"Boobs on the ground": lettre ouverte pour dénoncer une blague sexiste sur Fox News

J'écrivais hier au sujet de cette première femme pilote d'un chasseur pour les Émirats Arabes Unis. Elle a mené la charge lors de bombardements dans le cadre des opérations en Syrie pour déloger l'État islamique. Des animateurs de Fox News ont récuré l'expression "No boots on the ground" (pas de troupes au sol) en l'appliquant à l'histoire de cette femme, d'où le titre de billet. Devant l'accumalation de courriels et de plaintes, ils se sont excusés un peu plus tard. je vous présente ici une lettre ouverte de vétérans des forces armées américaines qui participent au Truman National Security Project, un regroupement dont le but est le suivant: "develop and advance strong, smart, and principled solutions to the global challenges Americans now face."

Dear Mr. Bolling and Mr. Gutfeld,

We are veterans of the United States armed forces, and we are writing to inform you that your remarks about United Arab Emirates Air Force Major Mariam Al Mansouri were unwarranted, offensive, and fundamentally opposed to what the military taught us to stand for.

 First, foremost, and most obvious to everyone other than yourselves, your remarks were immensely inappropriate. Your co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle was so right to call attention to an inspiring story of a woman shattering glass ceilings in a society where doing so is immeasurably difficult. We never heard an answer to her question: why did you feel so compelled to “ruin her thing?”

As it turns out, women have been flying combat aircraft since before either of you were born. Over 1,000 Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) flew during World War II. Seeing as U.S. Army Air Forces Commander “Hap” Arnold said “Now in 1944, it is on the record that women can fly as well as men,” we can probably guess he thought their parking was adequate. The WASP legacy reaches into the present day; on 9/11, then Lt. Heather “Lucky” Penney scrambled her F-16. Completely unarmed, she was ready to lay down her own life to prevent further devastating attacks on American soil.

Thus the skill of women as fighter pilots is well established. And before you jump to the standby excuse that you were “just making a joke” or “having a laugh,” let the men amongst our number preemptively respond: You are not funny. You are not clever. And you are not excused. Perhaps the phrase “boys will be boys”—inevitably uttered wherever misogyny is present—is relevant. Men would never insult and demean a fellow servicemember; boys think saying the word ‘boobs’ is funny.

The less obvious implication of your remarks, however, is that by offending an ally and cheapening her contribution, you are actively hurting the mission. We need to send a clear message that anyone, male or female, who will stand up to ISIS and get the job done is worthy of our respect and gratitude.

We issue an apology on your behalf to Major Al Mansouri knowing that anything your producers force you to say will be contrived and insincere. Major, we’re sincerely sorry for the rudeness; clearly, these boys don’t take your service seriously, but we and the rest of the American public do.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/an-open-letter-to-fox-news