A1Janitor
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Heartbreaking.
Politically biased ROTC LLAB...was this appropriate?
- Thread starter usafa2022
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Heartbreaking.
I too was wondering how exactly the presentation on racism was “left leaning”?
I’m not questioning the appropriateness of it, or your question because none of us were there. Perhaps you could elaborate on what was said that was indeed politically biased?
In any event, wether there was incident that sparked the whole thing would probably be unknown to you. Even if there wasn’t an event, education and prevention are always a good idea, right?
I’m not questioning the appropriateness of it, or your question because none of us were there. Perhaps you could elaborate on what was said that was indeed politically biased?
In any event, wether there was incident that sparked the whole thing would probably be unknown to you. Even if there wasn’t an event, education and prevention are always a good idea, right?
k2rider
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While I don't know about this cadets specific training or what was said but I can think of plenty of training issues I've had in law enforcement and while getting my degree where discussions on race were "left leaning" and only seek to tell one side of the equation. Like some people have pointed out, one side can always be told and the message can be delivered by people that would make Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson look like reasonable people yet if you dare bring up anything contrary to their argument, you're immediately labeled a racist.
That being said, my advice to the OP is to follow the advice given to keep their mouth shut and don't share your opinions on political issues, especially on social media where it may cause you grief immediately or come back to haunt you 30 years later as the Governor of Virginia is (sort of) finding out now.
A1Janitor
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We have to separate out politics/racial division and racism.
Racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.
And no matter the color of the victim or the color of the racist, or the politics of either - racism must be stopped. It’s a horrendous crime.
And everyone, left or right, should stand out against it. And everyone, in and out of the military, should be trained and retrained to identify and stop it.
The politics today is ridiculous. Assuming and spreading that one side is racist for political gains hurts what should be the true goal ... ending real racism.
Listen to the training. And make sure you and everyone around you treats all human beings with the same respect you would want. A proud conservative would want nothing less.
Racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.
And no matter the color of the victim or the color of the racist, or the politics of either - racism must be stopped. It’s a horrendous crime.
And everyone, left or right, should stand out against it. And everyone, in and out of the military, should be trained and retrained to identify and stop it.
The politics today is ridiculous. Assuming and spreading that one side is racist for political gains hurts what should be the true goal ... ending real racism.
Listen to the training. And make sure you and everyone around you treats all human beings with the same respect you would want. A proud conservative would want nothing less.
Well put. Key point is to develop the crucial habit of making separations - above all, separate
1. your humane and healthy, instinctive empathy for your fellow humans/soldiers/citizens from
2. your cool, analytical assessment of facts and evidence and logic from
3. your political preferences and affiliations.
#1 should always come first. Empathy is absolutely essential for any good leader, and makes you a better comrade or colleague as well.
The hard part is finding a way to preserve #2 - your dedication to using logic and evidence as the basis for effective decision-making - without sacrificing #1, your empathy and solidarity with those whom you would lead.
Re #2, sorry to say this but a lot of today's well-meaning "diversity & inclusion" training is unfortunately based on non-facts, myths, dubious propositions, and junk science. The most notorious of these bad ideas is the pseudoscience concept of "implicit association", which forms the basis for the well-meaning but bogus "implicit association training" (IAT). Heather MacDonald at city-journal.org has repeatedly called BS on IAT and other bogus theories, as have many eminent social scientists of many different ideological persuasions.
(Keep in mind that this phenomenon of garbage science infecting psychological research is by no means unique to this particular social issue; academic psychology as a discipline is currently facing a scandal of enormous proportions due to the profession's notorious use of unfalsifiable experiments, corrupt and deliberate tampering with experimental data, and in many cases, completely bogus theories unsupported by evidence.)
So you have to find a way, IMHO, to project empathy (#1) for others while preserving attachment to logic and evidence (#2).
As to #3, your political affiliation? Hide it if you can, or at least keep a strict separation between your political affiliation and activity and your workplace/service identity.
That's very unfortunate, I know, and I wish we all could hold forth in the public square without fear of reprisal or retaliation (let alone being clocked from behind by some lunatic wearing a mask), but such is our brave new world.
