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Here's Someone Who Knows About Racism Still Being Prevalent


BarryLaverty

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Throw this into the discussion. Confirmed 93-2 as the first Black Secretary of Defense. 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/1st-black-pentagon-chief-racism-054307674.html

Associated Press

For 1st Black Pentagon chief, racism challenge is personal

LOLITA C. BALDOR
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Senate confirms Austin as Defense Secretary
 
 
 

WASHINGTON (AP) —

Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will have to contend not only with a world of security threats and a massive military bureaucracy, but also with a challenge that hits closer to home: rooting out racism and extremism in the ranks.

Austin took office Friday as the first Black defense chief, in the wake of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where retired and current military members were among the rioters touting far-right conspiracies.

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The retired four-star Army general told senators this week that the Pentagon’s job is to “keep America safe from our enemies. But we can’t do that if some of those enemies lie within our own ranks.”

Ridding the military of racists isn’t his only priority. Austin, who was confirmed in a 93-2 vote, has made clear that accelerating delivery of coronavirus vaccines will get his early attention.

But the racism issue is personal. At Tuesday’s confirmation hearing, he explained why.

In 1995, when then-Lt. Col. Austin was serving with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, three white soldiers, described as self-styled skinheads, were arrested in the murder of a Black couple who was walking down the street. Investigators concluded the two were targeted because of their race.

The killing triggered an internal investigation, and all told, 22 soldiers were linked to skinhead and other similar groups or found to hold extremist views. They included 17 who were considered white supremacists or separatists.

“We woke up one day and discovered that we had extremist elements in our ranks,” Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “And they did bad things that we certainly held them accountable for. But we discovered that the signs for that activity were there all along. We just didn’t know what to look for or what to pay attention to.”

Austin is not the first secretary to grapple with the problem. Racism has long been an undercurrent in the military. While leaders insist only a small minority hold extremist views, there have been persistent incidents of racial hatred and, more subtly, a history of implicit bias in what is a predominantly white institution.

A recent Air Force inspector general report found that Black service members in the Air Force are far more likely to be investigated, arrested, face disciplinary actions and be discharged for misconduct.

Based on 2018 data, roughly two-thirds of the military’s enlisted corps is white and about 17% is Black, but the minority percentage declines as rank increases. The U.S. population overall is about three-quarters white and 13% Black, according to Census Bureau statistics.

Over the past year, Pentagon leaders have struggled to make changes, hampered by opposition from then-President Donald Trump. It took months for the department to effectively ban the Confederate flag last year, and Pentagon officials left to Congress the matter of renaming military bases that honor Confederate leaders. Trump rejected renaming the bases and defended flying the flag.

Senators peppered Austin with questions about extremism in the ranks and his plans to deal with it. The hearing was held two weeks after lawmakers fled the deadly insurrection at the Capitol, in which many of the rioters espoused separatist or extremist views.

“It’s clear that we are at a crisis point,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., saying leaders must root out extremism and reaffirm core military values.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., pressed Austin on the actions he will take. “Disunity is probably the most destructive force in terms of our ability to defend ourselves," Kaine said. "If we’re divided against one another, how can we defend the nation?”

Austin, who broke racial barriers throughout his four decades in the Army, said military leaders must set the right example to discourage and eliminate extremist behavior. They must get to know their troops, and look for signs of extremism or other problems, he said.

But Austin — the first Black man to serve as head of U.S. Central Command and the first to be the Army's vice chief of staff — also knows that much of the solution must come from within the military services and lower-ranking commanders. They must ensure their troops are trained and aware of the prohibitions.

“Most of us were embarrassed that we didn’t know what to look for and we didn’t really understand that by being engaged more with your people on these types of issues can pay big dividends,” he said, recalling the 82nd Airborne problems. “I don’t think that you can ever take your hand off the steering wheel here.”

But he also cautioned that there won't be an easy solution, adding, “I don’t think that this is a thing that you can put a Band-Aid on and fix and leave alone. I think that training needs to go on, routinely."

Austin gained confirmation after clearing a legal hurdle prohibiting anyone from serving as defense chief until they have been out of the military for seven years. Austin retired less than five years ago, but the House and Senate quickly approved the needed waiver, and President Joe Biden signed it Friday.

Soon afterward, Austin strode into the Pentagon, his afternoon already filled with calls and briefings, including a meeting with Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He held a broader video conference on COVID-19 with all top defense and military leaders, and his first call to an international leader was with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Austin, 67, is a 1975 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He helped lead the invasion into Iraq in 2003, and eight years later was the top U.S. commander there, overseeing the full American troop withdrawal. After serving as vice chief of the Army, Austin headed Central Command, where he oversaw the reinsertion of U.S. troops to Iraq to beat back Islamic State militants.

He describes himself as the son of a postal worker and a homemaker from Thomasville, Georgia, who will speak his mind to Congress and to Biden.

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  • BarryLaverty changed the title to Here's Someone Who Knows About Racism Still Being Prevalent
14 hours ago, Monte1076 said:

Here's the problem though, Barry: If you go looking for racism in everything, you'll find it in lots of things, and even in places where it isn't.

If it's there, and here is the ultimate authority on that it IS present, why not acknowledge it and address it without deflection and an attempt to diminish it? 

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56 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said:

If it's there, and here is the ultimate authority on that it IS present, why not acknowledge it and address it without deflection and an attempt to diminish it? 

Well, according to some, everything is racist and all white people are racist. How do you address statements like that? Because there are people out there who believe that.

And because there are people who don't believe that "systemic racism" is real, that doesn't mean that those people are racist. Nor does it mean that they're racist or "white supremacist" if they disagree with a Democratic party policy.

