White males, the military, and a female’s opinion

I recently wrote a short post on my blog about the Naval Academy color guard incident in which a commander added/subtracted people in order to make it more diverse and representative of the student body. Essentially, I said that he wasn’t creating the appearance of diversity if in fact the stats (25% minority and 20% female) were true, he was merely SHOWING it. (BIG difference I think)

Then I changed the topic slightly and pointed out that "white male domination of everything" was over, because now that women and minorities were in the picture, white males have to share. So, where as in the past a white male might have gotten stuff simply by being white and male, now he might not because he has more competition. Seems obvious and not exactly controversial because this has been going on for awhile, right?

Soon after, my post was linked to by another military blog as a "perfect example" of "what kind of hate and sectarianism the Diversity Bullies breed in the service". And the trolls descended:

"you sound positively racist and sexist. And you’re years behind the times, stuck in a time period that no longer exists. Women and minorities are doing just fine. Look around you. Look at the business world. Look at the Military. Look at academia. Look at politics. Where in the hell are you living — 1962? I think, deep down, you judge yourself, and you haven’t measured up, and the way to make yourself feel better is to go off on the big, bad white men out there."

"someone should post this around your next assignment or civilian job. I think your co-workers should know what kind of bigotry and racist hatred they are up against."

"Your ‘attitude’ reflect poorly on the USMC. Your predjudice against ‘white males’ is disgusting. I’ve been "white" and "male" all my life and never met any white person who thought they deserved anything other than what they worked hard to earn. On the other hand, I’ve met many women and folks of other ethnicities who think they deserve something they did not work to earn…..I have a feeling you are an example of that type of person."

"You are a Marine and you can either act professionally and bring credit to your training or you can be a twit."

"You are a disgrace to your uniform and a disgrace to the corps. After reading your screed, I am quite pleased to be ex-navy rather than ex-marine."

"your ‘statements’ are biased amd bigoted, PERIOD. And, honestly, you have no business whatsoever serving in the Nation’s military in any service with that attitude. When you join you are entitled to absolutely NOTHING…Shame on you–do the right thing and straighten up or get out when your enlistment is up."

I made a statement about the world and not only did they call me a racist bigot, some said I was a disgrace to the service and that I should get out. How dare I say white males can’t get everything they used to get because they have to share now! The nerve!

I’ve talked about controversial topics (military and otherwise) before but it was disheartening to see how my own fellow servicemembers overreacted, put words in my mouth, insulted me, talked down to me, patronized me, called me "young lady" like I’m their kid, and basically told me to shape up or get the hell out.

All for daring to write outside the military "conservative party" line and daring to talk back to disrespectful commenters on my OWN BLOG.

The main reason I’m writing this is because a large number of military blogs and websites are full of people like that and I think it distorts the perception others have of the military. I was NEVER insulted or treated like this when I was on active duty and even though this is the Internet and not in person, it hit me hard and made me nervous. Are THESE really the type of people out there representing the military and speaking for us?

I think part of the problem is that the servicemembers most likely to speak out are the ones NOT currently on active duty and the ones who have major gripes and complaints. The younger, happier, more progressive, and more open-minded men are under-represented in the media and online, and so they are not heard.

Just like in the rest of society, it’s the younger military people who will bring about the necessary changes.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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