Let's explode this crazy (yet useful for some) myth of the pure warrior. Too often miscreants or loony patriots have enlisted in the military (and more than a few of these folks become cops, so there's the compounded worry lol). In our Red State stimulus package of the last 20 years, the military's been the employer of last resort; as for warrior thing, how many actually do "fight," even from a distance, pressing buttons? So it's no shock that there're problems to which we'd love to remain deaf and blind. Columbia U. Journalism Prof Helen Benedict has flipped on the light and shouted. From Reuters: "Female U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have more to fear than roadside bombs or enemy ambushes. They also are at risk of being raped or sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers. “The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq,” a book based on 40 in-depth interviews, recounts the stories of female veterans who served in combat zones and tells of rape, sexual assault and harassment by male counterparts.Some were warned by officers not to go to the latrine by themselves. One began carrying a knife in case she was attacked by comrades. Others said they felt discouraged to report assaults." And that's just overseas in combat areas. Buy it here.
Next story: Jamie Foxx has apologized to for his comments on satellite radio aimed at poor little Miley Cyrus. "Gummy bitch?" Ok the girl's got big gums but come on, Jamie. That was the mildest comment. Billy Ray the daddy went off on Jamie, so did others; the story supplanted Somali Pirates, Taliban murdering elopers and Bo the Dog for a hot minute.
And yet--isn't this the same Billy Ray who's pimped his daughter for millions and fame? Isn't this the same Miley who, as a teen, is dating a dude who's in his 20s, who dresses and acts like she's some 20
-something herself? A celeb public figure? Prima Donna, and yes--whore for Disney? (click the word "whore" for my previous post on Hannah Montana from almost one year ago!) Hissy fit thrower at Radiohead? She's fair game, sorry. She's no shy litle child. She's put herself out there. No way this brat should cry foul. Jamie's only crime is being extreme and over the top, being ham-fisted. That's it. Otherwise he's a comedian and this is his thang. Miley's a brand, a product, not a person. That's the world we allow to exist and buy into, so we (and her little child fans, their parents) are just as dumb when we express "outrage." I don't get outraged if someone disparages my brand of milk, or cell phone service. Billy Ray, Disney et al were merely protecting the product. Wake up, people...
14 comments:
Dude, the first time I ever commented on your blog was last year on this very subject, and I agree to an extent as I did last year about the tinge of hypocrisy in Miley Cyrus. But Jamie's a fool.
The rape story is something the Army in particular doesn't want advertised. I could write a treatise on how fucked up the Army is.
And don't get my wife started on the Air Force.
Yeah, I've wondered why Jamie dropped a howitzer round on this mouse. I wonder if he was really that exasperated over yet another celebutard being pimped by everyone including her loving father (I don't call her Kiddie Porntana for nothing.) or was it just a product of 24-7 broadcasting, where you need to fill the time with something, so you end up with an endless parade of blow-ups over non-issues.
Good points, Nat!
Anyone who's been in the service or been married to, or been a chold of, has these stories which cut against the "warrior myth," Nat, but this stuff is out there. I think a less incendiary study would of the sexual harrassment and other "soft" barriers to women, and the lingering social problems of mixing so many people from diverse backgrounds on a foreign soil. The base is not utopia.
No detailed comment on the Foxx incident. White I agree Miley is no tender aged child Jamie went too far.
maybe the AG will get off his white priveledge ass and lay down the law in the military.
Glad you focused on the idea of "brand". It is totally legal to take on a corporation.
You wrote:
I don't get outraged if someone disparages my brand of milk …I do not read yr blog because of yr wacky sense of humor only, but mainly because you respect readers point of view, only mature people do that.
SoCal 82Tiger Says:
Professor - Not to minimize your rant but we are talking about a per capita difference of 1 in 3,000 women raped in the US versus 1 in 2,150 women raped in the US Military.
Yes - No matter when or where women are raped they should all receive the same degree of outrage...
But as a side note, with the exception of rape, the rates of all other violent crime among servicemen and women is historically lower then the rates among the entire US population. The best evidence suggests that as the percentage of women moves beyond its current 1 in 10 ratio towards approaching parity, the statistics on rape decreasing will also improve. Combine an increase in women in the services along with noting that all branches of the US military have since the 1990's also adopted zero tolerance policies towards rape and sexual harassment, it seems very likely that statistics regarding the incidents of rape in the US military are likely to continue to decrease.
Oh I can’t wait for the day when women will find it’s safer to be in the US Military then on Main Street USA. Of course we all know there already places all over this great land where that is already true!
As to your rant about public figures picking on other public figures - There is no news in this news.
What sucks here is that anyone, including people like Mr. Fox, has to feel the need to fall all over his or herself and apologize for speaking their minds. It is troubling that our media works so hard to glamorize underage ladies and young men (whether in advertising or entertainment) and then wants it have it both ways. They present young people as sexy and adult-like objects of affection, and then they become irate when they are called out for their behavior.
It shouldn't matter that the great "artists" like Annie Lebovitz and VF took sexy pixs of an underage tart - They took these pictures and tried to present a teenager as an adult!
"Artistic" shmartistic - Sexy pixs of young women and young men is not in anyone's best interest - Unless of course your trying to break down barriers & taboos. So is that a discussion that we as a society are ready to have???
