The Army is kissing a decades-long St. Patrick’s Day tradition goodbye in Georgia’s port city, saying smudged lipstick doesn’t go with the uniform.
For more than 40 years, spectators at one of the world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parades have darted into the street to peck passing soldiers. But this month, Savannah’s parade committee announced that tradition is not to be continued, sparking frustration from longtime residents.
“Even though rules are meant to be broken, I don’t think traditions are,” said Brian Ferguson, who once marched in the parade as a band member.
Mims Deriso wore the lipstick marks proudly when he paraded, seeing it as appreciation for the military. “It’s a shame it’s got to go,” he said.
Brian Counihan also once received those kisses as a cadet in the 1970s, but as this year’s parade chairman, he said it’s time to smudge the smooching for good.
“A few people, you know girlfriends, would run out and hug you and kiss you, and then eventually some of the mothers did it, and it’s just blown up from there,” Counihan told Fox News.
He acknowledged that “it is fun,” but the snowballing number of participants running into the street transformed the tradition into an “accident waiting to happen.”
“I’m not an old scrooge or anything, but we have a parade to look after, we have liability,” Counihan said. He recalled a few years ago when a band member’s lip was busted from eager spectators bumping into paraders.
But the initial push for change actually came from Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield with concerns rooted in something else – consent.
“Taking a fresh look at it, how might a soldier feel if they didn’t want to be kissed?” asked Major Megan Jantos, a public affairs officer with the 3rd Infantry Division. “Soldiers have expressed feeling uncomfortable with this tradition, and leaders have voiced concern at all levels.”
WHO in the fuck would let a freaking disgusting Liberal kiss them all they want is some dirt on you to ruin you at a future date Fucking disgusting creeps.
The Army is kissing a decades-long St. Patrick’s Day tradition goodbye in Georgia’s port city, saying smudged lipstick doesn’t go with the uniform.
For more than 40 years, spectators at one of the world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parades have darted into the street to peck passing soldiers. But this month, Savannah’s parade committee announced that tradition is not to be continued, sparking frustration from longtime residents.
“Even though rules are meant to be broken, I don’t think traditions are,” said Brian Ferguson, who once marched in the parade as a band member.
Mims Deriso wore the lipstick marks proudly when he paraded, seeing it as appreciation for the military. “It’s a shame it’s got to go,” he said.
Brian Counihan also once received those kisses as a cadet in the 1970s, but as this year’s parade chairman, he said it’s time to smudge the smooching for good.
“A few people, you know girlfriends, would run out and hug you and kiss you, and then eventually some of the mothers did it, and it’s just blown up from there,” Counihan told Fox News.
He acknowledged that “it is fun,” but the snowballing number of participants running into the street transformed the tradition into an “accident waiting to happen.”
“I’m not an old scrooge or anything, but we have a parade to look after, we have liability,” Counihan said. He recalled a few years ago when a band member’s lip was busted from eager spectators bumping into paraders.
But the initial push for change actually came from Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield with concerns rooted in something else – consent.
“Taking a fresh look at it, how might a soldier feel if they didn’t want to be kissed?” asked Major Megan Jantos, a public affairs officer with the 3rd Infantry Division. “Soldiers have expressed feeling uncomfortable with this tradition, and leaders have voiced concern at all levels.”
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/17/savannah-says-no-more-to-smooching-soldiers-in-st-patricks-day-parade.html