A new diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) newsletter circulated within the US intelligence community has warned agents against using certain terms, fearing they could be “racist.”
The document also provides the account of one agent who claims his crossdressing fetish helps make him a better spy.
Context: According to one article in The Dive newsletter, phrases like “Blacklisted” could be interpreted as racist to some, while other terms, like “cakewalk,” and “grandfathered,” may not be acceptable due to their apparent link to US slavery.
- The term “sanity check” is also discouraged because it could be construed as an attack on people with mental illness or other disabilities.
Digging Deeper: Another article found within the latest issue comes from an agent with a crossdressing fetish. In it, the unidentified agent claims his “habit” helps him resonate with LGBTQ and female coworkers, while “sharpening” his critical thinking skills.
- “I am an intelligence officer, and I am a man who likes to wear women’s clothes sometimes…I think my experiences as someone who crossdresses have sharpened the skills I use as an intelligence officer, particularly critical thinking and perspective-taking.”
- “It is challenging for some people to understand crossdressing, and non-binary or genderfluid people because gender is a part of overall identity…Many of us think of our identities as fixed, and some find this approach to gender threatening to their own identity.”
The Conversation: Many on social media—especially Republicans—attacked the content of the issue, calling the articles “absurd.”
- “Rather than our primary focus being on protecting the homeland, these absurd attempts to police the language of intelligence assessments to make them politically correct will undoubtedly result in lower quality, imprecise and confusing intelligence reports that leave lawmakers and decision makers less informed and unable to make reasoned judgments.” – Jeremy Hunt, a former Army intel officer
- “Intelligence officers should spend their time finding terrorists, not worrying about whether they will offend them.” – Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton
Why it’s Important: The United States is currently facing an existential legitimacy crisis, which comes in the form of rapidly depleting trust in its many institutions.
- Facing military recruitment shortfalls and a slew of foreign relations blunders, some believe the government’s focus on race and gender identity issues to be misguided.
- In February, the FBI used a stock image of two White women for a PSA on shoplifting, with many on social media pointing out that Black Americans are largely seen as the driving force behind skyrocketing rates of retail theft.