Is it stolen valor/disrespectful to wear such patches as a fashion statement?
Yes. They are not symbols of fashion or pride or coolness. They are indicators worn by professionals to let other professionals know who they are.
>>28053236
Patches in and of themselves, no. Patches for real military units, or that are awarded for some sort of act in the field or upon completion of miltary training courses, yes.
If you hiked a very challenging mountain that very few people can hike and got a patch for doing so, would you be upset if an americlap burgermeister drove his car up there and took a #selfie before going to get a patch from the gift shop?
>>28053236
it kinda wouldnt make sense but no one would bother you, I would assume that the person wearing a patch like that had a relative or someone they were close to in ___ unit (if they clearly werent military) which is fine.
Nothing wrong with collecting patches, there is a bar in Coranado that has an entire wall dedicated to patches of various units and its pretty cool to scan through all the moto designs, many bars around military bases do that.
>>28053236
>>28053414
Not OP, but I wore woodland camo BDU with Airborne patches for Halloween when I was younger, and an Army Ranger gave me shit for it.
>>28053414
This is acceptable too, wearing a patch given to you by someone close to you.
>>28053831
That's just fucking retarded.
>>28053831
>>28053842
>>28053860
Lol it wasn't THAT bad. I was in my early 20s at a Halloween party, we were talking about what our costumes were. I said I am an Airborne Ranger, and an actual Army Ranger dude shook his head, gave me a nasty look, and said, "No you are not". Didn't know how to respond so I just shrugged and said come on dude it's just for Halloween, and he just kept shaking his head in disapproval.
>>28053236
No, but it's autismal and pathetic.
>>28053918
there's a difference between pretending to be a ranger when you're 8 vs in your 20s. You know, the age of actual rangers.
>>28053918
>early 20s
Ok, that changes things a bit
>>28053918
Unless you're a chick going as a sexy-something you should try to be more creative than just showing up as a job.
>>28053953
>>28053977
>>28053991
Yup that's the day I learned it's not a good idea to do military costumes on Halloween. I usually go as Batman for Halloween parties now.
Although, last Halloween some buddies of mine wore flight suits with patches, retro 80s Top Gun style. Nobody gave them any shit for that.
>>28054146
>Yup that's the day I learned it's not a good idea to do military costumes on Halloween.
Fuck that shit. I used to dress up as a soldier as a little kid, and if I want to do it next Halloween I don't give two fucks what anyone says. I respect our military but it's fucking Halloween.
I'm the same way with racial costumes, for the most part too, as long as you don't get too extreme with it (just as you shouldn't make your soldier costume look too realistic, to avoid confusion). There's a difference between throwing on a fake afro and chains and doing something that's actually racist.
