What did joining the military do to your ideas of race and racial stereotypes?

1LT Shawn McCarthy — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 17:35:00 -0400

For many service members, the military is the first time they are forced to come out of their comfort zone when it comes to groups outside their race and social strata.
How did joining the military impact your views of other races? How has it impacted your racial identity?

(Be candid, but obviously tact must be employed when discussing these matters.)

Response by 1LT Shawn McCarthy made Jul 6 at 2014 5:38 PM

1LT Shawn McCarthy — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 17:38:39 -0400

Personally, I have several black friends, and virtually every single one of them is someone I served with.
Part of that is from simple exposure; aside from my military experience, most of my hobbies and activities aren't with a particularly diverse crowd.
However, several recent conversations about race with black friends has led me to notice that my black friends who are veterans or service members are much less racially entrenched and much more accepting of white friends.
I have always felt that wearing the uniform forces you to look past race to more important things, but I think that there is a very real difference in how most service members view race.

Response by Col Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 6 at 2014 5:39 PM

Col Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 17:39:01 -0400

Coming from the midwest, which still has racial prejudice, the military helped me become more open minded and less prejudiced.

Response by Col Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 6 at 2014 5:43 PM

Col Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 17:43:06 -0400

Great Question!

Response by COL Randall C. made Jul 6 at 2014 5:59 PM

COL Randall C. — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 17:59:38 -0400

I remember a conversation I had with my Drill Sergeant during basic (this happened after yet another run-in with a black soldier in my platoon)

"Cudworth, where are you from!" - "Pennsylvania Drill Sergeant!"
"Don't have many blacks where you grew up, did you!?" - "No, Drill Sergeant!"
"Are you are a racist!? Is that why you and ____ are at it again!?"

To that last question, my answer was "Drill Sergeant, I don't have a problem with ___ because he is black. I have a problem with him because he is an A$$hole!"

I think they had to reattach my arms after the number of push-ups he dropped me for.

I can honestly say that I've never had an issue with a soldier based on their race. I've had issues with soldiers of other race because of their performance, but not their race.

Thankfully the military is one of the few areas that you're not constantly hearing about race being a problem (it does happen, but all the leaders I've been around have been very intolerant of racism if it appears). Mainly I think it's because there aren't any of the "racial leaders" constantly telling people they are victims because of their race.

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Jul 6 at 2014 6:03 PM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 18:03:40 -0400

It was not hard to adjust to the various races and cultures within the military - my father served 24 years so we grew up in multi-cultural/racial cities and towns. What I did see when I first joined (back in the mid 1980's) and continue to see to this day, is that we allow ourselves (particularly junior Soldiers) to create subsets of our military culture, often divided on the religious, cultural or racial basis within our larger organization. This is typically the truth until we deploy and are in combat operations. It's been my experience that those deployments is where the divides dissolve - that is when our Soldiers really understand that we all bleed and we all get injured.

Again, playing contact sports (wrestling/football) growing up removes a huge barrier when it comes to interacting with all races/religions without prejudice.

Response by CPL Steven Smith made Jul 17 at 2014 12:14 PM

CPL Steven Smith — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 12:14:44 -0400

Whites face discrimination in today's military and expulsion if they use their "Right to Free Speech" for a pro-White cause. Blacks constitute a sizable percentage of the U. S. armed forces, and Affirmative Action programs help promote incompetent Blacks into leadership positions. Many non-White sergeants and officers use their positions to discriminate against White men and women in all branches of the military.

I served with the U.S. Army from 1991 through 1996. During that time I observed enough anti-White bias and racial double standards to write a book on reverse discrimination.

In 1994 I was charged with disobeying a regulation that forbids soldiers from recruiting for "extremist" organizations. The group I belonged to at the time was the National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP).

I was livid! The hypocrisy of the allegation was apparent. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is allowed to recruit members and hold meetings on Army posts. But I was deemed a rule-breaker for recruiting for the NAAWP.

I was able to beat the preposterous charge with help from David Duke. Though I was finally exonerated, my family suffered months of stress stemming from the prejudicial action brought against me.

