Sometimes it’s the little things that show the large picture. One of those, for me, was today when I heard on CBC Radio about Pete Hegseth’s troll of Canadian army cadets. I googled it, and yes, it was as bad as it sounded. Even worse, the more I thought about it.
It came the day after news reports about New Brunswick schools further restricting cell phone usage during the school day. It’s hoped that it will lessen distraction for kids but also decrease the mental heath stresses caused by scrolling and trolling. But who’d ever think some of those nasty trolls might be top officials in a foreign government?
Hon. Pete Hegseth, Troll
This “mean girl” is the Secretary of Defence for the USA. (I know Hegseth calls it the “Department of War” but I choose not to.) As such, he is sixth in line of presidential succession. He is head of the largest military force in the entire world.
And he’s mocking cadets – female cadets. He has a daughter and a stepdaughter as well as several sons. They appear to be old enough to be aware of social media, perhaps on it themselves. Certainly they have appeared on his Instagram account in happy family pictures. How would he feel about them being trolled?
Hegseth’s post shows just how easy it is for social media to hurt someone. An innocent post about cadet camp is twisted into something nasty. Even if it’s not targeting you, it could be someone like you, someone doing the same thing you’re doing or would like to do. But after seeing this?
I didn’t really think there was anything more that Hegseth could do to shock or disgust me. But he did. A grown man picking on kids. He, I suppose, would argue that he is talking about the state of the Canadian military. I guess that’s what the Pentagon deputy press secretary Jacob Bliss was talking about when he said, “The X post speaks for itself.” Huh?
The post really says nothing. Hegseth leaves it to the commenting public to pick up on his implications. So he wouldn’t even need to answer for his nastiness.
The measure of a man
There are a number of famous quotes about what is the measure of a man. “How he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good” is one. Others are “what he does with power,” “what he would do if he knew he would never be caught.” and “not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” I think Pete Hegseth might want to take a long hard look at himself and see if he meets any of these standards.
For me, his post was the kernel that represents the whole. Such petty meanness points out the soul of the man. But not just him, it’s also the whole administration that is willing to back him up no matter what.
Mr. Hegseth, and Mr. Bliss, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.
