美国国家公共电台 NPR--Survey: Surprising to some, veterans are less likely to support extremism

Survey: Surprising to some, veterans are less likely to support extremism

Transcript²

The Pentagon continues to investigate the case of Air National Guardsman Jack³ Teixeira, accused of leaking sensitive intelligence. The military apparently⁴ missed signs that Teixeira was possibly stockpiling guns and preparing for a race war.

Last week Pentagon officials admitted that they only implemented⁵ one of six major recommendations to counter extremism in the ranks. And the recent guilty plea of an active duty Marine⁶ who broke into the capital on Jan. 6, 2021, gives the impression that veterans and some military fill the ranks of extremist groups in America.

But those individual cases give the wrong overall impression, according to a new nationwide survey of veterans by the RAND Corporation, a nonpartisan think tank.

"We found that support for extremist groups and also extremist ideologies⁸ were lower than what we see in representative surveys of the general public," said Todd Helmus, a senior behavioral scientist at RAND.

Extremist groups recruiting from the military and the veterans community has been on the Pentagon's radar⁹ for years. In the wake of the Jan. 6 riots, significant numbers of veterans were charged, and many media reports suggested this was a nationwide phenomenon.

But the actual number of military members and veterans with extremist links turned out much lower than many expected, Helmus says. Still, the narrative¹⁰ had been established.

"Those initial reports spurred a lot of fear and concern," he said. "But no one's actually looked at the numbers."

Below the national average

RAND conducted a national survey of almost 1,000 veterans. One percent of veterans reported support for white supremacy¹¹, compared to nonveterans at 7%. Vets¹² voiced support for the far-right Proud Boys at 4%, compared to nonveterans at 9%.

While the vast majority of deadly political violence in America comes from the far right, RAND also surveyed views about Antifa. About 10% of the general public said they support the far-left movement, while only 5.5% of veterans said they support Antifa.

Violent extremist groups do look to recruit veterans for their skill set, Brown says.

"Vets on average seem to be very resilient to those efforts. And so I think that some of the characteristics that draw you to serve your country will help protect against forces that would undermine your country," he said.

Brown and Helmus are not veterans, and said they were pleasantly surprised by the findings. Former U.S. Marine Joe Plenzler was not surprised.

"If veterans are overrepresented in the Jan. 6 mob, it's important to remember that they're also overrepresented in the halls of Congress. They're overrepresented in state legislatures, they're overrepresented in town councils," Plenzler says.

"I think when people put their hand in the air and swear to support and defend the constitution, that oath doesn't end when we leave the Department of Defense," he said. "That's something that the overwhelming majority of us carry with us till the time, you know, we step off this planet."

Plenzler is on the board of a group called We the Veterans. The group recruits vets to fill the nationwide shortage of election poll workers.

"We had a story from a Vietnam veteran in New Jersey¹³. At his polling location a guy walked in with a Biden hat and another guy walked in with a red Make America Great Again hat. He told both of them, politely, to take them off and they did without incident," said Ellen Gustafson, who co-founded the group.

Gustafson says the Vietnam vet¹ who asked the men to take off their partisan⁷ hats was wearing a 101st Airborne hat — which is not political, and that's the point.

"There's a lot of people in America who are looking at our military and veteran community as you know, 'woke'," Gustafson said. "And then in another media silo you could easily take away that our military is full of white supremacists. As a military spouse¹⁴ who lives in this community, I know that not to be true."

1 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

6 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

8 ideologies   

n.思想（体系）( ideology的名词复数 )；思想意识；意识形态；观念形态

参考例句：

• There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态，都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比，才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句

9 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

10 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

11 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

12 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

13 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

14 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？