Also, I was passed over for a promotion because I was "flagged from favorable actions while under investigation." None of this would have happened were I a member of the NAACP instead of the NAAWP.

In 1995 I was stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C. That year three White "skinhead" soldiers were accused of killing two Blacks in nearby Fayetteville, N.C. Reporters from NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX and CNN arrived at Ft. Bragg to cover the story.

For weeks the news featured pernicious reports of White soldiers who were supposedly racists. A few months before this much-publicized "hate crime," three Black soldiers beat a White soldier into a coma outside a Fayetteville restaurant. Where was the press then? The only media exposure was a small article in the local newspaper.

The fallout from the "skinhead" killings was immediate. White soldiers at Ft. Bragg were inspected to see if they had any "racist" tattoos, while Blacks and other non-Whites were excluded from inspection. The Army also held mandatory classes on "extremist" organizations. White groups were the only "racist" groups placed under the microscope. The Army insisted that Whites had a monopoly on "hate."

When American soldiers are inducted, they swear an oath to support and defend America and the U.S. Constitution. But it seems the Constitution no longer applies to racially aware Whites. In fact, soldiers who display any White pride or independent thought, or who question White racial subjugation, are methodically drummed out of today's military.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2014 4:17 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 16:17:56 -0400

For me it completely changed my perception. There is food, music, and other cultural things that before I joined I never would have seen myself participating in.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 21 at 2014 11:18 AM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 11:18:44 -0400

I was, and am anti-racist. I love all people.

Response by SFC Douglas Duckett made May 6 at 2015 9:57 AM

SFC Douglas Duckett — Wed, 06 May 2015 09:57:59 -0400

I dug this string up and though its relevancy has changed slightly given recent issues. I was always taught to respect people for who they are, and not what they are. The military re-enforced the mindset. That does not mean that there were not issues with overt or reverse discrimination (I dated a black woman and married her in the early 80's), but overall, I felt the military made a dedicated effort to make everybody "Green".

I carry that with me today and use the golden rule of "Principle before Personality".

Response by SrA Edward Vong made May 6 at 2015 6:04 PM

SrA Edward Vong — Wed, 06 May 2015 18:04:25 -0400

Nothing, I came from a culturally diverse city, if anything I see new recruits that didn't come from culturally diverse cities so they usually ask interesting questions about me.

Response by SFC Stephen King made May 6 at 2015 6:10 PM

SFC Stephen King — Wed, 06 May 2015 18:10:20 -0400

Given the fact I am a Military Dependant I found transition easy. It confirmed my belief that variety is the spice of life. I have learned to other perspectives when dealing with people and listening more.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made May 6 at 2015 6:18 PM

LTC Bink Romanick — Wed, 06 May 2015 18:18:16 -0400

My first real contact with members of other racial groups was in BCT in '66. The experience broadened my understanding of other people. I met people from other races from other geographic areas, people of other races and people from other countries.

I came from an almost 100% white community in North Jersey and I grew up in the era of Dr King and the civil rights movement. I had no preconceived notions.

Some people in basic I liked, some I didn't but it wasn't due to race, it was due to personality differences.

This will sound silly but I learned to really like Motown.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made May 6 at 2015 6:19 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 06 May 2015 18:19:42 -0400

Before the military I lived in a county that had two black families. I had very limited contact with either and had no feeling that they were different. However, in the summer I spent time in a neighborhood that had a large black presence.

The only incident was when I went to play basketball at a local playground after spending much of the summer in Georgia.

I had a black player want to fight because I was "one of those" I had picked up some of the southern accent.

In the military I roomed with a black who was one of my best friends.

I think I can say I learned but I have never been one to stereotype anyone.

Response by SCPO Lee Pradia made Jun 17 at 2015 7:01 AM

SCPO Lee Pradia — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 07:01:04 -0400

Joining the Navy really exposed me the many races, cultures, and classes of people. I soaked it up like a sponge. Because of the experience, I have friends all over the planet, that is so cool and it's what make our military strong, and it's getting better.

