22Apr
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, in response to the Washington Post’s reporting on the U.S. Coast Guard’s new policy reclassifying swastikas and nooses from “hate symbols” to “potentially divisive,” Common Defense’s Executive Director Jose Vasquez released the following statement:
“The Coast Guard’s decision to downgrade swastikas and nooses from hate symbols to ‘potentially divisive’ isn’t just simply a policy adjustment. Much like recent shaving waiver policies that affect Black service members, this is another betrayal of service members of color and Jewish background who have chosen to serve our country. These symbols do more than divide, they threaten and reinforce historical trauma.
At a moment when recruitment and retention are already strained, leadership is sending a targeted message that belonging in the military comes with a price — compromise your dignity if you want to serve. Veterans know that unit cohesion doesn’t come from downplaying hate, it comes from making it clear that everyone has a stake in the mission. This policy does the opposite. It weakens our military, and it betrays the principle that service members deserve a workplace free from intimidation and bias.”
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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization (501c4) that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.