For those of you who are just now awakening to the persistent strain of PC that is currently running through our military, I present this story via CDR Salamander
The Potemkin Color Guard
Walk in somebody’s shoes for a bit.
You have worked long and hard to reach a high profile position, as those who came before you had.You did everything that was asked of you, and more. You believed in a system that told you all you had to do was work hard, pay attention to detail, excel in your efforts, show exceptional dedication, and demonstrate professionalism better than those around you. Do that, you were told, and you will be rewarded.
You understood that nothing was guaranteed – but you also knew that the system was a meritocracy based on fair, established rules that everyone agreed upon when they started.
Why wouldn’t you believe that? Those in positions of authority, those whose word was gold, those who asked of you only what they demanded of themselves – they told you so. Because they said it was so, it must be true – it has to be true.
After countless hours of work, dedication, and sacrifice, you finally reached the position of service and honor you hoped for – you made it.
The team you are on is set to make a high profile appearance. You are ecstatic. Happy. You let those who are important in your life know, so they can watch you on TV and perhaps see the results of the hard work you put in for so long.
Then it happens.
The day prior to the event you are told that those in power decided to remove you and a friend from the position you worked so long and hard for. You wonder, “What did we do? Why?”
The reason is rather simple; those in positions of authority did not like your race and gender. Nothing that you did – no – not that. Nothing personal – just business, you know.
Simply by being born, you have been found wanting, and unworthy.
Crushed. Betrayed. Lied to. Those, perhaps, are just a few of the emotions you have.
You can read the rest HERE
Since CDR Salamander wrote this post, the story of two caucasian Naval Academy Midshipmen being removed from the World Series color guard and being replaced by others of a more acceptable color or gender has been reported by major newspapers and networks. The fact remains however, that this behavior is common and doesn’t surprise many of us who have been around the military for more than a few days. Sad but true.
Print
Digg
StumbleUpon
del.icio.us
Facebook
Yahoo! Buzz
Twitter
Google Bookmarks
Google Buzz
LinkedIn
MSN Reporter
MySpace
Orkut
Ping.fm
Reddit
RSS
Slashdot
Technorati
Tumblr
Webnews.de
Diversity robs people of their humanity. Individuality is subjugated to the greater good of the collective with this politically correct mentality.
Perhaps ‘color guard’ is supposed to have a different meaning these days? White folk need not apply!
Thanks, Outlaw for pointing out this blog.
I think we’ve gone beyond the “two legs bad” point and are now at “four legs good, two legs better” and “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.”
Surprised? I shouldn’t be, I suppose, but I naively thought that the armed services would be above this sort of thing. It has always been my experience that high-stress situations – much less situations involving actual danger – make color/race/sex distinctions disappear of their own accord. When I was stack testing, nobody gave a damned who was leaning with you on a cheater-bar while swaying on a stack platform 200 feet in the air in the middle of January, you just needed to trust the person to do their job, have your back and not get you killed. It would have to be the same in the military, where the dangers are infinitely greater and responsibilities so much more grave – right? Actually, I’m sure it is that way in the trenches. It has to be. It’s a damned shame that some of the commanders are not worthy of those they command.
There is no word in the English language more abused than “diversity”. Diveristy is about ideas and experience, not about skin color. Are we past the tipping point on this whole issue now? Will we ever be able to restore sanity and let people be judged by their merits rather than their skin color?
+JMJ+
I’ve never really had to think about it, since I live in one of those “homogenous” places; but, yeah, Veruckt, you’re right.
If you had a bunch of people with different skin colours and exactly the same ideas and experiences, you’d only have surface diversity–and that would be mindless.
If you except Americans from the equation 99.99% of the world’s population live in homogenous places. Anyone who thinks America has a problem with racism has never traveled outside of America. Out of 300 million people do we have some racists? Sure. Last I checked Reverend Jeremiah Wright still lives here. Is there a country with more people of different geneology mixing and mingling with anywhere near the success as the U.S. of A.? Nope.
+JMJ+
Rufus, I have an American friend who would say that anyone who thinks America has a problem with racism has never traveled to America. =)
That’s true too, Enbrethiliel! And I can’t really blame them. When I’ve been overseas the news coverage of America often focuses on racial issues. For those of us here they are few and far between, but other nations seem to highlight those stories when they occur. I think it is also exacerbated by a lack of frame of reference on the size of our country. My wife’s family will often call from Germany when some disaster or another is occurring here to “make sure we’re alright” even though we are typically about 1,000+ miles away from whatever their nightly news is showing.
When I am able to have some long conversations with non-Americans in other countries I’ll sometimes ask what percentage of U.S. citizens are black. I’ve never gotten an answer below 25%, many guess around 40%. Just as I’m sure we get an unrealistic view of day to day life in The Philippines based on what we see on the news, non-Americans can get a very warped view of life in these United States.
Wasn’t it the general commanding Fort Hood that stated he hoped diversity wouldn’t be another casualty of the massacre?
That was the Chief of Staff of the Army, not the III Corps commander.
That was Casey.
This story reminds me of the controversy over the firefighters’ statue…the one based upon that iconic photo of them raising a flag at Ground Zero…they were all caucasian…come time for the memorial, it was suggested that other races be represented in the statue.
You know, the Iwo Jima memorial only features Caucasians……