The Army’s EO Program Is Anything But
I don’t normally give a disclaimer at the beginning of my posts here, but I will this time and you’ll see why. Heck, the title probably gives it away. I write this independent of my military service. It is my PERSONAL opinion and does not reflect the views of any You Served product or the VAMC. Curious yet?
I grew up in the military. My dad was in the Navy, which means we traveled a lot. I’ve lived in many places including some overseas. The military is probably the most integrated and desegregated segment of society. We allowed “minorities” into the military before it was cool to do so. I say “minorities” with quotation marks because I don’t see people as black, white, brown, Asian, European, African, etc. I don’t believe in the whole hyphenated concept of Americans. It was Theodore Roosevelt who said:
The men who do not become Americans and nothing else are hyphenated Americans; and there ought to be no room for them in this country. The man who calls himself an American citizen and who yet shows by his actions that he is primarily the citizen of a foreign land, plays a thoroughly mischievous part in the life of our body politic. He has no place here; and the sooner he returns to the land to which he feels his real heart-allegiance, the better it will be for every good American.
Even Malcolm X, a man I have little in common with politically, said that “Being here in America doesn’t make you an American. Being born here in America doesn’t make you an American.”
This desire to set ourselves apart and focus on things like race, sex, nationality, etc have so segregated a society who once tried so hard to be all-inclusive and put these trifle things behind us. We say we’re behind all this, but just look at the last election. It was turned into a race vote. If you are a “white” person who didn’t vote for the “black” candidate, you were labeled a racist. But, if you were a “black” person who didn’t vote for the “white” candidate, it was okay. Why is that? Well, according to the Army’s Equal Opportunity Program it’s because “minorities” are incapable of being racist. The Commander’s EO Handbook directly states the following:
Racism is any attitude or action by an individual, group or institution to subordinate another person or group because of skin color. Even though race and color are two different kinds of human characteristics, it is the visibility of skin color, along with other physical traits associated with a particular group, which marks them as a target by members of the dominant group. During the history of America this has been true for Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, and other minority groups” (Emphasis added)
Notice that it doesn’t mention that ALL members of society use skin color as a target, but merely members of the “dominant group”. What is the “dominant group” in the Army. If you believe in categorizing people by skin color, then it would be the “white people” – the “caucasians”. Interestingly, I’ve gotten into a lot of trouble in the past because I refuse to check any box when it comes to “race”. I simply refuse to classify myself by skin color. I tell whomever is requesting the form to fill it out themselves if they want to segregate me. I’ve had a few “talking to” moments from supervisors, but I stick to my guns.
A few years ago when I was stationed with the Third Infantry Division (Mechanized) I was selected to be an Equal Opportunity Representative for my Company and was sent to attend the Equal Opportunity Representative Course (EORC). The proponent for this course is the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (yes, there is an institute for this stuff) based in Florida. The most glaring thing that I took out of this week long training was the fact that every single example of racist activities involved the majority (”white people”) being racist towards “minorities”, typically “black people”.
In one of the training publications we read on the topic of racism, the following passage is included:
Despite the overt and subtle disparate treatment in the military ranks, racial minorities continue to be dedicated personnel who took the oath of service to their country and deserve to be treated like any other member with the same opportunity to succeed and receive recognition for outstanding performance.
I couldn’t find a document anywhere stating that “racial majorities” also are dedicated personnel, despite “overt and subtle disparate treatment”. Is there a such thing as “minorities” being racist against “majorities”? I thought so, until I read this little gem from the EORC:
A person’s prejudicial belief and discriminatory behavior against certain groups because of their race or skin color. Personal or individual racism is motivated by a belief or assumption of superiority or inferiority based on skin color or some other physical trait associated with race. Generally, minorities, who lack power and institutional support, cannot practice racism… (Emphasis added)
So, since “minorities” are incapable of being racist, it is implied that “minorities” are free to treat the “majority” however they see fit. I don’t know about other “white people” in the military, but I know that I have been treated differently a few times for being a “white person”. Of course, I don’t let it get to me. It’s all nonsense if you ask me. If someone doesn’t like me for my skin color, I have no use for them.
Yet, nowhere in training scenarios and literature does the Army use example of racism that include the “white person” or other majority as the victim. According to some Equal Opportunity Advisors (EOA) this is because “minorities” (we were speaking about “blacks” in this context) “do not have it in their nature to be racist.” This is a flawed ideology, but one fostered by the Army and probably the DOD as a whole. In fact, some have refused to accept EO complaints from “white people” that were directed against “black people”. It should be noted, while we’re sitting here classifying people, that the majority of EORs and EOAs would be classified as “minorities”. When I attended the course, I was one of two or three “white people” in a class of 20.
