Poll Results Is It Acceptable To Wear

A bit ago, on the Steampunk Empire, there was an interesting thread about wearing RL military medal with Steampunk attire.  After quite a bit of banter regarding legalities and a few personal observations by those involved, I felt it would be an excellent question to post to the readers of the Tribune.

Well, I must say I hadn’t anticipated the results of this particular poll.  The results are as follows:

IS IT ACCEPTABLE TO WEAR MEDALS FROM CURRENT MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS ON STEAMPUNK ATTIRE?

No – Wearing medals from active military organizations is disrespectful to service veterans.
66 votes – 36%
Yes – If I have earned the medal from my military service, I have no qualms wearing them.
66 votes – 36%
Yes – Wearing medals is simply part of my Steampunk persona, and I do not consider it disrespectful to military service members.
19 votes – 10%
Yes – If I can purchase a medal, I have no qualms wearing it.
15 votes – 8 %
Other – my view is not represented in the above choices.
16 votes – 8 %

Based on 182 votes to the poll.

What does it mean?  It seems there is quite a distinct opinion towards either not wearing them, of if one has active duty service, wearing them if they’ve been earned, with both of those selections being identical in percentage (36%) and votes (66).  I had projected that the third selection would have garnered more support (not my choice, mind you), but the use of RL medals as props seems to a position supported by a minimal number of respondents (10% of the vote, with 19 votes supporting this choice).  A more mercantile option (the “if I can purchase it, I have no qualms wearing it”, with 15 votes and 8% of the selections), was nudged out by the infamous “Other”, by a single vote.

So, there you have it – if you do happen to see a real military medal on Steampunk attire, its most likely the individual in question has earned it.  Of course, were one to acquire a non-offensive defunct military medal, or design/make an original medal, it would likely garner more interest than a one that is currently in use, imo.  (For example, were I to see someone with a “Good Conduct Medal” on their Steampunk attire, my first thought would be “Seriously?”.  Then again, I’m a bit of a self-admitted curmudgeon).

As I’m running a bit low on questions, I thought I’d try something new and “open the floor” to prospective questions from readers of the blog.  If you have a question which you’d like to submit for the general readership, please do take a moment and forward it to the editor (me), at TheSteampunkTribune [at] yahoo [dot] com!  I’ll be happy to attempt to hash out suggested ideas!