# Ridiculous M\*A\*S\*H hypocrisy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105 "2011-04-04T01:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/61 "2011-04-05T18:46:51Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Actually, **they’re** just grammar nazis. 😛 Is that the only one you spotted? 😉 But then maybe they’re just English _captains_. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/62 "2011-04-05T18:50:17Z")
More like Welsh corporals. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/63 "2011-04-05T18:52:55Z")
> [@MuleSkinner](#): > > That’s 1950s and 1970s without the apostrophes. Why do so many women get that wrong? It depends on what style guide you’re following. Most modern style guides will tell you to drop the apostrophe (and I prefer no apostrophe, as well), but the apostrophe in decades or just pluralizing any number in general has a long tradition. I don’t think the New York Times dropped the apostrophe in that sort of construction until five years ago or so. (ETA: [Here’s an example.](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/movies/19jame.html)) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/64 "2011-04-05T18:54:54Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I imply from the advise these two give that their English majors. > mmm > [@silenus](#): > > Actually, **they’re** just grammar nazis. 😛 I’m a former English major. But my issue wasn’t one of grammar or even usage; it was about the meaning of the word _hypocrisy_. To be a hypocrite is to condemn in others activities one is guilty of oneself. I don’t recall Potter or Klinger regularly getting drunk (in fact, I cannot recall Klinger _ever_ getting drunk, and while I’m not as as certain about the colonel, nothing comes to mind), so it is impossible for them to be hypocritical when condemning the nurse’s drunkenness but not that of Hawkeye & BJ. As my best old ex-friend Ray used to say, “Words have meanings.” ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/65 "2011-04-05T19:08:07Z")
I recall at least one case of Potter being drunk, but no specifics, so that’s a lousy cite. However, though he would often have a drink, he wasn’t the boozer that Hawkeye was. I can’t recall if Klinger was ever drunk - perhaps, but not a frequent thing. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/66 "2011-04-05T19:09:39Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I recall at least one case of Potter being drunk, but no specifics, so that’s a lousy cite. However, though he would often have a drink, he wasn’t the boozer that Hawkeye was. > > I can’t recall if Klinger was ever drunk - perhaps, but not a frequent thing. I’m racking my brain, but the only occasion I can recall of Potter being drunk was when he was in Tokyo on leave. Obviously that wouldn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/67 "2011-04-05T19:44:26Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’m a former English major. But my issue wasn’t one of grammar or even usage; it was about the meaning of the word _hypocrisy_. To be a hypocrite is to condemn in others activities one is guilty of oneself. I don’t recall Potter or Klinger regularly getting drunk (in fact, I cannot recall Klinger _ever_ getting drunk, and while I’m not as as certain about the colonel, nothing comes to mind), so it is impossible for them to be hypocritical when condemning the nurse’s drunkenness but not that of Hawkeye & BJ. > > As my best old ex-friend Ray used to say, “Words have meanings.” I know, I get it. I was just funnin’ ya. For the record, I prefer to be corrected when I use words incorrectly. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’m racking my brain, but the only occasion I can recall of Potter being drunk was when he was in Tokyo on leave. Obviously that wouldn’t matter. Potter was most definitely drunk while in camp. I’m a little fuzzy, but I think they were playing poker in the Swamp. I remember him staggering out to use a tree for a latrine (and he was _staggering_). mmm ETA: Wait, he got drunk with Hawkeye and BJ on his very first night at the 4077th; they were singing some song about a long, long trail. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/68 "2011-04-05T19:49:32Z")
Potter: “To Black Jack Pershing!” BJ: “And his orchestra.” Potter: “You know, if you wrap a little tin foil around your condenser, you’ll get a better yield. I had a still in WW1. That’s how I got my Purple Heart.” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/69 "2011-04-05T19:51:57Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I know, I get it. I was just funnin’ ya. For the record, I prefer to be corrected when I use words incorrectly. > > Potter was most definitely drunk while in camp. I’m a little fuzzy, but I think they were playing poker in the Swamp. I remember him staggering out to use a tree for a latrine (and he was _staggering_). > mmm > > ETA: Wait, he got drunk with Hawkeye and BJ on his very first night at the 4077th; they were singing some song about a long, long trail. Are you sure that was Potter? Remember, Harry Morgan played two separate characters on M_A_S\*H; a one-off before he was a regular, and then Potter. Hence my doubt. > [@silenus](#): > > Potter: “To Black Jack Pershing!” > > BJ: “And his orchestra.” > > Potter: “You know, if you wrap a little tin foil around your condenser, you’ll get a better yield. I had a still in WW1. That’s how I got my Purple Heart.” What have I told you about bothering me with facts? