Posted on 11/16/2017 4:50:10 AM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
It's hard to exaggerate the praise heaped on Air Force Gen. Jay Silveria after his impassioned speech against racism went viral at the end of September. Silveria, superintendent of the Air Force Academy, spoke after five black cadet candidates at the academy's prep school found racial slurs written on message boards outside their rooms.
"If you can't treat someone from another race or a different color skin with dignity and respect, then you need to get out," an angry Silveria told students. "If you can't treat someone with dignity and respect, then get out." When video of his speech hit the internet -- nearly two million YouTube views -- and then cable TV, and then the old-fashioned press, the applause began. Silveria, some said, was a true American hero.
But in a few of the nation's largest media outlets, the acclaim wasn't just about Silveria. For some, celebrating Silveria was at least as much, if not more, about President Trump than it was about the Air Force general. For them, it was not enough to praise Silveria. One must also to denounce Trump.
The Washington Post published an editorial headlined, "Moral guidance, if not from the president." Silveria's speech was "a welcome reminder of what leadership can look like," the paper wrote, "all the more necessary and welcome because of the absence of leadership at the highest levels of government."
On television, CNN took a leading role in lauding Silveria. Anchor Brooke Baldwin began a segment on the general by saying, "Some say the president's rhetoric is divisive, not that of a commander-in-chief. Others will say that's why they love him. What is true, whether you agree with him or not, he has a tendency to go too far, to divide rather than unite. There's a moment I wanted to share with you today that has so many people saying, 'Those are the words of a leader,' at a time when the divided nation needs them most."
Baldwin played a long clip of Silveria's speech and then introduced a live interview with Silveria himself. She began the interview with, "May I just say bravo ... "
CNN's Don Lemon also reported the Silveria story as a Trump story. "I really hope the president is watching tonight as well as his supporters," Lemon said, adding that Silveria's words "are a stark reminder of everything our president is not saying."
"I think it's just a crying shame we don't have this kind of leadership from the president," added CNN's Van Jones.
Now, as everyone knows, there's an update to the story. The cadet candidate who reported the racial slurs has admitted that he was behind the whole thing. It was all a hoax. The young man, who is black, has left the academy.
Anyone who follows such incidents, certainly anyone in the news business, should have known that there was a substantial chance the Air Force Academy vandalism was a fake. Too many such incidents have turned out to be hoaxes not to raise suspicions about new ones, pending the results of an investigation.
There was the young black man in Kansas who admitted writing racist graffiti on his car. There was the black man in Michigan charged in three racist graffiti incidents at Eastern Michigan University. There was the young Muslim woman in New York who admitted making up a story about being attacked by white Trump supporters. The black Bowling Green State University student who said white Trump supporters threw rocks at her. The University of Louisiana student who said a white man wearing a Trump hat tried to pull off her hijab.
Then there was the wave of stories about threats to Jewish community centers -- stories that received widespread news coverage in the context of the new Trump presidency. Most of the threats were made by a teenager in Israel, with the others made by a former journalist who was somehow trying to get back at a former girlfriend.
None of that means that all hate crimes reports are false. But it does mean people reporting and commenting on them should be cautious until the facts are known.
Gen. Silveria chose not to be cautious.
Now, Silveria has chosen to double down on his message. "Regardless of the circumstances under which those words were written, they were written, and that deserved to be addressed," Silveria said in a statement to the Colorado Springs Gazette. "You can never over-emphasize the need for a culture of dignity and respect -- and those who don't understand those concepts aren't welcome here."
There's also a need for accuracy when the head of the Air Force Academy makes a high-profile statement that reaches millions of Americans.
But it seems unlikely Silveria's jump-the-gun performance will hurt him, certainly not with those who repeatedly brought President Trump into coverage of the phony hate crime. When CNN reported Silveria's response to the hoax revelation, Baldwin was quick to offer support. "Well, he's right," Baldwin said of Silveria. "The words ring true. It's just unfortunate to learn who really (did it)."
The US Military is following the country itself straight down the toilet.
And how many times does this have to happen before some of these EEO/quota-promoted flag officers learn to keep their F’ng mouths shut until they find out the truth. Yeah, I know; it’s about the “narrative”, the story - even if the story isn’t true.
The academies are just liberal arts colleges.
“It’s just unfortunate to learn who really (did it).”
OMG....these Hoaxsters SHOULD be Prosecuted,,,,why aren’t they?
Could someone wake Silveria up and shout in his good ear that it’s time for him to retire. What an idiot.
Well, isn't that just special.
