Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speaks at DNC, criticizes Donald Trump

Thank you for your comment.

I don't see his wearing it to his gig as a speaking as a showing of support, I see it as a calculated move. *We* who served are not allowed to wear anything that shows that we serve (while on active duty), lest we convey the notion that the service we represent approves of our message, and that we're speaking for them.

Unless KAJ was endorsed to speak for a military unit (which is a far cry from being called an honorary member, which we don't know if he has or has not), wearing a symbol of that specific unit or branch tends to send the wrong message - in my humble opinion.

SSG Carlos Madden, I do not agree with the last paragraph of your statement.
I will start with the least contentious one - the militaria collector. Since I am a collector of this type, I can tell you that there are different classes of this type of collector, other than a significant number who are reenactors, most have been in the service or a close family member has been such as father, brother, grandfather, or uncle which spurred their interest.
Next - Families that fly a service flag, in the past as well as currently most families that fly a service flag have a family member either currently in the service or a family member that has served. (I would even fly an AF service flag, though I never served a day in the AF. It would be in honor of my father and to the AFB where I was born.)
As far as the Blue Star Banner/Flag goes, I would just say that check the regulations about it, but I will quote a part of it - The Department of Defense specifies that family members authorized to display the flag include the wife, husband, mother, father, stepmother or father, parent through adoption, foster parents, children, stepchildren, children through adoption, brothers, sisters and half brothers or sisters of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. The flag should be displayed in a window of the residence of persons authorized.
Last would be in reference to the Gold Star and Next of Kin pins (related to the Blue Star Flag). Gold Star Lapel pins are presented to and worn by surviving spouses, parents and immediate family members of Armed Forces members killed in combat operations. The Gold Star pin is a gold star on a purple circular background. Next of Kin Lapel Pins are presented to and worn by immediate Family members of United States Armed Forces members who die while serving outside of combat operations. The Next of Kin pin is a gold star on a gold background.

SSG Robert Webster While most collectors may have served, many have not. They just are fascinated and/or patriotic, which is fine. And if a citizen flew a blue star flag even though they didn't know or have a family member in the military as a show of support for all deployed, should we really be upset about that? The examples I gave were just examples but not the only ones.

The point is why should one be upset or see disrespect just because a civilian wears a unit pin? It's not a big deal and they are showing support for the military which is something we should be encouraging. We can't complain that the civilian population is disconnected with it's military while at the same time discouraging any kind of patriotic participation. Again, we're not the sole owners and protectors of these symbols. They're American, the military is there to protect them and they should be proud of it. Anytime a civilian wants to show military support, we should be all for it - not against.