So, why the double standard? Why does Jamie get a pass because he's a comedian, but Don Imus doesn't because like Jamie, he was on a radio talk show which pushes the envelope?
Good looking out on the tip for the book. I'll definitely have to check it out.
SoCal: I think one of the other commenters hit it on the nose when they stated that the true measure should be in the other "soft" outrages, from sexual harassment to out and out corruption, instead of violent crimes like rape. Far more revealing is how the armed services respond to the violence, be it rape or assault, hate crimes (let's not forget the white power stuff, the attacks on suspected homosexuals & what not), or of locals, whether it's German teens outside of a base or the rape of a girl on Okinawa. You can do the research and come up with your own theory governing the adequacy of the responses. Most have not been good, and indeed when the punishments and investigation have been thorough and severe, it usually fills a PR aim, such as not inflaming the whole island of Okinawa, etc. & etc.
I guess I should muse about military culture regarding Nat Turner's musings, too. There is a marketing gimmick which presupposes cartoonish (one of Nat Turner's favorite words) patriotism. I call it utter immaturity and a dangerous lack of knowledge about not only the real world stateside, but other cultures. I can't speak for the Marines, Navy or Air Force but my own wife had friends who were in the latter till last year and they were not happy.
My younger brother is still an NCO and is back (yet still at Ft. Jackson in Columba SC); I am 41 and a Captain in the Reserves. Imagine being 41 and retired? I remain an attorney however.
My own background revealed, here is the typical U.S. soldier.
1. He's white. 2. Has a high school diploma. Barely. 3. probably played sports in high school. 4. Is staunchly conservative (so he thinks--and that's the very strange thing once you start questioning him and suddenly things change!). 5. Grew up in a rural setting; or where the military was, as Nat Turner teases, is "employer of last resort" and there Nat is being trenchant but he has a point. 6. Has a shiftless and lazy partner who he calls a wife (i.e., Army wife), who sits around the house all day or mills around the PX with her two or three kids. 7. Uses the Army's tuition assistance program to take classes at an online degree/diploma mill.
Ok then SoCal here, as with the conservative part, is where it truly gets weird. This typical kid would be the first to yell President Obama is a socialist, but he's a lifer/careerist in one of the most socialist institutions in America-- the armed forces. Make no mistake about it. The Army is a socialist institution that defends democratic principles. Anyone who has served one day in the Army knows what I am talking about. Second, he (or his dad more likely), is affirmative action, but his high school educated wife will be quick to use "spouse preference" when applying for a government job on post, or versus a college-educated minority civilian female, or he'll be quick to apply for veterans preference when he applis for a government job after his military service. Thirdly, if Barack Obama promised military personnel a 10% raise during his campaign, he would have secretly held his nose and voted for him; many did anyway as the absentee-armed forces votes showed, despite Republican mucking around over early voting statutes, etc. & etc. Fourthly, his spouse is probably on government assistance (i.e, taking a handout), as are some members of his family directly or indirectly through any number of programs, and we cannot exclude state programs. Fifth, and I have seen this countless times stateside, chances are that if he has overextended himself financially, he is receiving foodstamps, while railing against those other people for receiving handouts.
Enough for now.
With respect to Miley Cyrus, SoCal, I am in complete agreement with you. Rippa: I think Jamie gets a pass however because of what he does. He never professed to be a "newstalker" or newsmaker or commentator. Imus took that mantle and his networks passed him off as such despite his having no qualifications. This is why you see conservatives attempting to retrench and cast people like Glenn Beck or Ann Coulter as "entertainers," with Beck announcing a comedy tour. The strategy is that if they can pick and choose when they are pundit and when they are a stand up comic, they can say even more outrageous, nasty things.
In reference to the Don Imus & Jamie Foxx comparison,I believe there is a distinct difference. The young women of Rutgers did not put themselves out as an entertainer. They are young women trying to get a college education & play basketball. Miley Cyrus has put herself out there in the public eye so she is fair game. Her father has pimped her out so that is the price of "fame". You are fair game. She is 16 & dating a 20 y/o so please on perception alone she is no angel. I read an article in this month's Glamour & her pimp father is the one who brought the 20 y/o to her & introduced them. WTF?? Yeah, she's fair game & the Rutgers basketball team is not. Do you think if Jaime Foxx had attacked raven Symone or Keke Palmer that the white media would have cared? Sorry but I don't buy the Foxx & Imus comparison. However, I am still offneded by the black "men" such as D.L Hughley agreeing with Imus. What kind of black man are you? D.L has black daughters, a black wife, and a black mother.Now he should have been treated JUST LIKE I us, IMO.
BTW I love the blog!!
Sorry for the typos. I meant that Hughley should have been treated like Imus.
Craig,
When women didn't go the combat and were mostly stationed in the US, they were raped and while I was in the service 4 decades ago 2 were found dead under barracks within a 18 month period. So I'd say this is not an issue peculiar to Iraq. It is the peculiar institutional sexism which is a remnant of the Roman Army.
Jamie Foxx is a vile pig, a racist and at the very least a verbal abuser of children. I will never spend another cent on anything he is even slightly associated. Mr Foxx should pick himself a nice rock and hide under it.
Miley is a little girl you hatefull asshole. It's people like you, that make black people easy to hate.
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