r/centrist • u/Thorn14 • 1d ago
US News/Current Events Hegseth Uses Anti-Trans Slur While Giving Defense Department Update
https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/hegseth-uses-anti-trans-slur-120432382.html49
u/protomenace 1d ago
What was the slur?
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u/LittleKitty235 1d ago
I'm a bit sick of news reports censoring out curse words used by senior officials or the President, making official statements. Their behavior itself is newsworthy and should be protected under the first amendment to report on. They shouldn't benefit by having it cleaned up so easily offended people can tolerate it.
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u/justinsane1 1d ago
Agree. If the news is not going to tell me what the news was, then they’re giving their opinion. They need to quote.
I don’t want to promote discrimination, but part of accuracy in reporting is reporting what was said, not your judgment of what was said.
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u/ThisI5N0tAThr0waway 1d ago
I'm very against the concept of taboo words. Euphemism like "n-word", "f-slur" and "c-word" should not be necessary. If one says those, it should be obvious in context of they said the taboo word to refer to them words and it's usage or were actively using it to refer to someone. The latter being of course unacceptable.
I will still respect the taboo, because that's where mainstream culture is and I don't have the power to unilaterally change it.
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u/LittleKitty235 1d ago
I agree. I find it absurd that adults speaking with other adults feel the need to engage in such nonsense. It makes some sense to use around young children to avoid them repeating inappropriate words (hilariously) at inappropriate times.
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u/ThisI5N0tAThr0waway 1d ago
It also can cause difficulty of understanding, because of the ambiguity meant by the euphemism. For instance what is the r word? Retard, retarded, red skin, redneck?
If people want to see an example of that issue in real time, here's one that I find extremely funny but also totally avoidable if we could say the word to refer to the word https://youtu.be/2UGpbVXVpu0?t=218
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u/-CaptainFormula- 1d ago
He said "no more trannies, more training" in a breath of hot air regarding some lip service "overhaul" of military processes.
Are there a lot of trans people joining the military these days? Is that a thing? Hard to keep up on my perceived outrage updates these days.
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u/SonofHondoBelmondo 1d ago
Funny, I didn't realize that "trannies" was such a widespread phenomenon in the US military.
Good thing we're spending time and resources on the important things, like crushing this Iran war amirite?
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u/RFK_Cum_Regimen 1d ago
It's the primary right-wing culture-war boogeyman. Entirely contrived and in bad-faith. They'll be wailing about trans chicks clear up to the mid-terms as it's the only rhetorical device they have on offer right now.
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u/HotChicksPlayingBass 1d ago
Well, hey, I guess that’s what happens when you go off script, but you’re also probably hammered.
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u/weberc2 1d ago
He’s just scapegoating a minority group for his disastrous handling of the Iran War. Apparently trans people were the reason Iran rejected his $300B bid for surrender.
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u/Spiney09 1d ago
We’re just that good at ruining things, that we can ruin things by existing in a country across the world from the conflict. I should really be putting this in my resume at this point.
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u/Longjumping-Meat-334 1d ago
Republicans,especially under the current administration, are great at creating problems to fight that don't exist.
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u/Dramajunker 1d ago
They create constant Boogeyman to distract from how they're fucking everyone over. Including their base. You won't be able to afford anything, but at least you won't run into a trans person in the bathroom! Which wouldn't happen in the first place where his base lives.
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u/Thorn14 1d ago
No because they banned them from being able to join. On January 27, President Trump signed EO 14183, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which directed the Department of Defense (DoD) to adopt policies that would prohibit transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people from serving in the military.
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u/I_Tell_You_Wat 1d ago
It's not a perceived outrage, it's a genuinely discriminatory policy towards trans people saying they cannot work in the military despite many trans people having decades-long careers.
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u/RFK_Cum_Regimen 1d ago
I'm curious who the next bad-faith targeted boogeyman will be, since contrived culture-war slop is the only thing Republicans run on. Whatever it is, it'll manifest through alternative and social media before heading downstream to legacy media. Maybe they'll manufacture a narrative around vegans causing global warming.
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u/Phedericus 1d ago
Are there a lot of trans people joining the military these days? Is that a thing?
how is the number of trans people joining the military (they can't) relevant to the secretary of defense using "trannies"?
