A U.S. airman is under investigation after he posted several videos of himself calling gay people “sodomites,” “pedophiles,” “roaches,” and “vermin scum.”
A nearly 11-minute video appeared on YouTube under the name “Baptist Dave 1611” before the entire account connected to it was taken down. In the video, the unnamed man, dressed in an Air Force uniform, expresses support of Tennessee Baptist pastor/sheriff Grayson Fritts who wanted gay people executed.
“The sodomites, the homos, they do all their filthy acts in the dark of night where no one can see them,” said the airman. “When you get these perverts on their own, they flee like cockroaches, like the roaches they are, the vermin scum, the pedophiles that they are.”
The airman also denounced parents who take their children to LGBTQ events like “drag queen story hour.” He says children are sexualized at said functions.
“If you’re making your son, for example, dress up as a woman and go dance at a sodomite bar, that’s hip, that’s cool, that’s trendy,” the airman said. “But if you just believe the Bible, and you take your kid to church, that’s child abuse, right?”
The airman also posted another video titled “Who I Hate” in which he condemned Islam, the Mormon Church, and Roman Catholicism as cults. Then he posted a third and final video, before deleting the account, this time without wearing his uniform, expressed outrage at Cracker Barrel for refusing to serve Fritts after his anti-gay sermon went viral.
After those videos spread online, the Air Force announced plans of an investigation into the situation.
“The specifics of the situation are being reviewed by the airman’s command team,” said Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in an email to the Air Force Times. “The Air Force considers diversity to be one of our greatest assets; therefore, every airman is expected to treat each other with dignity and respect. We do not tolerate behavior that is contrary to those values.”
But if you, or someone you know, cite first Amendment rights and state that the man has a right to free speech, you’d be slightly wrong. While someone can say whatever hateful line they wish, they aren’t free from consequences. That’s especially true if their connected to a large organization like the Air Force. And even better, if they’re wearing the uniform while doing it).
The Air Force Instruction 1-1 states that “airmen treat others with genuine dignity, fairness and respect at all times,” according to Stefanek.
The organization’s rules say that airmen must “maintain professionalism and respect for others regardless of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, or sexual orientation.”
The rules also added that, “this respect for others not only involves personal interaction, but also extends to communications and interactions in social media and cyberspace.”
Again, the Air Force is doing an investigation into the unnamed man and decide what to do with him after those three viral videos.
