Stolen Valor

[Pandaemoni]

You just don't lie about getting Decorated, esp in the States. Good law.

I want Jack Nicholson arrested. I saw him in A Few Good Men and he was falsely pretending to be a decorated veteran. Worse...I think he may have received money for pretending to be a decorated veteran.

But I guess that was "art" and the other guy was engaged in non-art. It is well known that the first amendment only protects artists.

It seems to me that what should matter is whether or not anyone was injured by the lie or whther the lie created some danger to the people affected by it. And even if there were, the standards for conviction should be quite high, as they are in the case of defamatory statements.

 

[swarm]

I just don't understand the legality of it. I don't understand how you can steal valor.

The same way you can steal copyright, patent, trade names, etc.

Medals are meaningful only in their exclusivity. You have to be in the service. You have to risk your life above and beyond what is expected. If any old joe can misrepresent themselves as having done that, then the value of the medal as denoting a special heroism is deluted. And since vetrans don't really get jack in proportion to the risks they take and often that medal is all that returns home to their families, there are people who seriously take offense to some one stealing that glory.

 

[swarm]

I want Jack Nicholson arrested.

Playing a character is not proclaiming yourself a decorated vet when you aren't.

 

[Zap]

If lying about being a soldier in Iraq is a crime punishable with a year in prison, what is the penalty for lying the whole world into the Iraq War? One year in prison for each of the million casualties?