Black Lives Still Matter, Con't

We're now to the point where the whitewashing of history by screaming "CRITICAL RACE THEORY!!!!" every five seconds in order to "protect" kids from being made to feel "uncomfortable" about the origins of American slavery has reached the point where the First Amendment is being dismantled in the name of America's armed forces.

A Tennessee state legislator introduced a joint resolution to "reprimand" the Associated Press (AP) for publishing an article highlighting racism within the military's ranks, saying the outlet "engaged in the lowest form of yellow journalism."

The bill, reported by a CBS/ABC-affiliate, was proposed by Republican state Rep. Bud Hulsey, who objected to an AP story that ran back in May, entitled "Deep-rooted racism, discrimination permeate US military."

In the article, AP reporters Kat Stafford, James Laporta, Aaron Morrison and Helen Wieffering interviewed "current and former enlistees and officers in nearly every branch of the armed services" who "described a deep-rooted culture of racism and discrimination that stubbornly festers, despite repeated efforts to eradicate it."

Additionally, the AP found that the military "processed more than 750 complaints of discrimination by race or ethnicity from service members in the fiscal year 2020 alone."

Hulsey's resolution contends that because the AP found 750 complaints – when there are 425,000 members of the active-duty military – racism in the ranks, by his accounting, is "uncommon and not a largescale problem."

The "allegations that members of the U.S. military are racist and that the military itself accepts a culture of discrimination are not only blatantly false," the resolution reads, "but an insult to the brave men and women who combat racism and discrimination at home and around the globe."

It also adds that "the AP has engaged in the lowest form of yellow journalism and should be held accountable by the American public and their elected officials."

The publication, for its part, has firmly stood by the article in question. Kat Stafford, one of its authors, tweeted weeks ago that she and her colleagues "spent nearly a year interviewing dozens of service members and experts – some of whom could not speak publicly out of fear of retribution. We poured over copious documents & FOIAs. We did our homework. No matter how much one tries [to] deny it, racism does exist."

 

The one thing that white Christian Republicans will not tolerate is the notion that systemic racism still exists in 2022 in the glorious, perfect land of God's America. Racism is a "barbarous relic of the past" that can't exist because America is the greatest country in world history. The notion that racism is still alive not only offends them, they turn to the punitive powers of the state to harm those who point out racism is in fact alive and well.

The GOP would rather pass legislation officially reprimanding a news organization's reporting on racism than actually dealing with the systemic racism in place. That's what it means to be a Republican in 2022.

And let's remember, a large majority of Christian Republicans believe they are the most persecuted group in US history. 48% of Republicans believe Christians are persecuted, more than any group in the US: Black folk, Muslims, LGBTQ+, everyone. They believe Black Americans are the least persecuted group in America, only 27% believe Black folk are persecuted.

So yes, using the power of the state to punish the messenger is exactly on brand for them. It's authoritarian and theocratic, as well as racist and furthering white supremacy's power.

The most American thing imaginable.