MilitaryDad1968
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I represented my detachment in this year's LEDx Leadership Symposium in Maxwell AFB/ACSC early January. The theme was Diversity at the Intersection of Leadership. The Air University leadership invited various guest speakers including a Gender Studies expert/professor from Cambridge University. Over the week, it completely shattered my viewpoint that the military was a single, monolithic entity heavily biased one way or the other - rather, an extremely diverse group of humans with varying political/social/religious etc standpoints united by the common goal of protecting our Nation's defense.
I'm a liberal ready to commission in May (completed my Form 24 this week) and couldn't be more excited. I advise you that you keep your mind open and try to understand where others are coming from.
I commend you on your decision to serve our country and congratulate you on your upcoming graduation and commission. I wish you all the best in your military career.
Now I’m not trying to start a political argument, I just want to shed some light for you on why conservatives feel like they’re being attacked. In my experience, liberals are, ironically, some of the most intolerant people in our country. Why do I say that? Theirs is a more “progressive” ideology; in other words, they want to change the status quo to how it aligns with their principles/worldview. And liberals tend to be a very vocal minority, as opposed to most conservatives, who for many years were known as the silent majority.
In the past, liberals and conservatives coexisted on better terms and the political discourse was much more civil. Lately however, the vitriol spewing from both sides has divided the country. And quite frankly, it started with the Left. The extreme left wing highjacked the liberal bully pulpit with the goal of transforming our society into a leftist utopia. And anyone who disagreed with them was shouted down and automatically deemed a racist, homophobe, intolerant, etc. (which quite frankly is asinine).
This extreme behavior and labeling has resulted in a pushback from conservatives and the silent majority. And in large part is the reason why we have the current president in office. No one wants a social worldview that is in opposition to your own, to have it shoved down your throat. That’s how conservatives feel.
We would all do well to remember to treat each other with respect. And even if you disagree with another person, you can still function amicably and work toward finding common ground.
I would advise you to remember this as you progress through your military career.
“If everyone is worthless, no one is” - paraphrased from Syndrome
unkown1961
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I don't want to start a political argument but don't limit your resources to outlets like Daily Wire, Info Wars or Breitbart. Try to read credible sources from differing viewpoints: the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, the Guardian, NYT, Financial Times. As a student, you might even get free subscriptions to WSJ, Financial Times, or NYT. Take advantage of those. And do your own research into issues and always look at context. Both of my AFROTC kids did Public Forum Debate in high school and they had to be able to argue both sides of an issue, be it immigration, federal spending, sending troops, etc. I think it was the best thing for them because it opened them up to look at both sides of an issue. I wish more high schoolers would do debate.
Edit: And let sites like Politifact be your friend on Facebook: https://www.politifact.com/?fbclid=IwAR0NL2SwgSMkS0joJwBFqWE8mvAe3Xd_GeoODtK89TgTiPt2wiLaTbYvPuo
Edit: And let sites like Politifact be your friend on Facebook: https://www.politifact.com/?fbclid=IwAR0NL2SwgSMkS0joJwBFqWE8mvAe3Xd_GeoODtK89TgTiPt2wiLaTbYvPuo
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I teach high school Biotechnology and three medical science courses. Part of the curriculum covers cultural diversity. Visitors to my room see just about every nationality, ethnicity, and cultural beliefs that one could imagine. I'm the only white male in all but one of my six sections. I teach this from a healthcare provider's perspective. Most of these kids grew up with others different from them but may not know about nutritional requirements, beliefs concerning treatments, or why a man may ask for another man to take his vital signs or run an EKG. This course is important and not PC brain-washing by some right wing loon.
Early in the school year I facilitate an ethical dilemma discussion. We use some of the rules of debate but it is generally a discussion among high school kids. They choose a topic and express their views. Others who may have or may want to express their opinions can chime in. I also get involved and provide my views without proselytizing. The usual topics are discussed such as abortion, vaccines, and using animals for research or other such purposes. I tread lightly on the animal topic since I have animal-related training and don't want to scare them. Some of these kids are very sharp (like the kids represented on this forum) and know lots about many issues. I learned that rabbits are used to test mascara. This is due to rabbits having beautiful eyes. Who knew?