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37 minutes ago, BoHogg said:

Even as the coronavirus kills Black and Hispanic Americans at disproportionately higher rates, advocates warn that these same communities could face disparities in access to the vaccine across the country.

The demographic vaccine data, released for the first time last week, show that among vaccine recipients whose race is known, the number of white Texans who have received at least one dose is more than triple the number of Hispanic vaccine recipients and more than seven times higher than Black vaccine recipients.

Damn.. SMH,priorities first

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2 hours ago, BoHogg said:

Even as the coronavirus kills Black and Hispanic Americans at disproportionately higher rates, advocates warn that these same communities could face disparities in access to the vaccine across the country.

The demographic vaccine data, released for the first time last week, show that among vaccine recipients whose race is known, the number of white Texans who have received at least one dose is more than triple the number of Hispanic vaccine recipients and more than seven times higher than Black vaccine recipients.

Straight BS! 

"Whose race is known"- so there's a percentage of folks that we don't know their race and we're crying racism? What if all those are black and Hispanic? 

Could it be that 3x and 7x as many Texan front line medical workers who had first access to the vaccine were white? 

 

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9 minutes ago, Youngcoach123 said:

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/19/948316306/fighting-covid-19-vaccine-mistrust-in-the-black-community
 

maybe it’s not racist and the Black community doesn’t trust the vaccine. I mean trump did fast track it. 

Kamala Harris even got it even though she said she wouldn't trust it if it was approved under the Trump Administration. I wonder what changed.

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5 hours ago, RETIREDFAN1 said:

Once again.....individual racism will be here until God comes back ......nothing you or anyone else will change that.....individuals will always have prejudices......SYSTEMIC racism, which CAN be dealt with, HAS been dealt with already......

I agree, systematic racism has been dealt with.  In my opinion, it has already been addressed in many ways in the military that are counter productive  ...  I can give many examples where the very acts intended to discourage or eliminate racism have had exactly the opposite effect.  The system fails to see or address the fact that racism exists on both sides ... when non minority candidates are treated differently and are systematically excluded from assignments or training opportunities because of their skin color, it creates a double standard and perpetuates racism and prejudice ... I saw it first hand when I was in the military  ...  the military quota systems for performance apprasials was also a form of prejudice and racism ... you can't have it both ways  ...  if something is considered racism or has to be applied equally to all .... you can't eliminate racism with more racism ....

Edited by KirtFalcon
yo mama
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The most racist person I've ever meet was in the military...during basic training. He was from Miami FL and called all the white guys crackers and said if we ever walked down his street back home he would kill us all....and he meant it. And that was the first thing he said...no one had said a word to him before hand. He was full of hate. So yeah...if you want to get rid of racism in the military...go ahead...ALL OF IT. It comes in all colors  

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8 hours ago, BoHogg said:

Even as the coronavirus kills Black and Hispanic Americans at disproportionately higher rates, advocates warn that these same communities could face disparities in access to the vaccine across the country.

The demographic vaccine data, released for the first time last week, show that among vaccine recipients whose race is known, the number of white Texans who have received at least one dose is more than triple the number of Hispanic vaccine recipients and more than seven times higher than Black vaccine recipients.

I would like to know how many vaccines have been given in the private sector.  I have only heard of a few, and that most are used in the medical profession.  If there are lower numbers of minorities in the medical field that would explain the major discrepancy.  I have not heard or read where an average citizen in the City of Houston can receive the virus, and only free testing.  Recently one doctor was arrested for attempting to find people to give the virus to.  https://www.aol.com/news/texas-doctor-accused-stealing-vial-145558540.html .  There's no way that I could find him guilty, because they were just going to throw away the unused vaccine, because it would expire in the 6 hour window of use.  

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4 hours ago, Youngcoach123 said:

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/19/948316306/fighting-covid-19-vaccine-mistrust-in-the-black-community
 

maybe it’s not racist and the Black community doesn’t trust the vaccine. I mean trump did fast track it. 

That's another good point to bring up.  It's also why I refuse to get the first vaccine.  I want to make sure that it's effective, and that there is enough to be able to get the second dose that is needed.  I heard with the Chinese vaccine that they are using in Britain that even if they are given both shots, they can still transmit the Wuhan and spread it to others who are further down the queue.  They still have to follow the guidelines of those without the vaccine, so why even get it ???  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55784199

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3 hours ago, KirtFalcon said:

I agree, systematic racism has been dealt with.  In my opinion, it has already been addressed in many ways in the military that are counter productive  ...  I can give many examples where the very acts intended to discourage or eliminate racism have had exactly the opposite effect.  The system fails to see or address the fact that racism exists on both sides ... when non minority candidates are treated differently and are systematically excluded from assignments or training opportunities because of their skin color, it creates a double standard and perpetuates racism and prejudice ... I saw it first hand when I was in the military  ...  the military quota systems for performance apprasials was also a form of prejudice and racism ... you can't have it both ways  ...  if something is considered racism or has to be applied equally to all .... you can't eliminate racism with more racism ....

The military of all places should be the least racist, and every promotion and exercise should be based on performance regardless of color or race.  As with the case with General Austin, it seems that he did not suffer from much racism while he was in the service.  It is extremely difficult to become a General for anyone.  To become a Four Star General is an amazing feat.  He could even be promoted to General of the Army even after he is retired, because that has happened in many cases. However John J. Pershing was the only one to hold that title in his lifetime.  Even George Washington was not promoted to that rank until 1976.  How did that happen ???   

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44 minutes ago, EnjoyLife said:

Asians are the highest earning racial group in the US. How is that possible in such a racist nation? Funny what valuing education and achievement will do. 

An education that actually brings worth. Unlike African-American studies, Women Studies, Gender Studies. 

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