I wear something called a KIA bracelet. In the military, if you lose someone in your unit, it’s what you have to all remember them by. They’re designed to adjust and fit your wrist, but mine slides up and down. They didn’t have someone like me in mind making them. But I wear it for a woman who was my size. Instead of wearing my new bridesmaid dress for her wedding, I ironed my dress blues for her funeral. What hurts is they didn’t have her in mind making our uniform. Women in service are just usually invisible.
So it was no surprise to see Tucker Carlson, who has never served, mock and sneer at women in service on March 9 for wanting gear that fits. My women Marine friends and I had a laugh. Then something we did not expect happened. Military leaders stood up and said that Carlson was ignorant and that they were backing women warriors over him. After years jostling to get them to see us as an asset, not a necessary inconvenience, it felt like they saw us. It felt like they had our backs. It felt good.
But Sen. Ted Cruz made it clear he doesn’t see us or have our backs. After a catastrophic winter storm, his priority was demanding a meeting with Pentagon leaders to find out why they were picking on Carlson and so solidly supporting military women. Of all the causes he could take up, Cruz chose this one.
He felt he deserved to have military leaders explain to him why they had our backs and not Carlson’s, so I feel I deserve to have him explain to me why he has Carlson’s back and not mine. Carlson doesn’t live here, and it’s not Cruz’s job to represent him. But it’s his job to represent me, and right now I have no faith he’s doing so.
Of all the ways Cruz has recently failed to represent Texans, I feel I can’t let this one go. So for a few hours a day almost every day, I’ve been sitting outside Cruz’s house in River Oaks with a signs that reads, “Ted! Talk to me about women in the military.” I contacted the email on his website to explain what I was doing first. His private security came and checked out what I was doing. And I’ve seen Cruz at home now, so I know he’s seen me. But he hasn’t talked to me.
Other people, however, are coming to talk to me. People are driving out of their way to come talk to me. The support is humbling. But there’s also the constables coming by all the time now to make sure our small group isn’t in some violation. But there’s also the folks who keep calling the constables and Houston Police Department to check us out. The officers have been very kind. But the people who keep calling them also make their opinions known in less subtle ways, from rude gestures to a few actual threats.
But they won’t deter me. I’ll be protesting until Cruz wants to set up a time to talk that is convenient for him. All I want is for him to hear me out. All I want is to ask him how he would feel about this if one of his daughters chose to serve. Would he change his mind? Would he feel differently about how the military views women?
We served as photographers in the Marine Corps. But every woman I served with, whatever her job, did it folded into a male standard that didn’t always fit us. Others assumed we were lesser and incompetent at every turn, but we won the respect of the men we served alongside. That’s a journey Cruz and Carlson can never imagine because they never served. That’s their choice and a fair and normal one, but they don’t get to disrespect our contributions and sacrifices.
I’d be happy to help Cruz become a better representative and advocate for veterans and women who wear the uniform. Lots of Texas women feel called to serve and even more are sent here to serve. And we’re failing them. I would like Cruz to just hear me out.
Sims was raised in Kingwood and served in the Marines from 2011 through 2016. She was honorably discharged as a corporal. She works in public relations for oil and gas.
"Opinion" - Google News
April 08, 2021 at 03:04PM
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Opinion: I'm protesting in front of Ted Cruz’s house for women in the military - Houston Chronicle
"Opinion" - Google News
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