Call Me Stormy

Rebel Without a Cause

Lots of people are dumb. But not so many are as clueless, obnoxious or totally lacking in judgment as Lindsey Stone. The 30-year-old woman from Plymouth, Massachusetts has found herself in the middle of an Internet firestorm over a “little” indiscretion. Stone, while visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, got ticked off by a sign reading “Silence and Respect,” and expressed her disapproval by flipping a bird.

But this wasn’t just a momentary lapse or freak-out. She asked her friend, Jamie Schuh, to photograph the deed. Then Stone posted the photo on Facebook for the whole world to see her acting, in her own words, as a “douchebag.” Oh, by the way, this all happened while Stone and Schuh were on a paid trip to Washington, D.C, escorting 40 adults with learning disabilities that the two women were chaperoning under the auspices of their employer — Living Independently Forever, Inc. (LIFE). The group has placed both Stone and Schuh on unpaid leave, while deciding whether to fire them.

Stone has now apologized. At least, she said “OBVIOUSLY we meant NO disrespect to people who serve or have served our country.”  Should she and Schuh be pilloried like the Salem witches in ye olde Massachusetts Colony? We wouldn’t go that far, but if LIFE cans the pair, it won’t be surprising in the least. And it might be the kick in the ass they need to wise up.

One alternative: LIFE could extend these messed-up, immature employees a life rope, but only on condition they, say, volunteer 250-500 hours of community service working with seriously wounded military veterans. Afterwards, we doubt they would be so quick to mock the dead, particularly those who died defending their right to express themselves freely as certified douchebags.