Being Politically Correct is Hard for Home Veterans

I was at a veteran center the other day and a veteran was talking about “haji”.  I began to wonder if the veteran would be considered a racist if he had used the term outside the “safety” of the vet center. Since so many in our society don’t understand that during war we are programmed to use those terms to do our jobs, which undermines the morality we started with, before we went to war, I wanted to discuss this issue here. Every war has its slurs, during Vietnam, one of the terms was “gooks”, and is still used by Vietnam veterans to this day. It happens in every war, it is necessary to mentally survive. Society struggles to understand why veterans bring those terms home with them. The truth is, de-humanizing the enemy is the only way many Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, and Marines can convince themselves it’s acceptable to kill, even during war. Does using these terms make a veteran a racist? That is an interesting question and one that needs to be explored by individuals and society.    

The United States has become so politically correct that comedians can’t even do their shows. It’s understandable that people feel minimized by some of the terms used. But should those who fight in our name be labeled a racist because they did what they had to do to get home?  I can see where the terms are hard for some in society to hear, but the reality is, using these terms are what allowed our veterans to be able to survive their ordeal in a war situation. Should they quit using those derogatory terms for a race of people who tried to kill them? Maybe they should, or should the reason be understood and give them a pass? It’s easier to shoot a “gook” or “haji” than a person. De-humanizing the enemy is important to their survival in theatre.   

There’s no off switch when veterans return home, de-humanizing one’s enemy is the oldest trick in the book and has been used by all governments to create hostility toward the enemy throughout history. Since there are so few veterans in our society, some civilians believe it’s easy to not use these derogatory terms. Psychologically, if it was that easy to de-program yourself once you return home it would have been done. The military doesn’t provide any training on how to de-program veterans when they return to civilian life and that is a problem.

It is difficult to work through the political correctness when trying to integrate back into society. So often veterans struggle because they cannot meet society's requirements. Society has such stringent expectations, and rightly so, about what’s right and wrong to say concerning race, religion, and clothing. If a veteran uses one of these terms it can be labeled hate speech. Is this fair to veterans who have fought for free speech? Our government allowed, even encouraged, these terms to be used in theatre, but veterans can be vilified by society if they use these terms in the wrong place once they return home. There’s no de-humanization switch to turn off.

It is problematic for the military to send military members to war and program them to kill the enemy, then return them to society without taking responsibility for their part of the vet’s struggle to reintegrate.  I have heard multiple times where military veterans have been told their time in war has made them a menace to society. To me this is unconscionable. Civilians need to understand why veterans do what they do and what they had to do. It is not easy putting the genie back in the bottle. I am not suggesting that we give the veteran a pass to be a jerk. There is a price to be paid when we go to war and veterans should not be the only sector of our population who pays.

Should society give these veterans a pass when using racial slurs against someone who looks like their enemy? This is a question we must ask ourselves. For some veterans, the military has made it difficult to be successful in society because of the lack of any de-programing program. Should we blame the veteran or should we put the blame where it belongs, on the military for not de-programming the veterans who are struggling when returning to society. So, the question is, are veteran’s racist for using certain terms they have been programmed by our government to use to survive? That question is up to each individual and society.   

For questions or comments, I can be reached at bo@afterdutyvets.com or visit our website at afterdutyvets.com.