09-02-2020, 02:55 PM
(09-02-2020, 01:40 PM)Dill Wrote: Here is a bit of "data" from the article--72 white 4 stars. No black.
I think the article's "premise" is that there is a diversity problem in the Marine Corps at the 4-star level.
What do you make of these statements from the article:
You think wrong then, as the article is almost entirely about a Colonel who is trying to promote to Brig. General.
Quote:The Marines have the worst diversity representation in their top ranks. In 2013, the branch released a photo of its six four-star generals, all gathered in desert camouflage at the commandant’s home at the Marine Barracks in Washington: John F. Kelly, Jim Mattis, Joseph F. Dunford Jr., James F. Amos, John R. Allen and John M. Paxton. The men are smiling as they hold their white Marine Corps coffee mugs.
All six have garnered respect across the political spectrum. But to Black Marines, the photo evokes a place where they do not belong.
“Look, I’m a dedicated Marine,” said Mr. Whitfield, the former gunnery sergeant. “But that photo makes me feel like they’re saying, ‘None of you all are good enough to get to the high levels of authority or leadership.’ And I’m ashamed.”
Senior Marine leaders, when questioned about diversity in the officer corps, say they know they have a problem.
“The Marine Corps actually has given this a great deal of thought because we have struggled” with the issue of diversity, said Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., one of three four-star Marine generals serving today. But in explaining the absence of anyone but white men in the top positions, Marine officials often first cite the small number of African-American Marines who go into combat arms, the area from which all but one four-star general have risen.
Is this a false report--Senior Marine leaders DO NOT say they have a diversity problem? If they do admit this, then what counts as "hard evidence" for them? Or you, if you don't agree with them? Would "Senior Marine Leaders" consider an article describing this problem they admit to "race baiting"? If they are genuinely concerned about the problem, and don't want it swept under the rug, why wouldn't they find the article helpful?
Probably because the article is not about four star generals?
Quote:Then there is this from the article:
Mr. Kennedy, a Marine combat veteran who is white, echoed that view. “The things not in his record” are what have kept Colonel Henderson from getting that star, he said in an interview. “I think weak souls do not hold up against Tony Henderson. The guy is smart, forceful, not a braggart, but when you are in his presence, he is very confident, and probably withering to certain people, and they feel intimidated.”
That's great. It's also his opinion. It is interesting that what he's saying is holding the gentlemen back, in his opinion, has nothing to do with his ethnicity.
Quote:Black Marines point to what they consider an uneven standard when it comes to promotions for white Marine officers compared with their African-American counterparts.
Brig. Gen. Rick A. Uribe, who is white, is up for promotion in September to major general, despite a rebuke in 2018 for treating his aide like a personal servant while he was deployed in Iraq.
Uhm, everyone comes up for promotion in a set time frame.
Quote:This testimony and this example doesn't seem like negligible support. Is Mr Kennedy misquoted? Does he have an "agenda"? Is Uribe's record is falsified? If not, could it be consistent with a double standard?
Well, since nothing you just posted either, A. says what you claim it says, or B. reinforces in any way the article's premise (that the Colonel in question is being held back due to being a black man), I'd have to generally (no pun intended) answer no.
