OPINION: The media disrespected Gen. Lloyd Austin and the Washington establishment is not come to his defense
GIVING GEN. LLOYD AUSTIN THE RESPECT THAT IS DUE
(TSN): Many media outlets did not refer to Gen. Lloyd Austin's rank in their reports and updates regarding his health status.
Several articles, which omit his title in the headline and sometimes in the body, are an example of a media microaggression, a subtle, often unintentional, form of prejudice that can be insulting. He is a retired 4-star Army General. That is the very top rank he could acquire. It is disrespectful and frankly poor etiquette to refer to a military officer by their name. "General" is his first name in the military. For a Black man from the South to have come up the ranks to lead the Pentagon is an enormous accomplishment that is not suitably recognized. This status should and must be acknowledged in headlines and body text of stories about him.
Furthermore, the press has scrutinized every detail surrounding his hospitalization down to how his security officer requested transport. Their job is to protect Gen. Austin and they likely wanted to avoid a media frenzy. Instead of recognizing they requested discreet ambulance service for what it was, certain news entities have implied they were contributing to withholding information about his health. Furthermore, considering the timing of his cancer diagnosis the complications from the subsequent procedure and an ICU stay, it was highly insensitive to expect a fastidious response.
A history-maker; Austin is the first Black head of the Department of Defense at the U.S. Pentagon.
Gen. Austin deserves to be treated with higher regard as one of the top leaders of the nation and most recognized in the world.
Conservatives and some liberals are attempting to crucify the general because the media dubbed his emergency as a "mystery" or "secret." DOD policies on reporting health conditions depend on whether the issue could be a threat to others. Cancer is not contagious; it is risky and should have been reported as it was. In the short while Gen. Austin has known ab his diagnosis he immediately sought a remedy and was placed in ICU after encountering complications. The Pentagon should be able to produce any documentation that specifies a rule or process Gen. Austin violated.
How could he have anticipated being hospitalized in ICU? It is unnecessary for him to be called to testify about his stay in Congress because he already addressed it. He has done nothing outside of not disclosing the details of his personal illness in a matter that some believe would have been timely.
In my opinion , Kirby and others in his orbit should come to his defense more strongly and put an end to this politically motivated public fleecing. The DOD and White House should address the issue internally as planned and stopped clogging the news with yet another distraction. While leaders are required to share their whereabouts and health status, no one is expected to do so in the midst of a serious illness or while they are lying in a hospital bed. This notion that he went AWOL was already absurdly offensive, then a call for impeachment.
It is disgraceful that this is the treatment one of our top patriots is getting. Important dynamics ab this situation are being ignored, the greatest of which is his health status itself. General Austin was ill to an extent that he was kept in the hospital in an area where he could receive life-saving intervention if necessary.