"Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated."--Coretta Scott King

I forgot to tell you about Zanesville!

It was CRAZY!

So, a VFW member wearing the ubiquitous POW/MIA cap was drunk, hostile and ignorant.

His name was "Butch," according to other patrons of this post.

Butch tried picking a fight with our Coastie; told us to get our drinks, enjoy them quickly, then leave. He even stared at us hostile-like the entire time we were in the post.

Amazing.

The post commander in Springfield, MO asked us to keep in touch with him, to help him figure out how to recruit members like us--younger than the average VFW or AmVets member.

Then we go to a post like Zanesville's?

Even the post commander in Morgantown chose to treat us like fellow veterans; he even introduced us to the assembled media and members.

The way I see it, this illustrates 3 reasons why veterans like me won't join a post:

1) Members like Butch = #fail. Why do people like him not only embrase the absolute worst qualities of the dregs of American society, then choose to prominently display them like medals? Ugh.

2) VFW's current story = #fail. What is it? How can we share values when you don't articulate a modern message? What's your story, VFW?

3) Social media = #fail. It's great that VFW and other veterans' membership organizations are on Twitter and Facebook. But until you stop regurgitating information that's questionable in application to our lives, and really start to engage your audience, I'll eventually unfollow and unfriend you. No offense, please?

So, Butch, thanks for helping me clarify the reasons why I'm not a member of VFW, AmVets, American Legion, Chipmunk Club or anything resembling a 20th Century veterans' organization. With Neanderthals like you lurking in the cave-like bars of those posts, those organizations are guaranteed to go the way of the dinosaurs.