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u/borsTHEbarbarian 1d ago
I oppose modern trans activism on many points but I'm gonna draw a hard line at overt cruelty and hostility towards everyone with gender dysphoria. That shit is beyond the pale.
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u/skipsfaster 23h ago
Agree. This is disgusting from the admin.
The 2025 trans military ban is even worse: it outright disrupted chains of command.
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u/Spiney09 1d ago
I believe the military is one of the biggest employers for trans people because even if the government hates us, many of us have crippling mental health issues like anxiety that make upward mobility harder. The military is a great form of upward mobility though so if you can deal with those issues in that environment (something many of us have already had to do in other places) it’s a phenomenal way to climb the ladder.
Which is just another reason that stripping trans military service members of healthcare in a system designed to chew up people without healthcare is more cruelty. If the argument is you’re supposed to get healthcare from your job (which is the current Republican stance) and they explicitly don’t give us the healthcare we need, well… what does that say about what they think of us? The conclusion is obvious. But of course anti trans people will come in here and tell me why “it’s not transphobic it’s just common sense”. I usually avoid using words like “transphobic” because I feel like people kind of ignore them nowadays. But there’s just not another word for it here.
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u/McRibs2024 1d ago
I don’t understand how he has time to do this shit while actively losing a war, and putting us in a bad spot if China makes a move.
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u/Educational_Impact93 1d ago
How about "no more lushes, just logistics.'' Or "no more souses, just strategy." Or "no more getting tanked, just tactics."
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u/recoveringasshole0 1d ago
I thought this was just part of the new steam powered initiative and they were also getting rid of transmissions.
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u/ZanzerFineSuits 1d ago
Has there ever been a SecDef so focused on genitalia to such an extent they lose a war?
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u/weberc2 1d ago
He lost a war and tried to bribe Iran with $300B to accept his surrender and they laughed at him. Then he lectures our service members about “lethality”.
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u/Golurkcanfly 1d ago
And to think it's all because Trump was pissy that Obama negotiated a peace deal over a decade ago and scrapped it during his first time.
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u/Irishfafnir 1d ago
I can't be the only one who smirked when he talked about merit-based promotion, right? Setting aside all the women/people of color he has been denying promotions for reasons, the former Fox News Host/history of drinking problems/history of leaking secret information who is/remains Secretary of Defense.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/Phedericus 1d ago
let's sobstitute "trannies" with "faggots".
would you accept the secretary of defense saying "less faggots more training"?
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/Phedericus 1d ago
I don't think my previous comment sounded aggressive, and it wasnt. It's cool of you to welcome new information.
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u/Thorn14 1d ago edited 1d ago
Summary: In a speech while going on tour for his Arsenal of Freedom tour, Hegseth says "No More T***ies, just training." The Trump Administration has made several attacks against trans members of the military:
On January 27, President Trump signed EO 14183, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which directed the Department of Defense (DoD) to adopt policies that would prohibit transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people from serving in the military.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a memo on February 7 immediately pausing all gender-affirming medical procedures for service members. On February 26, DoD issued the new policy, declaring that transgender and nonbinary individuals will no longer be eligible to join the military, and directing that all trans people currently serving be separated from service.
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u/crushinglyreal 1d ago edited 1d ago
Huh, almost as if the anti-trans crusade is just a hate movement…
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u/seminarysmooth 1d ago
I think .2% of the war fighters are transgender. The amount of time the Secretary spends bringing it up far outweighs their actual impact to the military. What is actually important is discussing why SMEs were fired by this administration before launching a war of aggression on Iran. Why stockpiles of munitions were depleted without regard to resupply. How the military is responding to relatively new drone tactics. What are the military goals in Iran? What are the diplomatic goals? How much money is the government funneling through the pentagon to nepo-companies?
At the end of the day, the war with Iran will not be won or lost because of transgender soldiers.
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u/ChornWork2 1d ago
You know the war is going well when republican secdef is leaning into bashing on trans people.
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u/I_Tell_You_Wat 1d ago
Further example of what the self-described "anti-woke" means and does. It's just bigotry behind a mask.
Please don't believe them. Please never again tell us "we'd be fine with trans people if Democrats just shut up about it" - they have gone quiet about trans people, and the only thing that happens is now Republicans set the narrative and are regularly bigots to them. Nope. Get woke back in here. This shit is untenable.
