By Lafe Tolliver, Esq
Guest Column
In case you have not heard or read about it, the Trump administration with its negative affinity for all things that are non-white, has ordered the military services to purge their websites, social postings, archives of any mention or even photographs that show minorities which can be seen as efforts to promote D.E.I.
For the sleepy heads who do not keep up with the news, D.E.I. is the new moniker or hysteria-generated curse word for Affirmative Action.
D.E.I. stands for diversity, equity and inclusion and such concepts cause Trump and Musk to gag at the thought that minorities and women in the military should be shown front and center as a means to promote a military that reflects the general population.
Unless you thoroughly understand that Donald Trump harbors an intense dislike of people of color, you will be left without a baseline to understand why he is seeking a purge of anything that impinges or impacts upon equity and fairness in the armed services.
To show how utterly ridiculous this hairbrained scheme is now cannibalizing its own, the famous pictures of the bomber airplane, the Enola Gay, that dropped the atomic bomb on Japan was slated for removal from the military photos because its last name was, “Gay” and that word triggered the AI to delete it photos as being a violation of Trump’s D.E.I. mandate.
That reckless decision was quickly reversed when it was found out the historical significance of that photo!
It goes to show you that President Musk and his associate Donald Trump are two ninnies who are spooked by anything that could possibly be seen as D.E.I.
Even pictures of the famed Tuskegee Airmen are up for removal from the various government-controlled websites because, after all, we do not want White people to feel offended by any exploits that were not done by their own.
I have seen pictures of Black women in military garb that have been purged because it might trigger some weak-minded viewer to think that Black women are equal in their military uniforms to that of White male soldiers!
Defense Department Secretary Hegseth is all in on this systematic purge of women and people of color being afforded any “special treatment” by the viewing of these armed services historical pictures.
Of course, no one complains when the White soldier is lauded and promoted over minorities who may be more qualified because that is the way things should be and has been and should continue…hegemony by the White male.
Trump & Company want to return to the 30’s and 40’s when it comes to the proper place and role of people of color and women in this society. Their fragile male egos are not equipped to see White Women and Black men being in positions of power and influence.
Will Crispus Attucks, the first person to die in the initial war with the British regarding American independence, be replaced in the military archives because his presence was and is so pronounced that Trump will grandfather D.E.I. back to the colonial wars and excise him out of military lore?
How far can D.E.I. go you say? Well, if Trump gets his pit bull Elon Musk to continue to waive his chain saw, look out for serious cuts in the following services: (1) HUD payments for subsidized housing (ever hear of Section 8
housing?) (2) Pell Grants which funds billions of dollars for college bound students including grants to the HBCU universities and colleges; (3) Medicaid cuts that will affect both urban and rural health care facilities including nursing homes (tell grandma to be ready in a moment’s notice to, “hat up!”); (4) psychological and medical care for veterans including treatment at VA hospitals and clinics; (5) a purging of federal contracts directed to minority contractors to even allow them to stand and compete with their White counterparts.
That is the short list. My advice to anyone that has their ears attuned to the news is that you need to take stock of your assets and liabilities and if at all possible, pay down and off any credit card debt and start a savings account that will last you for six months, if all things go south.
If you are young and need some advice, that is simple: stay in school, learn all you can. Get your degree(s) and spend prudently and be engaged in your community so when the “pain hits the fan” you will not be found gasping for air.
Trump & Company do not mean well for you. If he can stomp on relations with Canada and Mexico for contrived reasons (or for no reasons), you are fair game for his bizzarro thinking.
Being informed is a means of resistance. Don’t get played by thinking that Trump has your interests at heart. Get a plan. Tell your family members and friends to understand the signs of the times.
Stick with a plan until this menacing storm passes over. Don’t get angry… get smart.
Contact Lafe Tolliver at tolliver@juno.com