Moral equivalency.
Three quotes and one question.
Quote Number One.
“A recent Pentagon study surveyed 100,000 active-duty service members. It found 26,000 members experienced offenses ranging from sexual harassment to sexual assault. Fewer than 3,400 reported the incidents. These numbers reflect a failure of leadership among the top brass to address an issue that has raised questions about the culture of the U.S. military since the 1991 Tailhook scandal two decades ago. The survey suggests the chain of command is unwilling or unable to address this sensitive issue when more than one-quarter of respondents experienced sexual misconduct, but less than four percent stepped forward to report it. Policymakers can’t afford to allow a culture of sexual misconduct to continue harming our troops and the military’s reputation. Doing so would add up to bigger problems that damage recruitment, retention and readiness.”
Quote Number Two.
“Blowing the whistle on wrongdoing should not result in retaliation and victimization of those who come forward to tell the truth…Victims and witnesses should not have to worry that telling the truth would negatively impact their military careers.”
Quote Number Three.
“Sexual predators who prey on their victims within the service branches of the military must stand down. They disgrace the code of honor upheld by the vast majority of men and women in uniform and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This is a law enforcement issue to help ensure impartial justice.”
All of the above are from a 2013 Q&A with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on the subject of Military Reform.
Question Number One.
Frankly, Senator, it sounds like you have a very strong handle on how hyper-masculine environments and cultures breed assault, and how failures of authority maintain silences in which perpetrators never face accountability.
So I’m compelled to ask: Do you hold the military to a standard you don’t believe should apply to the judiciary, or did you never actually believe the things you were saying about military reform?
Creative Control 