Woman on unpaid leave after taking disrespectful photo next to soldier's grave during work trip

Lindsey Stone, 30, flipped the bird and pretended to scream despite the 'Silence & Respect' sign next to a soldier's tomb. The photo outraged veterans and prompted Stone's employer to take action.

Comments (1) By Rheana Murray / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, November 21, 2012, 8:33 AM

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The Facebook photo that has Lindsey Stone in hot water.


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A Massachusetts woman who posted a Facebook photo of her disrespecting a soldier’s grave sparked uproar on the Internet and could lose her job.


During a work trip to Arlington National Cemetery, Lindsey Stone, of Plymouth, squatted next to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, sticking up her middle finger and pretending to scream next to a sign that asked for “Silence & Respect.”


The photo went viral after she posted it on Facebook, prompting outcry from veterans and a response from her employer, the Cape Cod-based nonprofit, LIFE, where Stone helped adults with disabilities.


“We became aware that one of our employees had posted an offensive, inappropriate photograph on her personal Facebook page,” LIFE wrote Tuesday on its Facebook page.


“This photograph in no way reflects the opinions or values of the LIFE organization, which holds our nation’s veterans in the highest regard.”


Stone, 30, and another employee who took the photo have been placed on unpaid leave “pending the results of an internal investigation,” the company said.


A Facebook group, "Fire Lindsey Stone," calls for LIFE to let her go permanently.


Stone has since removed her Facebook page.


Her parents say they know the snapshot is disgraceful and had warned their daughter about the dangers of posting personal photos online.
“We’re totally beside ourselves,” father Peter Stone told CBS Boston. “We begged her not to put things like that on the site.


“She had no intention of upsetting or offending anyone. It was poor judgment and she regrets every part of it.”


Stone and her coworker released a statement of apology late Tuesday.


“We sincerely apologize for all the pain we have caused by posting the picture we took in Washington, D.C. on Facebook,” they wrote. “While posted on a public forum, the picture was intended only for our own amusement.


We never meant any disrespect to any of the people nationwide who have served this country and defended our freedom so valiantly. It was meant purely as a visual pun, intending to depict the exact opposite of what the sign said, and had absolutely nothing to do with the location it was taken or the people represented there.”


Stone and her coworker went on to apologize to their employer, calling the photo “ignorant and distasteful.”
rmurray@nydailynews.com



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