Even if one considers Ibram X. Kendi's "antiracism" schtick an Orwellian scam, Robin DiAngelo's "white fragility" idiotic, and the whole "diversity, equity, and inclusion" regime toxic, the Trump administration's anti-DEI crusade has beclowned itself.
The most recent farce is unfolding at the Pentagon in response to a memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's office heralding a "digital content refresh." This "refresh" calls for the removal of content from the DoD websites that "promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion."
Thus, the page celebrating the life and heroism of World War II hero Ira Hayes was scrubbed. Hayes, who helped raise the flag at Iwo Jima in one of the most iconic images in American history, wasn't a DEI hire. He was a Pima Indian who enlisted as soon as he was old enough to fight, leaving his Arizona reservation for Marine Corps basic training and his date with destiny.
Hays was a quiet man who didn't speak unless he was spoken to, but he was loyal and unflappable under fire and possessed a keen sense of right and wrong. After the war, he walked and hitchhiked 1,300 miles to the Midwestern farm so he could tell the Gold Star parents who lived there that one of the Marines celebrated for raising the flag on Mount Suribachi was misidentified – and that it was really their son.
Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Hayes descended into alcoholism after the war and died young. He was praised in person by President Dwight Eisenhower and, after his death, celebrated in song by Johnny Cash and on the big screen, first by Tony Curtis and later by Clint Eastwood. Paying homage to his service is not celebrating DEI. It's telling the American story.
I think I found the archived version of the Pentagon's old page. But if you want to know more, here is a webpage from the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville, Arkansas.
I vacillate between thinking the MAGA people running the executive branch really don't know much about this country and assuming that well-intentioned orders by people who dislike DEI excess are being sabotaged by actions like this. In this particular instance, my guess is that we'll find out soon enough: When he served in the United States Army, Pete Hegseth was praised, as was Ira Hayes, for his valor in combat. I assume he'll hear about this from his former comrades in arms.