So, if a woman accuses a man of rape, and it turns out she made the whole thing up, then...well, it is all good? Fake but accurate, as CBS would put it?
By this standard, the whole Tawana Brawley incident is a good thing then?
Liberalism is a twisted and evil mindset.
There...fixed it...:)
Why is this fella still in the military?
“The academies are just liberal arts colleges.”
Thankfully, they still have STEM requirements that pretty much eliminate SJW low IQ types, but floaters do get through - as in that West Point grad that should be shot.
But, I must sadly agree with you though.
Sigh. I have people who have asserted that conservatives were crying “Wolf” during the eight years of the Obama presidency, and that no lasting damage was done.
I point to examples such as this officer, because the military is now full of them, I suspect.
Granted, this began under Clinton, this purging of warfighters and people who embraced the historic military creed of God, Country, and Family, and replaced them with social justice warriors whose advancement was (and is) predicated upon turning the military into a jobs program for the advancement of people based on their sex, sexual orientation, or skin color.
The “smart” ones picked right up on the promotion path and took to it with gusto. Got all the “t’s crossed and i’s dotted” with the sexual harassment and racial/gender sensitivity training. Seamanship and warfighting...well, they would eventually get around to that...after their next promotion.
The “dumb” ones saw the writing on the wall and left the military. The best of them.
Dammit all to Hell. The best of them. I cannot even think of it without boiling anger.
I think they actually enjoy all this. They know the initial incident will be all anyone remembers and the de-bunking aftermath will be an ignored footnote. Matthew Shepard, for instance.
They are called “hoaxes”, but that is too mild a word. A hoax is a harmless prank. These deliberate actions were intended to smear an entire race and confirm that whites secretly live by some Jim Crow code. These heinous acts need to be taken far more seriously and referred to as something other than a hoax. They are intended to show a sickness in the white race that doesn’t exist when in reality, they reveal a much deeper pathology that exists within the black race. And according to your standards, Sir, who should no longer be welcome at that institution? I think it’s time for the racist aggressor to go.
“Regardless of the circumstances under which those words were written, they were written, and that deserved to be addressed,” Silveria said in a statement to the Colorado Springs Gazette.
So this man would side with Hitler ‘The Jews did it’ then.
Oh, I agree 100%.
Liberals enjoy this type of thing immensely (the spreading of a false narrative). It is no surprise that, in the same way there is no recorded case of a Republican ever having owned a slave, there is no recorded case of a conservative who idolizes an amoral/immoral POS like Saul Alinsky.
He is an icon of the left, and it is easy to see why.
Watching the Veritas Videos, when liberals think they are with people they can trust, and you hear them brag about the crap they do, and laugh about it, and the rubes on the right who it impacts, you get a full understanding of just who those people are.
They love character assassination with lies. It is sport for them.
That West Point grad (The marxist one) really shook me. I knew things were bad, but had no idea they were THAT bad.
I still can’t get over that. That is disgraceful and disgusting. Sounded like a lot (A LOT) of people knew about this POS, but not a single one stood up to be counted until that one guy who finally did.
That guy should have been kicked out immediately, and if not because of powerful friends or patrons, fragged for the good of the service.
Just disgusting.
Is that a rhetorical question? I think we all know the reason.
Silveria should be retired by noon today.
I agree with your comments 100%.
It seems more often than not it turns out whatever Leftist say over time proves to be absolutely false. I would say 95 out of 100 times the Leftist position is incorrect.
The way this was done. Where all of a sudden across all Social Media platforms and News sources I was seeing this Air Force General at the Air Force Academy lecturing all the Cadets about racism. Remember too this is when the entire NFL was taking a knee was peaking. Anyway, I was thinking this seems too well timed and well orchestrated to be real.
Sure enough my gut instinct was correct. It was a hoax done by a black cadet. Now the General will not apologize to the Cadets for lecturing them on something they did not do. Moreover, the black cadet that did this did not get dismissed from the Academy. I have a theory on why the black cadet that did this, and is not getting kicked out.
It’s because the General initiated it was involved from the start. This was done by the Deep State so it would line up with the NFL protests. This was done by the Deep State to apply additional pressure on President Trump by saying he is dividing everyone because he wants to make America “white” again as Leftist love to say. It is no secret the Deep State along with the Establishment is doing everything they can to remove President Trump. Thus, they had the least suspect, a black cadet do this incident. This is also why the Cadet who did it is not getting kicked out. Because if he was kicked out, then he would rat everyone out.
I do not know every detail, but I would bet as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow that this General had some roll in stirring things up. Perhaps for another star? I can’t prove it, but that’s what my gut tells me.
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