On Friday, one of the brave men and women whom we honor by standing for the national anthem took the time out of his busy coast-guarding regimen to flash the white power sign on live television.
As Coast Guard Captain John Reed appeared on MSNBC to update viewers on the rescue and relief efforts for Hurricane Florence, NBC reports that a Coast Guard member flashed the white power hand gesture that was originally an alt-right, online troll but has increasingly become a low-key way for white supremacists to silently let people know that they, too, prefer a melanin-less world without seasoning salt.
Video shows the man (who I assume is wearing Reeboks) working diligently in the background during the interview, which took place in Charleston, SC. At one point, the man turns towards the camera, rubs his eyebrow and then ...
Well, you can see for yourself:
The Coast Guard immediately responded by removing the man from the Hurricane Florence response team, according to Coast Guard Lt. J.B. Zorn.
“Whatever that symbol means, it doesn’t reflect the Coast Guard and our core values,” Zorn told NBC. “It won’t be tolerated.”
The Coast Guard would not identify the man or say how he was being disciplined, but I hope this teaches him and other white supremacists a lesson. If you are going to do something as stupid as supporting white supremacy or even making a joke about it, you risk being sent home from working long hours during a natural disaster.
Although some people were disturbed by the gesture, our thoughts and prayers are still with the survivors of the worst hand gesture natural disaster of all time—the Michelle-Barack terrorist fist jab of 2008.
Never forget.