Poser of the Day/Week

Not so.

It varies greatly depending on (amongst other things) country, branch tradition, and religious tolerance (Sikhs, etc).


Major General Wikström, Inspector General of the Swedish Army (not a poser)



French Foreign Legion sappers (not a bunch of posers)

So obviously Michel Douglas McDowell was a Sikh-in-training. Or a born-again ardent muslim. Or just a disgusting turd.

 

An extremely weak personality...IMO.

Its similar but different from an identity crisis...

Occasionally its done for legal/financial reasons...but mostly these are sad, empty people...

 

Just thought of a very famous "poser" - "Colonel" Sanders of KFC fame...my mail says there were tax breaks for returned servicemen Colonel and above...so a bunch of Colonels suddenly wormed out of the woodwork...(exact details may be wrong - its my memory im working off).

 

No, the beloved Colonel Harlan Sanders is a legitimate Kentucky Colonel, commissioned by the Governor of Kentucky in 1935, well after WW1. It is the highest ceremonial award given as recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and or outstanding service to the community by the sitting Governor or the Secretary of State. There is no connection between Kentucky Colonels such as Colonel Sanders and the corresponding rank of the Kentucky militia or national guard.

 

I don't see what's wrong with this show off aspect . Is it that bad? Are they doing anything wrong? It's their freedom to pose . It's like wearing clothes, you don't care what others think of you , as long as you feel compfortable in them.


The word "pose" has French origins and comes the from the verb "Poser" ( name "pose") which means getting reading to get your picture taken . It's also the definines the number of shots taken.

 

Apparently scum has a different meaning in France.

 

To me its the meaning behind the uniform...the sacrifice that earned it and the continuing sacrifice to wear it...it also is a statement, "This citizen will fight to preserve our way of life" - And back it up with actions...To pretend to be this person is an insult to those who earned the right to wear it...and an insult to those who respect the scacrifice these people made and make...a little verbose, but thats my take.

 

Now, I just knew that Harlan Sanders couldn't have been involved in something like that.

The man made several fortunes, and lost all but the last one. After years of experimentation, (and, I believe, a highway being built right next to his store and in a favourable direction), the Colonel finally hit upon a recipe that was the best chicken he had ever tasted. (I go only from memory, too, but it's memory from the 'blurb' on the side of the box, and different things I have heard abut him for years.

A truly unsinkable personality, and an amazing businessman. His advertising and exploitation of such has always been world class, maybe the best in catering anywhere.

 

Skipper, I am not being rude, but I think the english and American definitions apply to people who knowingly impersonate people that are known to them in the military, as opposed to what you are saying, which is people that just wear the clothes and act macho.

Maybe we should drop the term "poser" as inappropriate, (It may offend by differing definition), and substitute "impersonator" as a label for this offense.

Skipper, I think If we speakers of English that are born to it understood French as you do, we would be better able to see what you mean

 

If a bloke wants to wear a dress then go for it mate...but a uniform? Thats different...

 

I'm not so sure that just wearing a uniform is that much to get worked up about. People will even buy medals they bought in a junk shop to enhance the 'look'. And it's not just France. London's Carnaby Street was doing this sort of thing in the mid to late sixties. Do you remember that Jimi Hendrix wore an nineteenth century style Cavalryman's jacket. The Beatles for "Sgt Peppers Lonley Hearts Club Band" wore similar 'style'. the unforms were fiction, not from actual military tailors, but the style was the same. It was a trend then as now, and I think this is what Skipper is referring to.

We are up in arms when all this harmless stuff is turned into an impersonation, when the wearers of the gear try to pass themselves off as actual members of the military unit their uniform is from, and I think this is where poor Skipper is confused.

And thats not his fault, or ours. Just crossed wires.

 

I mean, who colud forget Australian band "Skyhooks" with Shirley Strawn belting out 'Women in Uniform". Even the lyrics caught the angle of the trend...

Women in unform,
Sometimes, they look so cold,
Women in uniform,
Sometimes, they look so bold.

It was rock done at super fast speed, and at about 120 decibels, with those sweaty models staring hard-arsed into the camera the whole time. Unforgettable, really.

civvies wearing military garb and paying homage to the cult of the hard man has been a staple of the arts and entertainment world for a long time. Think of Achilles lover, Partrocles, dressing in Achilles armor and leading the Mohammedan's into battle, only to be bested by Hector. Patrocles was paying tribute to Achilles as a warrior as much as he was impersonating him.

Sounds like the sort of impersonation/posing that our English speakers can handle. Dons the armor, looks the part, and takes all the same risks, makes the ultimate sacrifice.

Far removed from the 'turds' that have our attention here.

 

You should post the clip for our Northern mates Greeky...I would but i dont know how... : ) Excellent Aussie Rock...

 

I'm glad Skip bought up the semantics of 'poser'.
It is not a somehow exclusive word for these nuggets, nor should it really be.
I have friends who are definitely posers, but purely in the sense they are godawful show-offs.
If the word is hijacked for something so specific I shall be limited in my choice of vocabulary when mocking them for their three-haircuts-for-the-price-of-one & expensive split-toe tabi trainers, which would be a shame.

But then I find the recent convenient shorthand of 'Walts' a bit off-beam too - Walter Mitty characters being far from an exclusively military phenomenon.

ARRSE can be quite funny for these chaps, But then it can also be quite tiresome. Only a handful are truly amusing:
ARRSE - Category:Infamous Walts

 

If boasting on a picture is being scum, then all our politians should be on the podium. I don't believe these posers are offending the uniform either. Maybe they failed their picture and do not realize it. But if they like it and their relatives do ,so what's the deal? Who cares whether they are photogenic or not, as long as they serve their country with pride.

 

It's precisely because they're not serving their country. If they were, it wouldn't be an issue. I don't give a damn about how photogenic they are.

Uniforms need to be respected. That's the whole point of a uniform. So that an individual can be recognised as part of something bigger, by the wider society.

You can't dress up in a copy of a policeman's uniform, and strut around pretending to be a policeman and be shocked when you get caught stating ".. but I like the style!" It's downright criminal. Everywhere.

In the US, There is a statute, that is noncriminal, that says that unless a person is in the military they are not authorized to wear the insignia of the military services. Sadly, however, there is no criminal penalty.

In the UK, the Police Act of 1996 covers impersonating a Police Officer. The law on impersonating military ranks however, takes a similar line to the US.

I don't mind people wearing the uniform so much as when they claim to be something they're not. If you attend a fancy dress, or Halloween party as Jack Nicholsson's character Colonel Nathan R Jessup from "A Few Good Men." I doubt many hackles will be raised.

 

This is one of my favorites. Guy gets kicked out of the Air Force with a Bad Conduct Discharge, for being a drug head. Build's his fake military personna, he should have done a better job since he was in the military and knew the basics. Shows up at a US Army graduation in all his fake splendor and get's nabbed by MP's. I present Nickolas Androsky, Master Sergant, United States Air Force, hero in his own mind extraordinare. (I'm not an expert on Air Force uniforms, but apparently he has on a female blouse (jacket).





Gotta love the desert combat boots, bloused, with a Class A Uniform.