New York Times at it again

#1
Grand Vol

Grand Vol

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#1
Don't know how I missed this...no, I know why. Because the NYT ceased to be a credible news source years ago.

Anyway:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/opinion/veterans-and-white-supremacy.html

The report singled out one factor that has fueled every surge in Ku Klux Klan membership in American history, from the 1860s to the present: war. The return of veterans from combat appears to correlate more closely with Klan membership than any other historical factor.
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Funny how I didn't suddenly feel the urge to don a white sheet after I retired.

Getting some significant backlash:

Veterans slam New York Times piece linking vets to hate groups | Military Times | militarytimes.com

The New York Times op-ed page owes our vets a large and immediate apology

I just couldn't imagine what ever entered her mind to link Veterans and white supremacists in her op-ed title. Other than being an idiot.

Anyone else go out and burn a cross after they returned from a hostile fire zone or retire?
 
#3
#3
What's wrong with these people nowdays? This is disgraceful & shameful for someone to have this printed in a newspaper. There are over 23 million veterans in this country & I'm sure most, if not all, should be outraged at this write up. It's a poorly researched paper. They're talking about this right now on "the Kelly file.
 
#4
#4
W.TN.Orange Blood said:
What's wrong with these people nowdays? This is disgraceful & shameful for someone to have this printed in a newspaper. There are over 23 million veterans in this country & I'm sure most, if not all, should be outraged at this write up. It's a poorly researched paper. They're talking about this right now on "the Kelly file.
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I liked Grimm's quote of "this isn't even good enough to put on the bottom of your birdcage."
 
#5
#5
Pretty stupid thing to say. It really defies common sense to suggest that returning military are prone to join the Klan. I can think of a number of reasons that makes not just no sense, but anti-sense.
 
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#6
#6
lawgator1 said:
Pretty stupid thing to say. It really defies common sense to suggest that returning military are prone to join the Klan. I can think of a number of reasons that makes not just no sense, but anti-sense.
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Did you get hit in the head with a golf ball or club the other day?
 
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#8
#8
Your posts are making more sense today and I've actually agreed with a couple of them.

You sure Ho didn't smack you while you weren't looking?
 
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#15
#15
golfballs said:
You're right. They are clearly implying.
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Right and I'm saying generally correlation is used to imply cassation. And if you can account for all other variables then it can start to be decent proof. But I'd say that's always the problem. And especially would be on this issue since the number of times we've had war, and an end to it, isn't a large enough sample to rule out the other variables, which are large in number.
 
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#16
#16
The biggest principle here is the fact that the military, by and large, is a snapshot of society. Sure I've worked around people that were racist, but in total, the vast majority were good folks and didn't hold those kinds of attitudes.
 
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#17
#17
Grand Vol said:
The biggest principle here is the fact that the military, by and large, is a snapshot of society. Sure I've worked around people that were racist, but in total, the vast majority were good folks and didn't hold those kinds of attitudes.
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I wasn't in the military but have no reason to disagree with that. And in fact would expect in many cases it involves people who might not ordinarily meet many of another race to be plunged into occasions where they do, and therefore end up being a little more open minded about things than they otherwise might be.
 
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#18
#18
lawgator1 said:
I wasn't in the military but have no reason to disagree with that. And in fact would expect in many cases it involves people who might not ordinarily meet many of another race to be plunged into occasions where they do, and therefore end up being a little more open minded about things than they otherwise might be.
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That's a pretty accurate depiction of how it works.
 
#20
#20
lawgator1 said:
I wasn't in the military but have no reason to disagree with that. And in fact would expect in many cases it involves people who might not ordinarily meet many of another race to be plunged into occasions where they do, and therefore end up being a little more open minded about things than they otherwise might be.
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You are pretty much forced into working with others of different backgrounds; race, education, geographic location, etc. During my 8 years I only remember one incident of racism and that was this kid who decided he was Jewish and if you criticized him in anyway it was because he was Jewish, not because he was a dirt bag. The biggest culture shock for me was all the yahoos from NYC without drivers licenses and learning that my parents PA Dutch chicken and waffles was NOT the black version of chicken and waffles.
 
#21
#21
The report singled out one factor that has fueled every surge in Ku Klux Klan membership in American history, from the 1860s to the present: war. The return of veterans from combat appears to correlate more closely with Klan membership than any other historical factor. “Military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists carrying out violent attacks,” the report warned. The agency was “concerned that right-wing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to boost their violent capabilities.”

The report raised intense blowback from the American Legion, Fox News and conservative members of Congress. They demanded an apology and denounced the idea that any veteran could commit an act of domestic terrorism. The department shelved the report, removing it from its website. The threat, however, proved real.

Mr. Miller obviously represents an extreme, both in his politics and in his violence. A vast majority of veterans are neither violent nor mentally ill. When they turn violent, they often harm themselves, by committing suicide. But it would be irresponsible to overlook the high rates of combat trauma among the 2.4 million Americans who have served in our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the full impact of which has not yet materialized. Veterans of those conflicts represent just 10 percent of those getting mental health services through the Department of Veterans Affairs, where the overwhelming majority of those in treatment are still Vietnam veterans.
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I'm not sure I see the problem with what she wrote. If anything, it looks like a call to fund and provide more treatment programs for returning vets.
 
#22
#22
therealUT said:
I'm not sure I see the problem with what she wrote. If anything, it looks like a call to fund and provide more treatment programs for returning vets.
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What racist hate groups do returning Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics join?
 
#25
#25
I think she is actually looking at the statistics backwards. I would be interested in how many of these new members were marginal performers in the military and carry an Other Than Honorable Discharge? How many were only accepted into the service with a waiver due to the demands of the expanding force?

We expanded to meet the demands of 2 major conflicts and a number of smaller commitments. Inevitably standards were relaxed and we took a small percentage of bad apples into the force.

Most of us know those guys with extremist views didn't get along with their peers and often were marginal performers at best. In the old days we would have chaptered them out of the service, but after 9/11 that became difficult. Instead, we kept them in the Rear D or confined to the FOB where they couldn't hurt the mission.

So, had the author been able to look at the type of recruit and their advancement (or lack of advancement) and tied that to the increase in KKK membership, then I think she would have been more accurate.
 
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