Florida Representative Matt Gaetz scored a big win over the Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity industry at a hearing by the House Armed Services Committee when he forced the commandant of the US Air Force Academy to admit that he did not know what the gender categories available to potential cadets even meant.
Wednesday, the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing titled Admissions, Curriculum, and Diversity of Thought at the Military Service Academies. The subject of racist admissions policies in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision that outlawed racist measures to achieve some imaginary “diversity” goal (see BREAKING: Supreme Court Rejects Race-Based College Admissions) but allowed the military academies to continue to discriminate based on race (see The Supreme Court’s Decision to Continue Racial Discrimination at Military Academies Betrays the Nation and the Military).
The fireworks started when Gaetz questioned USAF Academy commandant Lieutenant General Richard M. Clark on gender diversity.
Rep. Gaetz: A diverse and inclusive force is a warfighting imperative. This is on a slide at the Air Force Academy General Clark, do you agree with that statement?
Lt. Gen.Clark: I do agree with that statement, sir.
Rep. Gaetz: So I mean, were the Mongols diverse?
Lt. Gen.Clark: Well, sir, I’m not really as versed on Mongol warfighting is.
Rep. Gaetz: How about the war fighting? Were the Vikings diverse?
Lt. Gen.Clark: Again, sir, I’m looking at our country, the most diverse country in the world
Rep. Gaetz: sure. But this is about a warfighting imperative. How about the fight the force in Ukraine? Are the Ukrainians fighting the Russians a diverse force?
Lt. Gen.Clark: Sir, once again, my concern is the people that I’m charged to build into leaders.
Gaetz’s main point is absolutely on target. Seeking differences from the idea that difference is a virtue is profoundly stupid. If you really think racial and ethnic diversity without a unifying theme produces strength, then Yugoslavia is the strongest nation in the world.
Rep. Gaetz: Right. But you would you would acknowledge that throughout history, includ ing present history, that statement hasn’t born true in every example. Right?
Lt. Gen.Clark: Sir what I would say is that those countries have to rely on the full force of their population, to build a war fighting to win our wars. And that’s why it’s important for us to be diverse, because nation.
Here Clark twists what is absolutely correct, “countries have to rely on the full force of their population,” into something that is totally wrong, “it’s important for us to be diverse.” No. Wrong. It is vital that our military academies be open to all qualified American citizens; we can argue about what is “qualified” later, but it is much more important that the very best members of the applicant pool be selected, and if that process doesn’t reflect an idealized racial and sexual bean count, then, too bad.
Then Gaetz bored in on the Brooke Owens fellowship. According to its website. it is a fellowship open to “women and other gender minorities.” The idea that the military academies with be affiliated with a program that is sexist (not open to men) and favors sexual perversion and dysfunction makes no sense at all.
Rep. Gaetz: Let’s look at the population that actually makes up the fighting force frequently. Now we have more men and women, right? 70-30 ish.
Lt. Gen.Clark: That’s correct.
Rep. Gaetz: And of the men we have, most of them are not transgender men. Most of them are cisgender men, right?
Lt. Gen.Clark: Yes, sir.
Rep. Gaetz: But yet, at our academies, we put push something called the Brooke Owens fellowship. Are you familiar with that?
Lt. Gen.Clark: I am. Yes, sir.
Rep. Gaetz: And in that fellowship, it specifically says, If you are a cisgender, man, this program isn’t for you. So you just said that your answer on why we why we do such this, this full hug of these diversity concepts is because it’s all about the fighting force that we draw from, but you’re literally pushing a program in the academies that says, if you’re a cisgender woman, a transgender woman, a non binary, agender, bi gender, 2 spirit, Demi gender, what’s Demi gender?
It’s too bad that Gaetz didn’t use the opportunity to haze Clark over the use of cisgender as a sexual slur; see Turning the Tables: Elon Musk Targets ‘Cis’ Terms, Highlights Double Standards. What follows makes up for that shortcoming.
Lt. Gen.Clark: Sir, that’s a that’s a term of the people that are eligible for that particular scholarship
Rep. Gaetz: But what’s a Demi gender person?
Lt. Gen.Clark: It’s a person who looks at their gender in a in a different, a different way than I do, sir.
Rep. Gaetz: Well, sure. That’s all of these people. You’re a cisgender. Man, you don’t even get to apply.
Lt. Gen.Clark: Well
Rep. Gaetz: Do you know what Demi gender really means?
Lt. Gen.Clark: I’m not really sure, sir.
Rep. Gaetz: Right. So do you know what agender means? All one word, not a space gender. But agender?
Lt. Gen.Clark: Sir, I don’t.
Rep. Gaetz: Right. So here we are pushing a fellowship, calling for people that you don’t even know what the words mean. And the number one group of people, the cisgender men are excluded? Not in the name of diversity, equity and inclusion. Should we be pushing programs that we can’t define that exclude the largest group of servicemembers?
Literally, the academies are pushing a program that they don’t know who qualifies for, but only who can’t apply: straight men.
Lt. Gen.Clark: Well, sir, first, that program is not an Air Force Academy program. It’s a program open to our entire country.
Rep. Gaetz: Right. We allow guys advocate for within the academy.
Lt. Gen.Clark: We allow our cadets to apply for it.
Rep. Gaetz: Why are you allowing your cadets to apply for a program when you cannot define the basic terms of eligibility?
Lt. Gen.Clark: Because it’s an opportunity for us to develop them as warfighters. And we look for every opportunity that we can
Rep. Gaetz: But you don’t even know what the words mean, how can you use this as a way to develop the warfighters? If you don’t know what it means?
Lt. Gen.Clark: Well, some of those could those terms may not be applicable to us at the Air Force Academy, but some are
Just a few observations.
First, there is literally nothing in the Brooke Owens Fellowship that helps the Air Force. It is divisive and discriminatory because it is not open to normal men. It makes sexual practices a gateway to admission. It takes place when a cadet should be learning leadership skills instead of frolicking with “sexual minorities.” Second, Gaetz correctly points out that the sexual proclivities in the fellowship are gibberish. The DIE mafia uses this kind of rubbish to obscure the fact that they are slinging bullsh**. The larger point touched on by Gaetz is also correct. Seeking to create diversity so you can claim to have diversity is dumb. As Thomas Sowell has pointed out numerous times, there are lots of reasons why certain racial and ethnic groups are drawn to particular occupations. Virtually none of those reasons have anything to do with discrimination, and government meddling to create diversity usually does more harm than good to everyone involved.
Even if we agree that racial diversity is such a good thing that we must use unconstitutional and immoral means to achieve it, why does anyone care about attracting “gender minorities?” There are zero circumstances in which an officer should advertise their sexual proclivities to their superiors, peers, or subordinates. If they are, the services should not be contributing to the marketing effort.
Full Hearing