Under the baobab: The best and worst of us — and the military — were present at the Capitol riot
“His life was gentle, and the elements mixed so well in him that Nature might stand up and say to all the world, ‘This was a man.’”- Mark Antony, “Julius Caesar.”
So, it might also be said of Brian Sicknick, the heroic Capitol police officer beaten to death by thugs who attacked the “People’s House” on Jan. 6. Brian was honored by the leaders of our government as he lay in state under the rotunda of the building he tried to protect. He was a veteran of the New Jersey Air National Guard. The nation is proud of him and his service. He represents the best of us.
The worst of us was also present at that pathetic attempt at insurrection. Brian was not the only veteran in the house that day. Among the first 150 people arrested, 21, 14% were either current or former members of the U.S. military, more than double the 6% of the adult U.S. population who are either veterans or servicemen and women. Some people carried Confederate battle flags as they bum rushed the sacred halls of Congress. I did not see but would guess swastikas were also in evidence. There have not been such white privileged atrocities in over 200 years. Does an over representation of members of the military in groups like the Proud Boys, QAnon and other racist and fascist groups indicate a problem? Probably not, but the regular military is not the picture-perfect example of an inclusive community. As in the rest of society there are issues. But, issues can and have been worked out.
White nationalism and white supremacy are major concerns for the Pentagon. A recent survey “showed that more than 36% of active-duty troops said they had personally witnessed examples of white nationalism or ideological racism in recent months.” The new chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, warned that the U. S. military has a “white supremacy” problem that needs to be addressed. “Honoring diversity and getting rid of bigotry and being inclusive is a challenge within the military,” he said.
This is not an attack on the character of our service men and women. I am grateful and supportive of those who put their lives on the line for us. But I cannot abide self-ordained privileged yahoos, who break windows, destroy furniture, steal souvenirs, threaten murder and do mayhem, while dragging Confederate flags through our sacred spaces proclaiming their right to make their own government out of the shambles they have created.
I am proud to be a vet. I grew up in a Black working-class urban family. College was not an option. The military was one of my only open avenues. I served in the Navy before the escalation of the war in Vietnam. President John Kennedy was my commander in chief. In boot camp, there were only two Blacks in the company. The rest were Southern white guys who held regressive racist ideas and acted on them. The tension was such that both of us had to be transferred out of the company. We both survived. Today Lt. General Darryl Williams, a Black man, is the Superintendent of West Point United States Military Academy.
My dad was a vet, he did his 20 years and retired. He served on active duty in three wars: WWII, Korea and Vietnam. My father-in-law also served in the same wars and retired. Four of his five sons also served, three of them went to the Military Academy. They would all be ashamed of what happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
These problems are not new. My dad told me that institutional racism caused many WWII G.I.’s to commit themselves to the double V program — victory against fascism abroad and victory against racism at home. President Truman didn’t desegregate the Armed Forces until 1948, a year after Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey broke the color line in major league baseball. Today General Lloyd Austin, a Black man, is the Secretary of Defense.
It is important to remember that Officer Sicknick, a white man and a brother, died defending the most diverse Congress in United States history. Two steps forward, one step back but always toward justice.