The fact that paramedics were brought up lends light to a good point: this shit happens everywhere.
That same person who does the whole ''STFU, you haven't been to Afghanistan'' is likely in for a rude awakening when he gets his job as a labourer in the oilsands, or as a roughneck on one of the rigs, and is told, ''STFU, you haven't...'' and then their, ''But I have been to Afghanistan and...'' retort will garner them a, ''Thanks for that, but so fucking what does that have to do with this?''
Point is, this sort of shit happens everywhere. I have seen it from medics, cops, firefighters, roughnecks, diamond drillers, pilots, and so on.
I have also seen it from teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, power linemen, and so forth.
The people that perpetuate this sort of shit, well, I ingore them. Just the same as I ignore firefighters or medics or teachers who blab about how tough shit was at blah, blah, blah. Someday they'll realize that they bore others and look like a twat. The dudes that have to tell others to STFU will be seen as general pricks and not very good teachers of the next generation, the Walts will be seen as Walts.
I firmly recall coming back from my first fire and sitting around with the other guys afterward having a beer. One or two of them were asking me how it had felt and I was doing my level best to describe this when an older member started calling it down and saying that us young guys would never know what it was like to fight ''real'' fires and whatnot. I'll admit that it was a bit offputting - for about a minute until another older fellow told me to just nevermind that sort of trash talk. I learned a lot from that. You know what I learned from that older, mealy mouthed guy? Nothing. Except how I was NOT going to act.
Correcting misconceptions is one thing. Being a dick is another.