Gaetz Doesn't, But Joint Chiefs Chairman Does
An exchange between the Florida Republican and a top US military official provides hope that a major American institution understands the complexities of race
Matt Gaetz doesn’t get it, but we’ve known that for quite some time.
The Trump loyalist has taken every wrongheaded position possible since his election in 2016, and during a hearing of the Armed Services Committee, he was being his usual unctuous self, arguing with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about anti-extremism measures being taken by the US military.
Evidence has shown repeatedly that the American armed forces is riddled with White Supremacists, but Gaetz is more concerned that Critical Race Facts (Theory) might be spreading in the military.
The Florida Republican continually baited Secretary Austin with questions about CRT and the military, even after Austin made it clear that the ideology is a non-issue.
But what was shocking and pleasantly surprising was how Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley addressed the subject of Critical Race Facts (Theory).
General Milley, who picked up the CRT conversation thread begun by Gaetz said:
"First of all, on the issue of critical race theory, et cetera. I'll obviously have to get much smarter on whatever the theory is, but I do think it's important actually for those of us in uniform to be open-minded and be widely read.
"And in the United States Military Academy is a university and it is important that we train and we understand."
And
"And I want to understand white rage and I'm white, and I want to understand it. So what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the constitution of the United States of America? What caused that? I want to find that out."
Finally,
"I want to maintain an open mind here, and I do want to analyze it. It's important that we understand that because our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardians, they come from the American people. So it is important that the leaders now and in the future do understand it."
In making these remarks, General Milley shows a level of understanding and compassionate that Representative Gaetz is obviously lacking.
One of the reasons for the hearing is that Gaetz is so concerned about the removal of Colonel Matthew Lohmeier, who was cashiered because he stated that the US military is being taught “Marxism and Critical Race Theory.”
It’s clear that McCarthyism is alive and well, except the boogie man isn’t Communism (despite Lohmeier’s and Gaetz’s concerns), but the idea that America has been and is racist.
Every day, this is proven to be fact.
Every day, there is a new story of blatant racism and discrimination emanating from every state in the Union.
Every day there are White men and women who act in such a fashion that they prove the necessity of teaching CRT.
Every day, Black people are denied loans or receive lower property evaluations because of their color.
Every day, People of Color run headlong into discrimination, but Gaetz is worried that discussing CRT in the ranks will cause military personnel to “otherize on another.”
Otherizing isn’t new.
Even the idea that otherizing needs to be brought out in the open isn’t new.
But the movement to have the discussion has reached critical mass, and everyone will have to either affirm the truth or deny it.
And racists don’t want this to happen. While many are comfortable airing their prejudices, many more don’t have the courage of their warped convictions.
That includes Matt Gaetz.
Well stated. I am currently reading a book that you might find interesting. It is called Caste The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. From the book jacket:
"Wilkerson portrays how beyond race, class, or other factors, a powerful caste system influences people's lives and behavior and the nation's fate. Linking the caste system of America to India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, and stigma. Using stories about people--including Martin Luther King Jr. Satchel Paige, and a single father and his toddler son, as well as Wilkerson herself---she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their outcasting of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally she points forward to ways American can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity."