I went down to Exeter over the weekend, to see my Mum, and had the pleasure of watching the Man City - Leicester game in the Black Horse, on Longbrook Street, while my teenage daughters went off shopping with my wife.
A group of youngish blokes were on the table next to me, and being quite laddy and loud, so it was impossible not to overhear them. It became apparent early on - when one mentioned the need to "get back to camp" and then other military references - that they were from the Lympstone Marine camp, a few miles outside town.
And such a charming bunch they proved to be. One of the loudest of the group in particular was one of the most aggressively homophobic people I think I've ever encountered - everything was "gay" this, or "fucking gay" that, from the way Joe Hart took goal kicks to the way his mates drank their pints slower than he did. When the TV showed a close-up of Shinji Okazaki, wincing after missing a good chance, it inspired two of this brains trust to do a Benny Hill-esque impersonation of "a wanking Jap" that went on for several minutes and recurred every time Okazaki touched the ball. And when my daughters arrived, the homophobe actually wolf whistled at my eldest and announced "Hey lads, the strippers are here!", possibly in an attempt to get me up and start something with him.
"Heroes", these people are lauded as. No matter what they do. I'm from a military family background myself, so I understand the barracks mentality and banter. But I think the media hagiography of military personnel needs to be stopped, soon, before complete twats like the ones I spent Saturday in the company of start believing it themselves.
A group of youngish blokes were on the table next to me, and being quite laddy and loud, so it was impossible not to overhear them. It became apparent early on - when one mentioned the need to "get back to camp" and then other military references - that they were from the Lympstone Marine camp, a few miles outside town.
And such a charming bunch they proved to be. One of the loudest of the group in particular was one of the most aggressively homophobic people I think I've ever encountered - everything was "gay" this, or "fucking gay" that, from the way Joe Hart took goal kicks to the way his mates drank their pints slower than he did. When the TV showed a close-up of Shinji Okazaki, wincing after missing a good chance, it inspired two of this brains trust to do a Benny Hill-esque impersonation of "a wanking Jap" that went on for several minutes and recurred every time Okazaki touched the ball. And when my daughters arrived, the homophobe actually wolf whistled at my eldest and announced "Hey lads, the strippers are here!", possibly in an attempt to get me up and start something with him.
"Heroes", these people are lauded as. No matter what they do. I'm from a military family background myself, so I understand the barracks mentality and banter. But I think the media hagiography of military personnel needs to be stopped, soon, before complete twats like the ones I spent Saturday in the company of start believing it themselves.
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