Former self-described feminist turned right-wing grifter (video games edition) Ian Miles Cheong is finding his mentions flooded with stories about amazing, courageous, and high competent women in the military after he posted one of those conservative bait opinions. Cheong, who is a Trump fan and was once caught praising Hitler, repeated a crusty old opinion that is very common among conservatives even though some try to hide it because they know it makes them look bad.
“Women should not be allowed in combat roles in the military,” he tweeted. “Unpopular opinion, I know.”
Is the grift money not coming in fast enough these days, Ian?
People with better opinions, or at least some shred of self-respect that keeps them from posting bait for internet attention, of course can’t help but respond. Many did so with stories about women they knew personally in combat roles in the military who were not only better than most of their male colleagues, but were invaluable comrades and in some cases, saved their lives.
“The best helo pilot [I] ever saw in combat was a woman,” wrote one Twitter user.
“We got ambushed in the almond groves and called in the Kiowas. She used all her ammo AMD THEN MADE TWO MORE PASSES SHOOTING HER RIFLE OUT THE SIDE DOOR AS SHE FLEW LOW OVERHEAD.”
Bet Ian’s never done that before.
Even those you might assume would be steeped in toxic masculinity and general sexism shot back at Cheong for this, including a bodybuilder and fitness trainer from Bulgaria.
“Sorry, I’d have to disagree with you,” he said. “During my military service during the war in Yugoslavia, some of my female soldiers did far better job than the males. A female saved my life during that time. So let a person (male or a female) decide for themselves if they want to serve their country or they want to hide in their basement.”
Burn.
Regardless of Cheong’s geriatric opinions, the issue on women in the military, at least in the U.S., has been settled for decades. The Department of Defense has repeatedly asserted that integrating women into military roles, including combat roles, has not had a significant impact on unit cohesion, morale, or general effectiveness.
Any disadvantage women have is nearly always found to be due to sexism, such as physical standards developed only for men, as well as the well-documented, pervasive, and horrifying problem of sexual abuse and assault across military branches.
Of course, conservatives like Cheong are not interested in things like truth or logic, so your time is better spent simply making fun of them until they cry. One of the most common themes in the replies is the whole idea that if Cheong has such strong opinions about how the military should be run, maybe he should join up instead of sitting in his comfy computer chair and tweeting behind a screen.