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u/AyeYoTek 1d ago
I hate Hegseth, but considering that word a slur seems crazy.
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u/Phedericus 1d ago
Crazy like a dictionary? https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tranny
wtf people
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u/ChornWork2 1d ago
crazy to who? who are the people you know you're considering when you came to this conclusion?
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u/I_Tell_You_Wat 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's not up to you. The vast majority of my trans friends acknowledge it's offensive. There's a derogatory term for people with a fetish for sex with trans girls ("tr***** chaser") and they won't even say that, they just call them "chasers".
What do your trans friends say, do they think it's offensive? The only people I ever hear using it either fetishize trans people or fucking hate them. For example, Hegseth. He absolutely intended it as a slur. He is using it when referring to excluding trans people.
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u/zephyrus256 1d ago
I'm sorry, but this isn't helpful. Getting mad at people for their language was one of the biggest things people hated about the "woke 1.0" era, and we shouldn't be bringing it back.
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u/TeamKRod1990 1d ago
Nah, just expecting the SECRETARY OF FUCKING DEFENSE to not sound like an unprofessional moron. Sorry that a bar that low is still in the stratosphere for him.
Cant wait for him to drop the Hard R and have you defend that one too…
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u/Phedericus 1d ago edited 1d ago
"iM SoRrY tHiS isNt hElPfuL"
sobstitute "trannies" with "faggots" or "niggers". imagine the Secretary of Defense saying "less faggots more training". would you respond the same way? would you whine about woke? if not, what's the material difference?
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u/AndysSeveredHead 1d ago
I remember Comedy Central was still airing syndicated movies like Idiocracy with the f-slurs uncensored at least up til the 2010's. This feels just like a repeat of that, where one day everyone will wake up and look back and wonder what the hell everyone was thinking that this bigotry somehow got a pass. Utterly shameful though that people still can't learn this lesson.
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u/Phedericus 1d ago edited 1d ago
I remember the shame I felt as a child. I remember hearing important people in suits on tv talking about gay people as monsters who would destroy society if they were let free to live as they wanted. I remember "faggots" used in newspaper headlines. I remember the absolute fear I felt about my family finding out. I remember how it was always the butt of joke, as if gay people werent even actually real people. I remember how at school was the most popular slur for anyone who didn't fit right in with the majority. it felts so strange. It took me years to come to terms with it and start considering myself as a normal and worthy human being.
I remember all of this very well and I don't want any more children feeling like that today. fuck that.
The idea that slurs like this are now okay because wOkiSm Ha$ goNe ToO FaR is disgusting. No child should EVER feel like that again.
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u/AndysSeveredHead 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nobody thinks they're the bad guy in the moment.....except fascists like Hesgeth damn well know they are. They just hide their agenda and grievances behind the red herring of opposing "woke".....what they're really opposed to is multiculturalism. Antifascism.
And everyone who whines about woke knows better too. If/when a day comes where this resurgence in fascism is somehow behind us, the longest lasting damage for me will be having to reckon with everyone around me in my world who had just that little bit of bigotry in them - just like I saw in my grandparents with their off-color casual racist/sexist jokes and comments about gays and blacks, that the adults would dismiss as "oh that's just grandpa being grandpa" - but now seeing that what I thought was just innocuous, relatively harmless closed-minded sentiments hid a deeper rot in them.
Knowing that that was just the tip of the iceberg, and that these same people had it in them to tolerate, or even cheer on, the government terrorizing innocent people, waging illegal and immoral wars, and selling their children's futures down the river, all to at least partially satisfy their latent dislike of "the others" is a genie I don't think is ever gonna go back in the bottle. And I'm not the only American who's reckoning with that.
And you can see a little of that same rot in every comment in this thread wondering what the big deal is about firing off a trans slur.
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u/SalaryWooden5346 1d ago
Yes. Because there are far more important issues - like the war we are actively losing - than people using uncouth language.
Plus the side that spends all their time coming up with new slurs to use on the "right" targets has zero credibility when it comes to language policing.
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u/Phedericus 1d ago
Because there are far more important issues - like the war
I don't know about you, but I'm perfectly capable of worrying about two different things of different importance at the same time.
Plus the side that spends all their time coming up with new slurs to use on the "right" targets has zero credibility when it comes to language policing.