AR 600-20, Army Command Policy, states that “[The Army’s Equal Opportunity Program] formulates, directs, and sustains a comprehensive effort to maximize human potential and to ensure fair treatment for all persons based solely on merit, fitness, and capability in support of readiness…” (Emphasis added). But, that seems to directly contradict what is being instructed through the EORC that “minorities…cannot practice racism.” If minorities are incapable of racism, who’s human potential is being maximized?
Further proof that “white people” are not a protected people is in the recognition celebrations throughout the year. We celebrate “Black History Month”, “Hispanic History Month”, “Native American History”, “Women’s History Month” etc. Yet, there is no “White History Month”. The mere question as it relates to the reasoning behind this is answered with charges of racism.
To sum all this up, it seems to me that the Army Equal Opportunity program is really an “UnEqual Opportunity Program” that punishes and ignores anyone not classified as a “minority”, reducing them to a second class of citizen in which the rules are different. I’ve heard stories where commanders directly told their Soldiers that if they pursued the line of questioning that I am highlighting here that it would be a career ender.
The Commander’s EO Handbook defines an extremist organization or group as one that, “…advocate racial, gender, or ethnic hatred or intolerance; advocate, create, or engage in illegal discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin…” Would this, then, not classify the Army’s EO program as an “extremist organization”? Surely a program that protects one class of people based on race while vilifying and discriminating against another with the notion that racism doesn’t occur against them.
I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter as I’m contemplating a formal Department of the Army IG complaint against the program. Before you do so, however, check out this article from Bob Park’s website, Black and Right. It’s not just “white people” that feel this way.
MissBirdlegs in AL
January 11th, 2009 at 9:22 pmThis ‘PC-ness’ is creeping into every part of our society and helping to ruin our country. It’s totally ridiculous and laughable to anyone who thinks about it clearly, but everybody, including the military, has fallen right in line with it as if it’s Gospel. I’ve yet to figure out where and when it began, but our children and grandchildren are being brainwashed with it.
I have no idea how it would work in the military, but is there such a thing as a “class action” complaint? I’ll bet you’d find tons of people who would agree with you, but you’d probably all get in big trouble. CDR Salamander gripes about the Navy’s diversity issues all the time. It’s a big problem, but I have no solutions. You have my sympathy, though, for what it’s worth!
Donna
January 11th, 2009 at 9:50 pmCJ,
That is the most ridiculous thing that I ever heard that black people or minorities can’t be racist against white people. I’ve seen many who are, just like I’ve seen many white people who are racist against black people and on and on. People are just people and we are all human and have our faults. Not to say that excuses anyone for being racist, its just wrong! That policy should change or else people will think they can do anything and get by with it.
wordsmith
January 12th, 2009 at 12:32 amCJ,
I have long deplored the “hyphenated” American obsession. I identify more with “conservative-American” or “Republican-American” than I do with “Asian-American” or “Thai-adopted-born in Phoenix-American”. I even ridiculed Obama’s official website with all the special interest group categories of hyphenations. But John McCain denied me the “high road” on that one, as his campaign website began sporting the same thing. I don’t mind the “veterans for McCain” or “Mamas for Obama” stuff so much as the ones that focuses on the most superficial of categories: that of race. “Asians and Pacific Islanders for Obama”. “African-Americans for McCain”. It’s ridiculous. I understand that we each take some personal pride in our roots; but I feel like multiculturalism and diversity as it is preached by liberals only succeeds in alienating and segregating by focusing so much on celebrating “all cultures as equal”, and supplanting pride in ethnic roots over pride in what binds us all together: shared values and culture under the banner of the American flag.
Here’s where I’m coming from.
I’m American. That’s it. Or, I can trot out a laundry-list of hyphenations that I fall under that describes me, my ethnicity being the least important and most superficial of traits.
john
January 12th, 2009 at 1:20 amCJ,
I know exactly what you are talking about here. While serving in the Army I was able to see alot of differences in the way people were treated based on their skin color.
For example, I had a black 1SG, who had a bad habit of looking the other way when anything was done by any of the black soldiers, including the NCO’s. The CO was not black but he didn’t have a backbone, and did whatever the 1SG told him to do. One of the biggest things that stick in my mind is we had a couple of soldiers who were caught using drugs. Both were NCO’s, and one was white, one was black. The white NCO was given an Article 15 and busted to E-4. The black NCO was promoted 2 months later. It was not the first time the black NCO was caught using drugs, however it was the first for the white NCO. When I questioned my Chain-of-Command about it, I was told tht there was nothing going on and that the mere fact that I was questioning any of it gave the black NCO cause to bring up an EO complaint against me.
