David Clarke, the controversial sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin and staunch Donald Trump supporter, has reportedly accepted an offer to become the next assistant deputy secretary of Homeland Security. While the DHS itself is casting some doubts on the posting, the reactions to his proposed appointment are, for the most part, negative.
In the wake of that, an interesting charge against Clarke surfaced in the form of a Twitter rant on Thursday.
At almost all of his public appearances, Clarke either wears a pristine cowboy hat with a natty suit or, more famously, a uniform festooned with shiny military medals. On Thursday, Twitter user Charles Clymer, an army veteran, pointed out that those military medals might not be all that legit.
[salon_video id="14769030"]“Look at this fucking guy’s uniform,” Clymer said, in the second of a long string of tweets on the subject. “You see all that shit pinned all over his dress uniform jacket? That’s not supposed to be there.”
Clymer went on to break down each individual medal, their placement and their apparently spurious provenance. Clymer acknowledged that legitimate medals are earned, and should be worn with pride, but accuses Clarke of “stolen valor” and calls Clarke’s collection, “a sloppy assortment of badge replicas arranged neatly, [that] looks imposing.”
He goes on to say that the way Clarke wears his medals seems more like something, “a fucking 10 year-old does. And I know because I was 10 and did this with a pin collection one day. Stupid fun.”
Clymer also tweeted that he reached out to the Milwaukee Police Department, to get a copy of their uniform standards to back up his claims, but has not heard back.
Read the full twitter rant below:
1/ Okay, regarding Sheriff David Clarke, can I be petty for a second about something that's always irritated me? (thread)
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
2/ Look at this fucking guy's uniform. You see all that shit pinned all over his dress uniform jacket? That's not supposed to be there. pic.twitter.com/0QZlBxQjI8
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
3/ I can't be the only military veteran who has seen Clarke's uniform and been like: that's fucking ridiculous.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
4/ Let me explain why this is irritating for me. Military (and police) decorations are earned. They take hard work and sacrifice.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
5/ Colin Powell once described a dress uniform as a solider's resume. You can tell what they've done by their ribbons and badges.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
6/ Implied here, of course, is that the more shit you have on your uniform, the more impressed civilians will be. It projects authority.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
7/ If you've earned decorations, wear them! But Sheriff David Clarke is trying to pull a fast one on average Americans.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
8/ I mean look at this fucking shit. It's literally a sloppy assortment of badge replicas arranged neatly, but it looks imposing. pic.twitter.com/RjCTje6a3T
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
9/ On the left side, you have what appears to be more badge replicas/pins and several ribbons, one of which looks unauthorized pic.twitter.com/np7GBFbfEI
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
10/ And then up top, you have the flag pin arranged on the lapel as though it's part of the uniform code. Pretty sure it's not. pic.twitter.com/KlMz971qYc
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
11/ Y'all, this is something a fucking 10 year-old does. And I know because I was 10 and did this with a pin collection one day. Stupid fun.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
12/ But a grown-ass adult arranging his uniform in a way with novelty pins to give the appearance of being highly decorated? What the fuck.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
13/ It's so cringe-inducing every time I see it because I think of other military folks shaking their damn heads at this Mickey Mouse shit.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
14/ Anyway, David Clarke is fucking awful, but his toy uniform, especially, sets my teeth on edge. Rant over. /thread
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) May 17, 2017
