As I said on Yon’s blog, this seemed really out of synch with the reality of commuting on the Metro. I’ve been riding the Blue and Yellow lines every day for ten years. There are usually a number of service members on the train, many of them wearing camo uniforms or flight suits, and I’ve never seen anyone harrass them. And as pointed out by a previous commenter, this area is filled with military, ex-military, and government personnel who would take a dim view of anyone giving a soldier a hard time.
Despite what you might see or read, political expression around here is mostly pretty low-key. Most of the loons are from out of town. I’ve never seen any kind of political argumentation at all on the Metro – even on days when anti-war protests are scheduled. I think I saw a guy carrying an anti-war sign once, but he was wearing a suit and standing in the corner minding his own business.
Most of the disputes that occur have more to do with tired, frustrated, and occasionally drunk or mentally ill commuters accidentally offending each other.
Having said that, the State Department this morning distributed an internal email containing what appears to be the Army’s original version of the warning memo. Go figure.
