An old Marine told me that Marines guard Marines from the other side. And when one of their brothers is being threatened, the Devil Dogs (aka Marines) will “go wild on them” for eternity.
Yes, but what about the sisters? Do the Devil Dogs protect them, too? What about the female Marines whose nude photos were posted to a Facebook group where comments ranged from raunchy to suggestions of violence?
Do women Marines count in the Devil Dogs lore?
The questions arise as the Defense Department begins an investigation into recent revelations about the Facebook group, Marines United, which the Associated Press reports comprised active-duty and retired male Marines along with some Navy corpsmen and Royal British Marines.
More than two dozen active-duty women were identified by their rank, full name and location.
The young women who knowingly had their photos taken apparently thought that viewers would be of their own choosing. One can imagine, however, that a libidinous corpsman (pardon the redundancy) who discovers such a picture might be inspired to share it. Isn’t “sharing” the operative terms in today’s narcissistic, show-and-tell-all culture?
The difference and the distinction, however, is that the Marines United boys club basically stole the images and used them without consent. Marines being Marines? Or are they guilty of something more sinister, potentially deserving court martial?
To the civilian mind, the answer is rather simple: The Pentagon, now fully infiltrated and indoctrinated by modern feminists, has decided to put women in combat (thank you, President Obama). Therefore, women must be treated as men.
But what about the vice-versa? Must men be treated as women? That is, should they be trained to be more “sensitive”?
Put another way, how stupid are we?
There’s a reason we say in times of great peril, “Send in the Marines,” and it’s not because of the few brave, committed women among them. But try to find someone in today’s military willing to say so.
Older vets with nothing to lose will sometimes open up. Two of my regular correspondents, “Jack” and “Russ,” both of them Vietnam vets, explained the culture that creates killers and how this environment isn’t conducive to civilian norms.
Jack, who told me the afterlife story, is my brother. Russ is a retired Methodist minister who counsels veterans navigating post-traumatic stress disorder. Neither they nor I intend to justify the Facebook group but, rather, aim to illuminate the mindset that might have led to it and the misunderstandings that create havoc.
“Hollywood makes this s—- up,” says Jack in his best “French.”
“It ain’t Hollywood. It is stinky, bloody, sweat-soaked, soil-your-britches killing and being killed. You push that cr— down so far in your guts that it comes out 50 years after the job is done. That’s PTSD.”
Russ explains the culture in somewhat more polished terms.
“Marines embrace the warrior archetype more than other branches. The shadow of this is patriarchy, misogyny and brutality.”
Still, he’s optimistic, saying that we need to return to “the embodiment of the hero archetype in the medieval knight. Aggressiveness can be coupled with honor, nobility and compassion.”
Maybe so. But knights typically didn’t joust with women, which may be the most salient inference. That said, chivalry has a place here. An apology to the women who exposed themselves to the few, not the proud, would be appropriate — both as gesture and punishment.
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