Retired Air Force veteran's comments on 'woke nonsense' at Johnston County Memorial Day speech draws ire from some
A retired war veteran is facing some backlash for comments he made during a Memorial Day speech in Johnston County.
Retired U.S. Air Force Tech Sergeant Stan Jones was the keynote speaker at the county’s Memorial Day Ceremony.
During his talk, Jones brought up issues of socialism, religion and gender.
"Something is wrong when we say to the child, you can determine your own sex," Jones said during the speech.
At the end of his remarks, he was met with a standing ovation, but his comments were not well-received by everyone.
Wendy Ella May, a U.S. Army disabled veteran and member of the LGBTQ community, took issue with some of Jones' remarks.
"They've never lived that life," said May. "They don't know what it's like to be born one gender and live as another. They don't understand that and they never will."
WRAL News reached out to Jones, but we have not heard back yet.
"We as a nation seem to want to cheer this woke nonsense," said Jones during the speech.
Ted Godwin, with the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, said, “it is unfortunate that some may have felt offended. This was probably the best received message by the vast majority of those in attendance. There was an extended standing ovation.”
May argues that the political commentary was unnecessary and unwarranted.
"They don't need to be addressed on Memorial Day at a countywide veteran's ceremony, where we are remembering the dead," May said.
"Even within our own congress, there's an applaud of a movement of socialism and communism," Jones said during the speech. "What is going on?"
May was disheartened and left the county-sponsored event wanting an apology.
"You can talk about God, talk about politics, but yesterday was not the time nor place," said May.
Jones also opined on various religious practices in America and elsewhere.
"The standards have been dropped," Jones said. "You can put Islamic rugs out on the flight line, but now we have put chaplains in charge of witchcraft for the last 20 years."
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations offered a comment to WRAL News.
"Jones is absolutely right that international travel is important educational experience for young Americans, but he is absolutely wrong about the reason," Mitchell said. "The bigotry he expressed in his Memorial Day speech is completely unacceptable. It is insulting, not only to Muslim residents of Johnston County but all who want to come to Memorial Day event and mark it as a community without hearing hate speech. I sincerely hope Mr. Jones will go around corner to his Muslim neighbors and learn about them and learn how he was wrong."
