Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth is in South Korea this week as a result of if there’s anybody who has spectacularly failed upward, it’s Hegseth. You already know, a bitter center supervisor fixated on grievances who satisfied himself that if solely he have been in cost, issues could be good.
Nicely, Hegseth is in cost, and he’s laser-focused on what is de facto vital: ensuring America’s armed forces are clean-shaven.
What? You have been anticipating that his precedence could be, say, overseeing a bombing marketing campaign that’s fairly clearly extrajudicial homicide? Hegseth can multitask!
So, whereas in South Korea, Hegseth has declared that he is not going to be assembly with any troops who should not clean-shaven. The rationale, in true Hegseth vogue, is a mixture of rake-stepping and racism.
The beard factor is a completely unhinged and bigoted obsession for Hegseth. Service members are required to be clean-shaven, however they will receive a shaving waiver and keep a beard if they’ve a medical necessity or a spiritual exemption. Nevertheless, since Hegseth’s eyes can’t abide the sight of a beard, he’s eradicated everlasting shaving waivers.
Think about being within the army, having spent your complete life ascending the ranks, doing the appropriate factor, gaining the respect of your troops, and having a former Fox Information host yell at you, “No extra beardos. The period of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is completed.”
Wait, there’s extra: “We don’t have a army filled with Nordic pagans. No extra beards, lengthy hair, superficial particular person expression. We’re going to chop our hair, shave our beards, and cling to requirements. If you’d like a beard, you possibly can be part of particular forces. If not, then shave.”
Do you hear your self, man?
Associated | Hegseth’s racism is hidden in plain sight
This fixation would possibly seem to be only a bizarre idiosyncratic factor for Hegseth, one thing on which he locations outsized significance however doesn’t actually matter to others. Whereas it’s undoubtedly a bizarre fixation, what underlies it’s Hegseth’s fixed obsession with stripping the army of everybody besides white males.
Most troopers who want a shaving waiver for medical necessity are Black, as a result of Black males get pseudofolliculitis barbae, the place curly hair grows again into the pores and skin and causes painful bumps and scarring. The one actual remedy for it isn’t to shave intently. About 3% of white males have the situation, however for Black males it’s wherever from 45-80%.
So, Hegseth’s “no beardos” rule goes to disproportionately have an effect on Black males, which is exactly what Hegseth desires. Now, anybody who requires a shaving waiver for longer than a 12 months will probably be involuntarily separated from the army.
However wait! Hegseth’s beard ban is a bigotry two-for-one. How environment friendly!
The religions that require males to keep up beards are, properly, let’s simply say they’re in all probability not religions Hegseth thinks ought to exist. Each Islam and Sikhism require beards, so this coverage might also have the impact of forcing these troops to decide on between their religion and their jobs. Actual good non secular freedom you bought there.
Regardless that the no beardos requirement doesn’t kick in till the tip of the 12 months, apparently the troopers in South Korea ought to have learn Hegseth’s thoughts and began scraping their faces clear in anticipation of his arrival. Those that didn’t have been disadvantaged of the honour of assembly with the protection secretary.
Nicely, come to consider it, that’s in all probability higher than getting to fulfill with this explicit protection secretary. Hegseth is an illiberal toddler in means over his head, clinging to any means he can exert his authority in probably the most racist, pathetic means doable.