Anyway, this type of training would not be necessary if it were not so necessary.
unkown1961
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Great job, and as a fellow instructor (I teach a state college) I am really impressed with your curriculum design and adapting it to your student body. And nice incorporation of debating skills and presenting a respectful argument.
A1Janitor
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Depending on the subject matter, I’d leave off Washington Post and NYT on any credible list.
I genuinely appreciate this message & advice. I was raised ultra-conservative; good-ole apple-pie American perspectives governed our family values and conversations for the entirety of my life. Especially that my grandmother fled political persecution under Fidel Castro in Cuba, she and her family were given a draconian ultimatum - leave now with just clothes on your back or face death (my great-grandfather owned a store in Cuba and he had to leave everything to immigrate to the US). Perhaps this is why my family vilifies any and all political discourse towards progressive movements.
I have the utmost respect for my grandmother & her family. Part of the reason why I decided to join the AFROTC program to ultimately serve was because of her - how she emphasized the importance of the very fabric of the democratic society that values the lives and rights of human beings. That in order for a nation to survive internal and external attacks, it needed to be backed by a substantial force that guarantees the discourse to continue, no matter the direction.
But throughout college, I have met and spoken with countless number of people from all over the world. From my international friend from Uganda who is a victim of female genital mutilation and is a current women's rights activist to my fellow ROTC friend who endured explicit racist taunts growing up. I learned that I was living in a bubble, completely blocked from the outside world, basking in my own privilege. That there were so much hurt and pain in this world. I also learned that in a position of leadership, it's not about you anymore; rather, ensuring that those under you feel valued, secure, and safe to excel in their responsibilities. If you are continuously espousing a set of beliefs and values that are antithetical to someone else's very existence, directly or indirectly, are you practicing good leadership?
This is why I think we can do much better as a country, to be more inclusive of others, especially those who have little to no advocacy. Especially as I prepare to enter into the greatest military force ever known to man, I need to continuously keep myself in check whether I am conducting myself worthy of this position of power, of a leader.
Don't worry - I don't ever discuss politics aside from my very close group of friends, and never on social media
. I KNOW I have so much more to learn AND my worldview may change throughout my life.
Pima
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LMAO with that comment. We live in No VA and got so tired of how every article leaned we cancelled the subscription. There was never an article that wasn't slanted to their political leaning.
Don't get me wrong I watch both MSNBC and Fox to get both sides of the fence, but in the end with WAPO I just wanted to move back to the UK so they could wrap my fish and chips in their paper.
What subject matter would that be? The murder of Jamal Khashogi? US involvment in the war in Yemen? Commentary by David Ignatius, Brett Stephens or David Brooks?
A1Janitor
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When emotional or "triggered" as they say today, President Lincoln made it a habit of writing down his angry thoughts, frustrations, criticisms, etc. in a letter. He would then put the letter in his desk & never mail it.
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unkown1961
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Even though LMAO seems a bit of an extreme reaction to someone's media preferences, I can LMAO too at refusing to read WaPo because it might be liberal, but instead would watch MSNBC for counter views to Fox. MSNBC and Fox represent the left and right far ends of the spectrum (except for Chris Wallace possibly on Sundays). WaPo is center left but not to the extent MSNBC is left.
I may not be in Northern VA, but I read WaPo along with other sources on the internet. Yes, WaPo can lean center-left in its editorials. However, if it can piss off AOC supporters AND Trump supporters, it must be having some type of balance. And it has a great PolitiFact section calling out misstatements by politicians, both left and right. I don't see Fox correcting Trump or MSNBC correcting AOC.
I may not be in Northern VA, but I read WaPo along with other sources on the internet. Yes, WaPo can lean center-left in its editorials. However, if it can piss off AOC supporters AND Trump supporters, it must be having some type of balance. And it has a great PolitiFact section calling out misstatements by politicians, both left and right. I don't see Fox correcting Trump or MSNBC correcting AOC.