Viewpoint Discrimination And Retaliation In The VA

Recently, my colleagues and I have written articles expressing concerns about the imposition of radical political ideology in the Department of Veterans Affairs under the guise of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). 

I have written about some of my concerns and experiences with illiberalism and viewpoint discrimination here. The concerns for this have been going on for the past 2 years with this February 3^rd being the one-year anniversary of official viewpoint discrimination in the VA when the Viewpoint Diversity SharePoint I developed was shut down without justification as noted in the article. 

Due to the continued imposition of the radical political ideology, I wrote an article encouraging the VA to scrap DEI return to neutral principles, and focus on the delivery of optimal health care for Veterans. In that article, I note that the DEI had been hijacked to mean something very different than most of us understand by those words. 

Instead, it is used to coerce conformity of thought or group think principles of socialism (equity of outcome), and discrimination of individuals who have a different perspective than what is pushed in the DEI political ideology. 

My colleagues and I recently wrote about our concerns with the physical safety and emotional wellbeing of female Veterans seeking treatment in the VA. These concerns were not written as an attack on any group but simply cited facts and concerns regarding this very important population. 

I have worked with male and female Veterans who have experienced Military Sexual Trauma among other experiences in my capacity as a PTSD Specialist in the VA. I have had female and male Veterans express discomfort just coming to the VA at all to receive care due to being around others. Now, the official policy of the VA, publicly available, states that female Veterans have no protected spaces. We argued that we thought this is wrong and that female Veterans deserve spaces protected by biological sex. 

The Latest Book from Wrong Speak Publishing, “The Sane Citizens Political Handbook” is Now Available for Purchase at Amazon and Barnes & Noble!!

Fairness cannot come at the expense of fairness to others. 

What was the response to the expression of these concerns? Professional dialogue? Examining the evidence provided? Census of views of Veterans to survey our thoughts regarding this very important topic? 

Of course not. In response, VA leadership has chosen to prove the points I laid out in my article stating that we should jettison the radical ideology. My Brothers and Sisters in Arms have fought and died in conflicts against communism around the world. Now, the same underlying ideology is pushed in the VA behind our backs, and if I, or my colleagues, express concern we are attacked with discrimination and retaliation with a complete lack of due process. 

I have been dealing with this for nearly two years now overall. One of my co-authors was recently removed from clinical duty with no due process and for nothing more than expressing sincerely held beliefs and concerns in good faith. Neither of us has a history of complaints from Veterans we have worked with in any regard to a protected class such as race, sex, gender, or sexual orientation. 

Facts don’t matter when ideology is being prioritized over reality. 

What are we guilty of exactly? We are guilty of rejecting radical political ideology in a federal institution that is supposed to be neutral in the first place. We have advocated for Veterans rather than ideology. For American Values such as the principle that each individual is worthy of being treated with dignity, respect, and fairness. The retaliation and discrimination are not only meant to censor us but also anyone else who may have similar concerns. 

Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott describe this exquisitely in their book, Cancelling of the American Mind. I have personally had many people reach out in support and express similar concerns but fear the same retaliation that I have experienced. 

This radical political ideology has been at the forefront of social discourse as more people are awakened to the radical political ideology of DEI. From discussions on Bill Maher’s show, to Mark Cuban being corrected on DEI related tweets by the EEOC. 

This is not professionalism. Veterans are not political pawns. VA Providers should not be coerced or compelled to adopt, or push, radical political ideology rather than focus on providing the best health care available to those who raise their hand to serve our country. 

Dr. Edward Waldrep is a Veteran of the War in Iraq, Purple Heart recipient, and is currently a clinical psychologist for the Department of Veteran Affairs specializing in PTSD. Views expressed here are those of the author and are not the views of the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Wrong Speak is a free-expression platform that allows varying viewpoints. All views expressed in this article are the author's own.