Response by SSG Michael LeGrand made Jul 11 at 2016 9:00 PM

SSG Michael LeGrand — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 21:00:42 -0400

I was born on a military base and was a military brat for the first 12 years of my life so i really didn't have any issues with race and racial stereotypes because i grew up with people from many different backgrounds. Now when i actually joined the military I met several individuals that had rarely seen any individuals of color from where they were from. First day of basic i was in the chow line with this guy that was from Wisconsin and as we were getting our food he looks at me and asks "is that what you guys eat?" ( I'm black). I looked at him like he was crazy but i could tell by the look on his face that he was being sincere in his question. I guess if anything I learned that there are people from different walks of life that don't get to experience diversity like other places.

Response by Col Dona Marie Iversen made Jul 13 at 2016 12:11 AM

Col Dona Marie Iversen — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 00:11:36 -0400

Joining the military did not change my views of race or racial stereotypes at all. Where we grew up in NY the neighbors were primarily by race, nationality, religion. Whites, Italians, Irish, Polish, Blacks from the 'islands', Jewish & Catholics. Not the diversity we have today.

My father would walk us, drive us ,make us take the train or the ferry, to see and meet people from all walks of life. He was one of NY's Finest (PD), he made us to look at the person not their skin color, shape of their eyes or texture of their hair.

He took us to the wealthy neighbors, the slums and the jails (even figured printed us and placed us in a cell). Explained what we had to do or not do to decide our futures...

So joining the military in my 20's I was already introduced and familiar with diversity, my views were there are good and bad of all kind

Response by MSgt Walter Thomason made Jul 16 at 2016 7:34 AM

MSgt Walter Thomason — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 07:34:57 -0400

What I learned is that not only do Whites believe the Black stereotype, so do Blacks. I was once asked why couldn't I be like everyone else. I told him because my name isn't everyone else. I was told I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth because I lived in the suburbs growing up. I started out in the hood but my parents worked hard to get out of it. But on the flip side, I've been called a "Who-ger" and yes, I had to ask. I learned it is because I get along with Whites like I would a Black. Some people are funny, everyone must fit into a certain box and if they don't, then they label you. This dude named Harley really used to crack me up. If you knew him, you'd more than likely label him a bigot straight from Archie Bunker's loins. But, Harley thought I was cool because I drank tea and not a lot of Kool-Aid and didn't eat a lot of chicken. The person that asked me why couldn't I be like everyone else, was in one of the most knowledge, management, and pressure driven skills in the Air Force and his idea after leaving the was to go back to the hood. I could never figure that out. He firmly believed the "man" wouldn't let him get anything outside of the military. Each person is an individual unless they choose not to be. That's my bottom line. Thanks for the Discussion this is interesting to see the different viewpoints.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 26 at 2016 9:53 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 21:53:44 -0400

There is only one race on this planet - the human race.

There was a line out of one of the Tuskegee Airmen movies (with Cuba Gooding Junior). One of the Tuskegee Airman, after finally being let into the (all white) Officers bar said something like, "When you get mad, you turn red. When you get sick you turn green. When you get scared, you turn yellow. And you call us 'colored'?!"

If I could wave my magic wand I would get rid of any memory of "race" as pertains to skin tone. Why don't we celebrate our ONE race? Is it because we are not strong enough to break the mold we were raised in? We all should be allowed to live somewhere where our skin tone is the least common, our height is the least common, our language is the least common. Experience the prejudice from both sides, analyze it, realize it has NO BASIS in reality and chuck it out completely.

Response by CPT Tom Monahan made Sep 23 at 2016 3:26 AM

CPT Tom Monahan — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 03:26:23 -0400

I saw very little racism back in the 80s and 90s. We were taught that we wee all green and our first name was on our collar/shoulder and last name was on our name tag.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 20 at 2020 12:15 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sat, 20 Jun 2020 12:15:47 -0400

It was simple. I told the soldiers and NCOs that we all bleed red. I had no race issues in my commands.

Response by MSgt Robert Kagel made Sep 15 at 2021 3:16 PM

MSgt Robert Kagel — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 15:16:11 -0400

In a nutshell, it turned me into a first contact junkie. I explored the world meeting great folks everywhere I went. I also became aware of the different ways people treated me. It was never bad per se, but there was a difference that I endeavored to change.