Gaetz rips Air Force over 'microaggressions' document warning airmen not to tell someone to 'toughen up'

FIRST ON FOX: GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz is slamming the United States Air Force over an internal memo his office obtained, calling it a "radical document" that warns airmen about using "micro aggressions."

In a 27-page guidebook that originated with the 552nd Air Control Wing in Oklahoma, the Air Force warns airmen not to use "micro aggressions" that could be deemed offensive to others, including using the term "spirit animal" which it says is "a statement of cultural appropriation and erasure of Indigenous/Native culture."

The document also says that "telling someone to 'toughen up'" is a microaggression as it contributes to "potentially harmful standards of masculinity in individual mental and physical identities."

According to the document, airmen should avoid saying they "don’t see color" because that could be seen as offensive and contributes to the "erasure of black, indigenous, and other people of color."

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"Referring to someone as a member of ‘the opposite sex.’ While the DOD may not recognize multiple genders legally, that doesn’t mean military members exist with a wide spectrum of gender identity," the document says, alleging that the term "opposite sex" is "transphobic."

"The phrase, ‘the opposite sex’ implies that only the gender binary exists, and also falsely conflates sex and gender identity."

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The term "that's savage" is also something the document tells airmen to avoid because "using this word in everyday language erases the history of violence done to Indigenous peoples."

The document also urges airmen to think twice before promoting materials and hanging posters that encourage others to stand for the flag, which could qualify as micro-aggression.

"Many everyday microaggressions are veiled under the guise of personal belief systems, but that doesn’t detract from the harm they may do to BIPOC," the guidebook states. "They may not even be verbal. For instance, sometimes squadron members will hang ‘Stand for the flag, kneel for the cross’ posters in their offices. While this may seem like a benign display of Christian and patriotic values, the context of this statement is an expression in opposition to a specific form of anti-racist protest."

"While it is unethical to limit someone’s religious or political ideologies, we must acknowledge that certain expressions are microaggressions and subvert the messages of social rights movements. This poster, for instance, is a direct response to the protest act of kneeling during the national anthem. This may seem like a gray or neutral area, but it’s the oppositional subtext to a pro-Black movement that makes it a racial microaggression."

"Under Kamala Harris, the Air Force tells people ‘that’s savage’ is a microaggression," Gaetz told Fox News Digital about the memo, which also references a book by former Black Panther Angela Davis.

"I’m sorry, but I want a savage military to protect us from China. I will be calling on the Air Force to make clear if they agree with this radical document."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Department of the Air Force spokesperson said the U.S. Air Force "remains laser-focused on warfighting readiness."

"The handbook you reference is not an official Department of the Air Force policy document," the spokesperson added. 

"It was created by a group of individuals at the unit level in July 2021 as a submission for an innovation program and was not selected.  We will always advocate for respecting our fellow Airmen and Guardians, while never forgetting that we exist for one reason—to provide war-winning combat power for America."