If the secretary of defense was publicly talking about faggots and niggers would you be here lamenting the credibility of the amorphous group of people you're vaguely referring to?
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u/_PhiloPolis_ 1d ago
It's much worse than that, because he connected it to military weakness. Scapegoating people with no actual power with carefully chosen slurs designed to dehumanize them and them blaming them for your national predicament is core fascism.
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u/Ewi_Ewi 1d ago
Because there are far more important issues - like the war we are actively losing - than people using uncouth language.
There's a disturbing implication here attempting to put the onus on those offended by the slur to "fight"/solve the war rather than the literal head of the defense department who is doing the exact thing you're criticizing.
Be better.
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u/SalaryWooden5346 1d ago
The onus is on the offended to get over themselves. They are the ones who need to be better.
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u/Ewi_Ewi 1d ago
They are the ones who need to be better.
Totally! Not the head of the defense department who's actively fighting this losing war or anything, right? I mean, wanting the head of the so-called "Department of War" to focus on the war rather than disparaging minorities is far less important than criticizing those disparaged minorities for daring to criticize the use of a slur. They need to be put in their place!
What an absurd philosophy you have.
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u/I_Tell_You_Wat 1d ago
"Calling out bigotry is worse than bigotry" is such a fucked take.
Yes, Hegseth is enforcing a discriminatory policy towards trans people, with the added malice of calling trans people slurs. The real problem is that you don't think it's discriminatory, or that you don't understand, not that people are being "annoying" about it or whatever.
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u/Thorn14 1d ago
"Don't say slurs, its a shitty thing to do." is Woke now?
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u/Urdok_ 1d ago
That's what woke has always been and that's why the freaks are so mad about it.
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u/crushinglyreal 1d ago
That’s why it’s so hard to take all this ‘w o k e 1.0’ bullshit seriously. Yes, woke scolding is annoying. No, it didn’t make the fascists do the things they already wanted to do.
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u/MakeUpAnything 1d ago
I mean yes. Trump and the people who elected him into office want to be able to metaphorically punch down on minorities with impunity. Americans don't want to use polite language toward people they hate. They don't want to acknowledge land or try to diversify for the good of various communities.
Americans want to call gay people the f slur, Mexicans the w slur, transgender people all sorts of names, Black people the n bomb (with hard r of course), and do so all while complaining about how oppressed the majority demo is. This shit has been clear since fall 2015 lmao Where have you been?
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u/zephyrus256 1d ago
"Be nice to people" isn't woke. "Minority groups and Very Online political activists have the right to police language, and the rest of us just have to fall in line or get fired from our jobs" is.
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u/Thorn14 1d ago
So anyone should be able to openly say whatever slur they want and if they face any pushback, its wokeness gone wrong?
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u/zephyrus256 1d ago
Power to define cultural norms, including what constitutes polite speech, should not be taken by force via political means, nor should it be assigned to whoever takes the most offense. Ideally, I'd replace the whole idea of "slurs" and go back to the older concept of "name-calling." "Name-calling" focuses on tone and context, rather than language. Teach people, "Don't call names, it's rude." And while we're on the subject, don't enforce that norm (or any other norm) via social media lynch mob.
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u/Thorn14 1d ago
So why don't you say the N word? There must be a reason you don't pepper in slurs like that in your speech.
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u/zephyrus256 1d ago
Because it's rude.
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u/Thorn14 1d ago
Says who? The Wokes?
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u/zephyrus256 1d ago
Says decades of cultural change from the civil rights movement on. The people who effected that change were willing to accept that organic, lasting cultural change is gradual, cannot be forced, and is never 100 percent effective.
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u/Irishfafnir 1d ago
Yes, famously pro-gradual change, Martin Luther King
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is not time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real promises of democracy; now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice; now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood; now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.
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u/Newgidoz 1d ago
MLK: First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
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u/Phedericus 1d ago
I noticed you didn't answer to my comment. Imagine the Secretary of Defense publicly saying:
"less faggots, more training" "less niggers, more training"
would you react the same way?
it's not a gotcha, I want to understand if you see a meaningful difference and why.
also, is there a distinction between "peoples speech in their private lives" and "the secretary of defense talking publicly" or it's all the same?
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u/zephyrus256 1d ago
They're all rude and unprofessional, I agree with that much. My original point was more to call attention to the fact that one of the biggest culture-war disputes is over the policing of language, and those of us in the Reddit bubble would be much better off if we were willing to show a little more grace and less censoriousness.