That was just one of many things that happened in my short time with the Army. I found that there isn’t EO fr white soldiers in the Army, but the first time you speak out against alot of the “minorities” you are labeled as racist.
You mentioned the recent elestion. You are totally right. My nephew is 11 years old, and was playing with the neighbor girl. Well, for some reason, they started talking about the elections. Oh, she is black, he is white. He told her that he didn’t know who he liked. Her response when he told her that was that he is a racist. Remember these are 11 years old kids. Well, my nephew went and asked his grandmother what a racist was. When he found out he was shocked, and hurt that his ” friend” would call him something like that. It makes me wonder what her parents are teaching her.
All I know is I am an American, born, brd, and proud. If anyone wants to doubt well, that is their choice. If anyone wants to think I am a racist, again their choice. But I know who I am and what I believe. As long as I teach my kids right from wrong, oh and being racist would be part of the ” wrong”, I will be happy. Maybe we just need to find a way to teach the next generation what really is right and wrong, and that ANYONE can be a racist, not just the white guy.
Gene
January 12th, 2009 at 2:03 amI would like to do a little bit of analyses on some of the statements listed in your post. And just as CJ stated these are my thoughts.
1. “Racism is any attitude or action by an individual, group or institution to subordinate another person or group because of skin color. Even though race and color are two different kinds of human characteristics, it is the visibility of skin color, along with other physical traits associated with a particular group, which marks them as a target by members of the dominant group. During the history of America this has been true for Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, and other minority groups” (Emphasis added)”
A different way to look at this becomes very clear when you review some National Guard and Reservists Units. In certain situations the minorities actually obtain more of a majority or near majority status because of the geographical location they are recruited from and the tendency of those troops to stay in the location over time versus being scattered to the wind as Activity Duty troops are. On some occasions this majority status that is achieved by the minority is used to promote from within the same race or skin color groups. In a sense causing a minority group to subordinate another group of people due to of skin color or race.
2. “Despite the overt and subtle disparate treatment in the military ranks, racial minorities continue to be dedicated personnel who took the oath of service to their country and deserve to be treated like any other member with the same opportunity to succeed and receive recognition for outstanding performance.”
This is a true statement. However very seldom is an organization able to achieve equality of opportunity and equality of outcome. By ensuring that all members of an organization have the same opportunities to succeed you run the risk of causing a visible difference in the outcome of success. Were a minority groups out comes are different than the relative percentages of racial makeup taken from the community that the organization draws from. This type of comparison placed on any organization gives the impression of unfair treatment to the community. This is of course is not logical. Even if you took a sample of 1000 people from the same race or skin color but from different backgrounds and gave them all the same opportunities you would have those that choose to take advantage of those opportunities and those that did not, causing some to rise above others. This happens all the time in less racial diverse cultures however it is not as easy to identify due to lack of physical differences. In an attempt to remove this unjust comparison, rules are put in place that ensures the percentages of racial makeup within the organization are equal to the community that the organization draws from. These rules, while they appear just at the time, can only have two outcomes. One, the standards of equality of opportunity is removed to ensure equality of outcome. Normally this happens behind closed doors because the organization does not want the appearance of any lack of equality of opportunity. Two, the organizations removal of equality of opportunity standards and the placement of outcome standards causes the promotion of personnel based off of their skin color or race. Often, this causes candidates that have excelled in a given profession and have shown leadership capabilities to be bypassed due to a lack of minority promotions and an obvious difference of percentages. Long term effect of this is the overall reduction of the organizations capabilities.
3. “A person’s prejudicial belief and discriminatory behavior against certain groups because of their race or skin color. Personal or individual racism is motivated by a belief or assumption of superiority or inferiority based on skin color or some other physical trait associated with race. Generally, minorities, who lack power and institutional support, cannot practice racism… (Emphasis added)
This statement contradicts itself. If the assumption or belief of superiority or inferiority based on skin color or a physical trait associated with race is one of the causes of racism, then what happens when you say that minorities cannot practice racism because of there status. You give the minorities a superior position because they cannot practice racism. However once they have achieved this superior position and become aware of it they will begin to hold it against the majority that they feel still practices racism because they can, due to status. This in turn becomes racism.
raft
January 13th, 2009 at 6:25 pmi don’t disagree, but is it really such a big deal that you need to go file a formal complaint?
seems more like just one of those mildly annoying things you have to live with.