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/70 "2011-04-05T20:01:39Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > ETA: Wait, he got drunk with Hawkeye and BJ on his very first night at the 4077th; they were singing some song about a long, long trail. He called Frank “ferret face”, if I recall… ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/71 "2011-04-05T20:02:39Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Are you sure that was Potter? Remember, Harry Morgan played two separate characters on M_A_S\*H; a one-off before he was a regular, and then Potter. No, the one-off character was a by-the-books general with a stick in his ass. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/72 "2011-04-05T20:03:58Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > No, the one-off character was a by-the-books general with a stick in his ass. But first…a number! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/73 "2011-04-05T20:21:19Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I recall at least one case of Potter being drunk, but no specifics, so that’s a lousy cite. However, though he would often have a drink, he wasn’t the boozer that Hawkeye was. > > I can’t recall if Klinger was ever drunk - perhaps, but not a frequent thing. Klinger got drunk with BJ in the episode where they were pissed at the recently departed Radar. BJ because his daughter called Radar “Daddy”, and Klinger because everyone was comparing him (as the new company clerk) unfavorably to Radar. They headed over to Rosie’s bar, got blasted, and threw darts at a homemade Radar target. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/74 "2011-04-05T20:23:49Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > But first…a number! 🆒 That would be General Steele, in “The General Flipped At Dawn.” MASH means mobile! ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/75 "2011-04-05T20:25:57Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > He called Frank “ferret face”, if I recall… No - that was BJ. Frank and Hotlips were going to mold him into their perfect surgeon, but Hawkeye ended up picking him up after missing saying good-bye to Trapper. Joe ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/76 "2011-04-05T20:38:42Z")
Potter was drunk several times. His first night there, as was mentioned. There was a time when he pointed to an empty bottle and asked Radar to “Get rid of that dead soldier, soldier.” I’m sure there was at least another time. Klinger was drunk when he was jealous of Radar, as was mentioned. There was also the time when a woman jilted him. A hooker jilted Charles in the same episode. They were both drunk at the end. And at Penobscott’s bachelor party, they were all drunk. Even Frank. Jocularity, jocularity! As well as the tenor of the show changing, some basic facts did as well. In one episode Hawkeye talks about being and only child, and his mother going to the hospital and never coming out. In a much earlier episode, he tells his father in a letter to “Say hi to mom and sis.” ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/77 "2011-04-05T20:47:28Z")
My impression is that when MASH started the U.S viewing audience was very much against war of any kind because of losing the Vietnam War . MASH echoed this,with much sermonising and to us foreigners "sick making "preaching against war,all war, ever. Didn’t really work for us Europeans, ie. be really nice and turn your face away and then while you 're trying to strangle each other the bad guy won’t slowly stab you in the throat,though its only work and he genuinlly doesn;t want to do so. When the U.S. started showing movies about Vietnam(Platoon?) Alda slimey fucking hyporcite that he is altered MASH from the Conchy viewpoint. Total cunt. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/78 "2011-04-05T20:47:42Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > No, the one-off character was a by-the-books general with a stick in his ass. I thought the one off was a crazy general. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/79 "2011-04-05T20:54:00Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I thought the one off was a crazy general. You can be crazy and have a stick up your ass at the same time. But he was way more crazy than sticky. I distinctly remember a scene where he wanted to check out a new site for the camp. He took Hawkeye and Frank with him. At the new site, they were getting shot at. Hawkeye and Frank were hiding, while Steele sat in the Jeep. Steele: “We could stay here and survey the place, or we could go back and get lunch.” Hawkeye: “Lunch!” Frank: “Lunch!” Steele: “Yeah, I’m feeling kind of hungry myself.” I have a very clear image of the scene. But in 20+ years of watching reruns, I’ve never seen it again. I guess they cut it for commercials. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105/80 "2011-04-05T20:58:45Z")
Come to think of it, Steele must have been in two episodes. In that scene, he knew that Hawkeye was a doctor. In the other episode, he thought that Hawkeye was a reporter for almost the whole episode. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-m-a-s-h-hypocrisy/577105.md?page=5)