Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth is in South Korea this week as a result of if there’s anybody who has spectacularly failed upward, it’s Hegseth. You realize, a bitter center supervisor fixated on grievances who satisfied himself that if solely he have been in cost, issues could be good.
Properly, Hegseth is in cost, and he’s laser-focused on what is de facto essential: ensuring America’s armed forces are clean-shaven.
What? You have been anticipating that his precedence could be, say, overseeing a bombing marketing campaign that’s fairly clearly extrajudicial homicide? Hegseth can multitask!
“Beardos and fatsos” by Clay Jones
So, whereas in South Korea, Hegseth has declared that he won’t be assembly with any troops who should not clean-shaven. The explanation, in true Hegseth trend, is a mix of rake-stepping and racism.
The beard factor is a completely unhinged and bigoted obsession for Hegseth. Service members are required to be clean-shaven, however they’ll get hold of a shaving waiver and preserve a beard if they’ve a medical necessity or a non secular exemption. Nonetheless, since Hegseth’s eyes can’t abide the sight of a beard, he’s eradicated everlasting shaving waivers.
Wait, there’s extra: “We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans. No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression. We’re going to cut our hair, shave our beards, and adhere to standards. If you want a beard, you can join special forces. If not, then shave.”
Do you hear your self, man?
Associated | Hegseth’s racism is hidden in plain sight
This fixation would possibly appear to be only a bizarre idiosyncratic factor for Hegseth, one thing on which he locations outsized significance however doesn’t actually matter to others. Whereas it’s undoubtedly a bizarre fixation, what underlies it’s Hegseth’s fixed obsession with stripping the navy of everybody besides white males.
Most troopers who want a shaving waiver for medical necessity are Black, as a result of Black males get pseudofolliculitis barbae, the place curly hair grows again into the pores and skin and causes painful bumps and scarring. The one actual remedy for it’s not to shave intently. About 3% of white males have the situation, however for Black males it’s wherever from 45-80%.
So, Hegseth’s “no beardos” rule goes to disproportionately have an effect on Black males, which is exactly what Hegseth needs. Now, anybody who requires a shaving waiver for longer than a 12 months might be involuntarily separated from the navy.
However wait! Hegseth’s beard ban is a bigotry two-for-one. How environment friendly!
The religions that require males to keep up beards are, effectively, let’s simply say they’re most likely not religions Hegseth thinks ought to exist. Each Islam and Sikhism require beards, so this coverage might also have the impact of forcing these troops to decide on between their religion and their jobs. Actual good spiritual freedom you bought there.
Regardless that the no beardos requirement doesn’t kick in till the tip of the 12 months, apparently the troopers in South Korea ought to have learn Hegseth’s thoughts and began scraping their faces clear in anticipation of his arrival. Those that didn’t have been disadvantaged of the dignity of assembly with the protection secretary.
Properly, come to think about it, that’s most likely higher than getting to fulfill with this explicit protection secretary. Hegseth is an illiberal toddler in method over his head, clinging to any method he can exert his authority in essentially the most racist, pathetic method potential.
