Thread by @JABell27

@PatDonahoeArmy This misses the mark by a mile. While I know the intent is good—“We have a job to do, let’s shake hands and be shipmates and focus on the mission—“ it’s the wrong message for this season. Genuine, deep, & grievous harm has been done...1/

@PatDonahoeArmy first, of course, to property that belongs to all American people: the Capitol cleanup and repair to the physical structure alone will cost taxpayer $$; the IT scrub that will be needed now will cost even more; & deployment of all those Guard troops won't be cheap... 2/

@PatDonahoeArmy second, symbolically: domestic terrorists attacked a building that is recognized around the world not just as the seat of our government, but as a symbol of what that government aspires to be; the Capitol is an embodiment of our highest national ideals...3/

@PatDonahoeArmy third, to the democratic process itself: they disrupted a solemn ceremony marking the peaceful transition of power, shaking national confidence in the process & in the ideal underlying it: the sanctity of the rule of law, not the rule of monarch or mob...4/

@PatDonahoeArmy and harm to the innocent people who were present—including fatal harm to a Capitol Police officer, and the threat of injury or death to our elected officials & their staffs: e.g., see Rep. Pramila Jayapal's interview w/Rebecca Traister (thecut.com/2021/01/pramil…) 5/

@PatDonahoeArmy Those harms were malicious and intentional. It serves neither the Army nor the nation to look away from those various forms of harm, to erase them prematurely in the name of healing and unity. To look away from those who caused that harm, and who encouraged it even if 6/

@PatDonahoeArmy they didn't participate directly in the seditious attack on the Capitol. To suggest that the ideas those people hold are deserving of respect and attention is to allow for the possibility that the harm done was acceptable or understandable. To minimize the damage & its impact. 7/

@PatDonahoeArmy Sometimes leading isn't about making things better, or somehow okay again (though they were not okay before; we just liked to pretend they were), for the organization & for the people in it. Sometimes leadership means acknowledging a serious problem, 8/

@PatDonahoeArmy investigating the possible contributions to that problem made by the organization and some of the people in it, admitting that the solution will be complicated/difficult/not fully w/in our competence, committing to find a way through that difficult process, 9/

@PatDonahoeArmy and asking everyone in the organization for their help & commitment & patience w/the inevitable mistakes along the way. Only after the truth-telling is complete can the work of repair & healing begin in a meaningful way. 10/

@PatDonahoeArmy My ML#2 is driving across the country to return to school on the other coast rn. Tonight, somewhere in Middle America, he stopped to pick up takeout. He overheard men in the establishment, average joes, talking about wanting to just kill everybody involved w/BLM. 11/

@PatDonahoeArmy How can one listen to ideas like that w/respect? How can a leader ask anyone else, especially soldiers whose lives are threatened by ideas like that, to listen to them w/respect? 12/end