"Citing Jesus on the Golden Rule ("do unto others that which you would have done unto yourself") to a room full of generals during a decadent empire's decline does not, in itself, constitute dark comedy. It's that such a fallen, flailing specimen as Pete Brian Hegseth invoking the sacred instruction rivals Stanley Kubrick at his peak. Unlike Ripper, Hegseth never spoke of the purity and essence of our natural fluids, but his speech stank of the same, self-emasculating fear."
"Much of the diatribe centered on the secretary's obsession with restoring what he called a "gender-neutral age-normed male standard." For him, this means no more tolerating the "beardos." That is, the Sikhs, Muslims, or Jews who have been allowed waivers for religious purposes. As well as Black Americans who have been similarly waived due to a medical condition that makes regular shaves unbearable."
Pete Hegseth addressed military leadership with rhetoric likened to Dr. Strangelove and Stanley Kubrick's dark satire. He invoked the Golden Rule while promoting a "gender-neutral age-normed male standard" for grooming. The proposed standard would eliminate waivers allowing beards for religious reasons and medical conditions. The targets named include Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, and Black Americans with shaving-related medical issues. The speech carried a tone of fear and self-emasculation, and the speaker's eclectic background and controversies framed his pronouncements as both theatrical and punitive toward religious and racial accommodations.
Read at The Nation
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