Is this an instance of the doctrine of political correctness potentially weakening the US Army, or do African American persons have a legitimate gripe with these new regulations?
US Army's new grooming standards called racially biasedhttp://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/the-stream/the-stream-officialblog/2014/3/28/us-army-faces-criticismovernewgroomingrulesconsideredraciallybia.html"The U.S. Army is coming under fire for changes to its appearance and grooming standards, which some say discriminates against black women who wear their hair natural.
Within and outside of the Army, women of color have been calling the guidelines racially biased. A White House petition has amassed more than 3,000 signatures to date requesting that the Army reconsider....
Opponents of the new policies say they specifically target women of color who wear their hair natural. Natural is defined as any hair that has not been chemically processed to alter its texture.
Unauthorized hairstyles now include twists, dreadlocks, Afros and braids that are more than a quarter-inch thick – styles commonly worn by many African-American women. After the new measures take effect, soldiers who wear these hairstyles will have to remove them or cover them with wigs or extensions if they do not want to face administrative discipline."
Potential ArgumentsArmy: The US Army must be able to set standards as it sees fit in order to ensure its effectiveness in defending the nation, and capitulating to a minority of members over an issue as trite as "ethnic hair" will set a negative precedent: the US Army will demonstrate that it isn't always in control of setting standards. This precedent will weaken its authority to institute regulations necessary for maintaining effectiveness, thereby weakening the Army as a whole.
Kwanisha: The new US Army regulations are discriminatory because they explicitly target hairstyles common among African Americans. Further, the regulations serve no utilitarian purpose: there is no demonstrated difference in effectiveness for soldiers with "ethnic hair," and such soldiers have been in the military for decades. Therefore, the regulations should be removed.
