This weekend at the annual Army-Navy game, a group of cadets came under fire for throwing up a possible white supremacist sign on live TV. If you weren’t aware, the “OK sign” has been co-opted by the coalition of the unseasoned because if there is anything white supremacists are known for, it’s their bracing originality.
Both the Army and Navy have announcing internal investigations into the students and the nature of the hand gestures, CNN reports. “The United States Military Academy is fully committed to developing leaders of character who embody the Army Values,” said Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams in a statement, the news network noted. “I have appointed an Investigation Officer...to conduct an administrative investigation into the facts, circumstance and intent of the Cadets in question.” Williams is the superintendent of the Military Academy and it should be noted he is the first black man to hold that position.
Reactions online have been mixed. Some, like CNN commentator James Gagliano, believe that a sign advocating for white supremacy is the equivalent of a picture of black service women throwing up the black power sign and that they just should get a slap on the wrist.
Others have tried to play it off as though they were playing the circle game.
Sure, Jan.
White supremacy in the armed forces has been an ongoing problem. Earlier this year, an active duty lieutenant in the Coast Guard who identified as a white nationalist was thwarted from launching a domestic terror attack that was meant to “establish a white homeland.” A survey conducted this year by Military Times showed that 22 percent of enlisted members have seen signs of white nationalism in the armed forces and half of non-white service members have experienced encounters with racism and those who hold racist ideologies.