a jerk or she’s disrespectful.’ I suppose they have the right to call for her to be fired. But it doesn’t mean the employer should give into that. Offensiveness shouldn’t be the standard for what gets to be able to be said, because what’s offensive to you may not be offensive to me and vice versa.
The ACLU might have had a different reaction if this had been a racist or sexist remark. Veterans? Come on.