August 19, 2015

In Fort Benning, US Army Shuts Down Misogynist Trolls


This coming Friday, two female lieutenants will become the first women to graduate from the US Army’s grueling Ranger program—an honor that requires all candidates to complete an intense, 62-day training course at Fort Benning in Georgia.

Training includes running at least five miles several times a week, swimming for miles in a combat uniform, finishing a 15-mile march carrying a 65-pound pack, and doing an astonishing number of push-ups in two minutes. Women had been historically excluded from Ranger school because it was thought they lacked the strength and stamina to complete the program.

Like clockwork, Kristen Griest and Shaye Haver’s history-making achievements have prompted skeptics to question whether their training might have been tweaked to defer to their feminine frailties. Did Griest and Hayer receive favorable treatment? Is the whole thing just some politically correct publicity stunt?

Thankfully, the individual behind the US Army Fort Benning’s Facebook account is proving to be quite the dauntless social media staffer, expertly shutting down the misogynist trolls who have been commenting on the page.

(h/t @nycsouthpaw)

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

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