A large group of veterans have written an open letter to Eric Bolling and Greg Gutfeld condemning their sexist jokes about the United Arab Emirates female fighter pilot who took part in our air strikes against ISIS. The vets are not buying Bolling’s apologies and are offering their own to Air Force Major Mariam Al Mansouri.
Our Priscilla has written about the jokes and Bolling’s two apologies.
But yesterday, the day after Bolling’s second apology, the veterans published their open letter in Talking Points Memo. Below is an excerpt:
As it turns out, women have been flying combat aircraft since before either of you were born.
…Thus the skill of women as fighter pilots is well established. And before you jump to the standby excuse that you were “just making a joke” or “having a laugh,” let the men amongst our number preemptively respond: You are not funny. You are not clever. And you are not excused. Perhaps the phrase “boys will be boys”—inevitably uttered wherever misogyny is present—is relevant. Men would never insult and demean a fellow servicemember; boys think saying the word ‘boobs’ is funny.
The less obvious implication of your remarks, however, is that by offending an ally and cheapening her contribution, you are actively hurting the mission. We need to send a clear message that anyone, male or female, who will stand up to ISIS and get the job done is worthy of our respect and gratitude.
We issue an apology on your behalf to Major Al Mansouri knowing that anything your producers force you to say will be contrived and insincere. Major, we’re sincerely sorry for the rudeness; clearly, these boys don’t take your service seriously, but we and the rest of the American public do.
Bravo.
