Last week an American woman journalist reported on the war effort abroad, noting a female fighter pilot from another country, risking her life, had bombed our common enemy, ISIS.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, cohost of “The Five” on Fox News, reported that Maj. Mariam Al Mansouri, the first female United Arab Emirates pilot and F-16 squadron commander, led air strikes against ISIS.
“I wish it was an American pilot,” she said, but “I’ll take a woman doing this any day to them. I hope that hurt extra bad for you, because in some Arab countries, women can’t even drive!”
Apparently a comment like that called for jokes from fellow male reporters at Fox News.
Eric Bolling and Greg Gutfeld ridiculed Maj. Al Mansouri. “Problem is, after she bombed it, she couldn’t park it,” Gutfeld said. Bolling chimed in, “Would that be considered boobs on the ground, or no?”
The response made Bolling and Gutfeld aware that they were the only “boobs” that day.
U.S. military veterans from the Truman National Security Project sent an open letter to Fox News complaining that the offensive comments were “unwarranted” and “fundamentally opposed to what the military stands for.”
The letter makes it clear that its writers recognize the contributions of women in our own military: “As it turns out, women have been flying combat aircraft since before either of you were born. Over 1,000 Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) flew during World War II. Seeing as U.S. Army Air Forces Commander “Hap” Arnold said, ‘Now in 1944, it is on the record that women can fly as well as men,’ we can probably guess he thought their parking was adequate. The WASP legacy reaches into the present day; on 9/11, then Lt. Heather “Lucky” Penney scrambled her F-16. Completely unarmed, she was ready to lay down her own life to prevent further devastating attacks on American soil.”
Both Bolling and Gutfeld have reportedly apologized; Bolling apologized twice, saying his first apology was inadequate: “I’m sorry for what I said, I believe that Major Al Mansouri is a hero. She’s courageous, brave and she deserves our praise and not inappropriate jokes. She has my admiration and my very, very sincere gratitude.”
The apology is appreciated, but this disrespect of women — half of the people in the world — needs to end, especially on national "news" shows. Save these dumb jokes for dumb shows like "Married ... With Children."