(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Is Pete Hegseth a DEI hire? [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-12-08 According to the radical right, a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) hire undermines the “qualifications” of merit-based systems in favor of factors like race or gender. Using their definition, it is clear that Pete Hegseth, who Trump nominated for the position of Secretary of the Department of Defense, would be a DEI hire. Now, some—including Hegseth himself—have described the DOD as a “woke” institution. To achieve greater diversity, Hegseth’s well-documented White Supremacist sympathies and outspoken anti-wokeness make him the perfect fit. Since the current Secretary of Defense is an over-qualified Black man, it’s only fair that we give Hegseth, an under-qualified White man, a chance at doing a “black” job. Equity demands this. While the military is technically very sophisticated, it still needs leadership from individuals who possess basic military skills, like axe-throwing. (Never mind the fact that during a 2015 Fox & Friends segment, Hegseth struck a U.S. Army master sergeant in the arm with an axe throw.) Lloyd Austin, the current DOD Secretary, began his tenure at age 67. If we are to take reverse ageism seriously, Hegseth’s age of 44 demonstrates a commitment to inclusion. Unfortunately, a lack of experience has often blocked people from advancement. But keep in mind, Hegseth served in the Army National Guard, with three deployments—Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan—each lasting several months. Because he saw combat for a few months, he’s uniquely qualified to say that women aren’t suited for combat. (It is doubtful that he could pilot a fighter jet like the 200-plus female fighter pilots currently serving. But never mind.) His perspective on women in combat reflects the misogyny his mother has accused him of. But let’s not hold this against him—after all, it just makes him a “man’s man.” Hegseth does have management experience. He was Executive Director of Vets for Freedom from 2006 to 2010, supervising a dozen employees. He ran the organization into the ground, but we know that failure is a great teacher. He later led Concerned Veterans for America as CEO from 2012 to 2016 with a staff of 30 to 40. He didn’t bankrupt the organization thanks to funding from the Koch Brothers, but under his leadership, the organization faced criticism for becoming a blatantly political operation rather than addressing veterans’ issues. The current DOD Secretary served 41 years of full-time service, becoming a four-star general before retirement. In comparison, Hegseth spent 14 years in mostly part-time military service before his “retirement” in 2015. In the spirit of equity, this should not be a barrier. He led a platoon of 20 to 40 soldiers. Surely, managing the DOD’s $830 billion budget and 2.9 million personnel is just a natural progression from there. It would also be grossly unfair to make an issue about Hegseth being forced out of the National Guard Reserves (aka Individual Ready Reserve or IRR) in 2021 because of five tattoos—two Bible verses, Matthew 10:34 and Psalm 144:1, a Jerusalem Cross, Spartan Helmet, and the phrase, “Deus Vult,” which is Latin for “God wills it”—that are associated with the Crusades, White Supremacy, Christian Nationalism, and far-right Christian militancy. Rather than criticizing these, we should see this as free speech, even though the U.S. military does not. Further, if we value inclusion, shouldn’t we make room for Hegseth’s anti-Muslim hatred? With a BA in Political Science from Princeton University and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University, Hegseth is an accomplished academic. As we all know, the elite are often discriminated against. It would be grossly unfair to hold his Ivy League education against him—or the fact that he used the GI Bill to fund his Harvard degree. Since Hegseth’s history of public drunkenness has not persuaded him to join an AA Group, his “promise” to stop drinking when he becomes the DOD Secretary, an intense, high-pressure position, demands an appeal to equity to render his denial as equivalent to joining AA and working on sobriety. Finally, Hegseth is an Evangelical Christian. His membership in this minority group should not be a factor in judging his qualifications. We should respect his faith, even as he advocates for a Christian Nationalist agenda and will work to make America a Christian nation. Isn’t it wonderful that Trump, who disparaged Kamala Harris as a “DEI hire,” has had a change of heart and is seeking to make his own DEI hire through his nomination of Pete Hegseth? Or is Hegseth’s nomination what the radical right means by meeting merit-based qualifications? [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/12/8/2290837/-Is-Pete-Hegseth-a-DEI-hire?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/