The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has ended its investigation of 16 female African-American cadets. The investigation—launched after a photo appeared of the women in full dress with their fists raised—found that while the photo was inappropriate it was not a political statement, and the women will face no punitive actions.
Even so, the photo pose was "inappropriate," according to the major who conducted the official inquiry.
West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen agreed.
“While the inquiry did not find that these cadets violated a policy or regulation, it did determine that they demonstrated a lapse of awareness in how symbols and gestures can be misinterpreted and cause division,” Caslen wrote in a letter Tuesday to the Corps of Cadets. "The impact of this photo, regardless of its intent, is evident. It is unfortunate that this perception brought attention to our Alma Mater for all the wrong reasons.”
“The impact of this photo, regardless of its intent, is evident …” That’s a wee bit of an understatement. A more appropriate statement would be something along the lines of, “Some white folks have lost their shit over this photo.”
Sue Fulton knew that some white folks would lose their shit over the photo. A 1980 West Point graduate who is the chair of the U.S. Military Academy’s Board of Visitors—and the first female West Point grad ever to hold that position—Fulton told the Army Times that’s why she didn’t publicize it, and instead chose a different one from the photo shoot:
“I would not have re-tweeted the raised-fist photo because I am well aware that our culture views a black fist very differently from a white fist,” she said. “I knew it was their expression of pride and unity, but I am old enough to know that it would be interpreted negatively by many white observers.”
The collective shit-losing was split between those asking if the cadets really were making a political statement of alignment with Black Lives Matter, and those insisting that they were just proud to be graduates.
Big and small media joined in, with the Los Angeles Times going so far as to give a retrospective of sorts on the use of the raised fist in history (Really, L.A. Times? Seriously?), and the Washington Post devoting an editorial to the matter, saying that the cadets should not be punished because they were just so happy about their accomplishment.
But why the collective shit-losing in the fist place? Why all the fuss and hullabaloo over a mere photo? Well … during the era of enslavement and immediately thereafter, “slave codes” and “Black Codes” were put in place to control African Americans—control their movement, their labor power, and most importantly, their psyche. Reading historical accounts sheds light on the need for that: The white population had an almost numbing fear of bloody insurrection and wholesale slaughter by black people. That fear remains a reality to this day. It explains the near universal response to black protest of any type against systemic inequities in this country. Think Ferguson, Missouri, after the murder of Mike Brown—but before the QuikTrip was burned down. It also explains the rationale behind the reaction of many white folks (including Allen West) to the cadets’ photo.
The spectre of black fists raised stokes white people’s deep-seated fears of a type of psychological black insurrection that could lead to a physical one in the streets. It signals for many whites (including Allen West) a frame of reference other than that which is acceptable and agreed upon. And since thought is supposed to precede action, it triggers in many whites (and Allen West) the thought of something other than blind acceptance and allegiance to America’s status quo.
It’s the reason for the Army’s corrective for the cadets:
“Prior to their graduation, all 16 cadets will receive additional instruction from the academy's Commandant, Caslen said.”
The New York Times’ piece on the cadets quotes John Burk, a former Army drill sergeant and blogger who declared that the women had identified themselves with Black Lives Matter, “ … a group that has been known for inflicting violent protest throughout various parts of the United States, calling for the deaths of police officers, and even going so far as to call for the deaths of white Americans.” Shame, shame, shame on the New York Times for giving pride of place to Burk’s lies. Such lies have been written about before here at Daily Kos. They will continue to be exposed as such and written about.
Black Lives Matter is the latest iteration of white folks’ (and Allen West’s) fears of Black Insurrection. But the hatred of Black Lives Matter is also due to another reason. If nothing else, Black Lives Matter—the movement, the organization, the people—has exposed the biggest lie of all: It has pulled the curtain back on the lie that the United States is a post-racial nation.
‘Cause it ain’t.