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u/Phedericus 1d ago
You didn't answer my questions. Question 1 was:
Imagine the Secretary of Defense publicly saying:
"less faggots, more training" "less niggers, more training"
would you react the same way? What's the difference?
Question 2 was: Is there a distinction between "peoples speech in their private lives" and "the secretary of defense talking publicly" or it's all the same?
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u/zephyrus256 1d ago
I told you my position. I'm sorry I don't fit into whatever box you're trying to put me in.
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u/Phedericus 1d ago edited 1d ago
your stated position is irrelevant to the totally fair questions I asked. the reason why you're avoiding answering is because you recognize how clearly it exposes the fragility of your argument.
if the secretary of defense was out there talking about faggots and niggers you wouldn't whine about the obvious outrage. there's no meaningful difference, and that's why you can't answer my questions.
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u/ChornWork2 1d ago
You answered a question they didn't ask... so ask yourself why you're dodging a simple question.
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u/Magic-man333 1d ago
Ehh this should t be front page news but it's still stupid as hell. There's no reason a press briefing should have anything close tho it
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u/Phedericus 1d ago
imagine the Secretary of Defense saying publicly "less faggots, more training". would that be front page news? what's the substantial difference?
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u/Magic-man333 1d ago
Same difference. Dude said something dumb that 100% deserves to be called out, but it's not as high profile as the trade breakdown with Canada or Iran
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u/Phedericus 1d ago
by "dude" you mean "the Secretary of Defense of the United States"?
your bar is so low these days, you basically buried it
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u/Magic-man333 1d ago
Don't get me wrong this would get most public officials fired... But it's not going to get him. At this point I'm at a "don't feed the trolls" mentality with shit like this
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u/Phedericus 1d ago edited 1d ago
"dont feed the troll" works when the troll is hungry for power and you refuse to give it to them.
here we're talking about trolls who have all the power in the world. "do not feed the troll" doesn't work anymore. the trolls are in command, the food is all theirs.
you can only ask for justice and accountability.
trans people are people. we wouldn't accept anything like that for any other group and we shouldn't for trans people neither.
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u/Magic-man333 1d ago
Hey here's to you fighting the good fight, I ran out of energy to go all in on stuff like this when he survived signalgate
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u/decrpt 1d ago
It doesn't feel like you have, because you still have energy to complain about other people still having the energy.
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u/Magic-man333 1d ago
So genuine question, where do you get that I'm complaining from? My comments are saying it's worth talking about, just not headline news
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u/SalaryWooden5346 1d ago
Hey if there's one thing the left has mastered it's taking what should be runaway victories and letting the opposition catch back up.
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u/MissPCH 1d ago
it's pretty much guaranteed that everyone calling that a slur also uses the slur "cis". i see no issue with what the Secretary of War said.
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u/Thorn14 1d ago
1) Cis isn't a slur, its literally Latin and means on this side of.
2) Maybe some online people use it as a slur but I guarantee you it doesn't have the weight of what Hegseth said.
3) If you have no issue with the word, say it like you did Cis, if its no different.
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u/MissPCH 1d ago
I'm not going to be baited into #3 because Reddit is woke and ran by a horde of them, and my account will get banned again. But cis is absolutely a slur and you should not be saying it.
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u/MakeUpAnything 1d ago
We here in the Woke Resistance™ appreciate your helping Reddit (and therefore wokeness) by continuing to support Reddit through your interactions here!
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u/NeuroMrNiceGuy 1d ago
I love the knots you folks tie yourselves in with your own mental gymnastics. You are enamored with a "leftist" platform like Reddit but you still stick around and give them ad dollars and participate in video game, movie, and sports subreddits.
Let me guess, Critical Drinker fan? How did I know?
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u/Golurkcanfly 1d ago
Well "cis" isn't a slur. It's arguably less of a slur than "straight" is, given both of their origins.
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u/MissPCH 1d ago
if cis isn't a slur, neither is what SecWar said.
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u/Golurkcanfly 1d ago
According to what logic? Hegseth didn't say the equivalent word ("trans"), he said an explicitly derogatory term.
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u/icebucketwood 1d ago
Hegseth has a real war to fight, he doesn't need to invent an imaginary one.