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When Equal Treatment Feels like Discrimination
American Thinker ^ | 4 Oct, 2025 | Todd Gregory, Erik Gregory

Posted on 10/04/2025 5:28:59 AM PDT by MtnClimber

Dr. Thomas Sowell famously and rightly remarked when people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.

The counter-programming from secretary of War Pete Hegseth during his September 30 Quantico speech to top military brass doubtless received a frosty reception from at least some of the high-ranking commissioned officers who had grown accustomed to preferential treatment.

Consider the psychological mindset of a DIE-privileged general, perhaps someone like Hegseth’s predecessor (the race- and climate-obsessed Gen. Lloyd Austin) or Gen. C.Q. Brown, Jr., formerly of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter. Or perhaps a waddling, comically obese officer such as the Sinophilic and melanin-crazed Gen. Mark (white rage) Milley.

Such officers sitting in the audience listening to Hegseth’s scary-sounding speech would feel singled out and offended by Hegseth’s demand for rigorous, uniform, meritocratic standards to be enforced. After all, that’s not how progressives understand the word equity.

The DIE generals and admirals–turned–pronoun police might think (to themselves or zirselves): Hegseth was a mere platoon leader in Iraq, whereas I’m a two-star general who memorized von Clausewitz and studied military theory in the classroom at West Point. I’m credentialed, and I’ve sat in on important meetings with allied generals throughout the world.

I’m far more accomplished than Hegseth, who attained only the rank of major in the military before becoming a right-wing pundit on Fox News. Who is Hegseth to lecture me about military readiness, or whether I need to get on Ozempic and commence daily P.T.? How dare this administration humiliate me, force me to come to Quantico, and listen to this crap?

Apply Sowell’s truism to the recently indicted James Comey, who is accustomed to the preferential treatment afforded him due to his long-established progressive bona fides and well documented hatred of traditionalists

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: leftism

1 posted on 10/04/2025 5:28:59 AM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

I hope the shutdown will provide the opportunity to clean house of deep state operatives, but how do you find them?


2 posted on 10/04/2025 5:29:10 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Related, our Super SECDEF just canned the Navy Chief of Staff.

-

https://nypost.com/2025/10/03/us-news/navy-chief-of-staff-jon-harrison-out-at-pentagon-in-hegseths-latest-shakeup/


3 posted on 10/04/2025 5:41:01 AM PDT by V_TWIN (RIP Charlie Kirk)
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To: MtnClimber

Other than my active duty time, I always wondered if the government job I had with the DOD would end before I retired.

Yes, it did not end, and I retired. But for a significant amount of time, there were reductions in force (RIF) for quite a few people in the DOD.

As I recall there were about 8 years of it under President Clinton.

Overall, considerably more secure than working for someone else, or even owning your own business.

Those who are able to make a living doing something they passionately enjoy doing are fortunate, indeed.


4 posted on 10/04/2025 5:41:18 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: MtnClimber

Correction.....Secretary of War


5 posted on 10/04/2025 5:42:15 AM PDT by V_TWIN (RIP Charlie Kirk)
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To: MtnClimber

Good question. Hopefully, since it is now clear that they are no longer welcome, many lefties will just leave!


6 posted on 10/04/2025 6:00:41 AM PDT by volare737 ( Diversity is something to be overcome, not celebrated. )
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To: MtnClimber
I'm not being funny-

It's always popular and easy to loosen the reigns, but hard to get control again.

Grooming standards, dress, height and weight standards, customs and courtesies, it's lacking from what I see. But I'm just an outsider/old-timer that still has logistical privileges because I got hurt a few times. But talking to old battle buddies, two of them O-6s, it's a systemic problem and in the NG you have near 1/2 the folks that can't even pass the physical fitness test.

Our military has been in a free fall for a long time, what discipline, order, and personal-professional standards are concerned. Trying to reign this insanity back in isn't going to be easy.

Lots of fat kids in uniform. Lots of black guys with beards essentially. Lots of special people that all have their rights and feelings, but don't understand why an army wears a uniform, has formation runs, marches in step, or has drill and ceremony. “Uniform” has more than one meaning and folks don't get that.

How do you tell these kids today: “You're special to your God and parents, but here you're just a cog in the big green-machine’s wheels.”

7 posted on 10/04/2025 6:04:42 AM PDT by Red6
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To: MtnClimber
I hope the shutdown will provide the opportunity to clean house of deep state operatives, but how do you find them?

First, look for Democrat/Communists.

8 posted on 10/04/2025 7:06:39 AM PDT by Thommas (The snout of the camel is already under the tent.)
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To: Red6

If you follow history, you’ll see some similarities in the inter war years of the 20s and 30s. Our readiness really dropped. A lot of out-of-date equipment and officers who were better politicians than warriors. When the war began, we didn’t do well for just that reason. Luckily, we had enough time to build up our industrial production, design better equipment and retrieve our warrior class (Patton, Halsey, Nimtz etal.) from obscurity. Not sure in today’s world we’d have that buffer.


9 posted on 10/04/2025 7:10:55 AM PDT by redangus (With the Left there is no debate, there's just hate.)
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