Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 15 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated 19 years, 8 months ago by
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- With the possibility of going to war becoming much more plausible in light of the World Trade Center attack, perhaps it's time the government reviews its policy on gays in the military. Right now it's the whole 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy, and if you do tell (or they somehow find out you're gay), you get thrown out. With the possibility of war, the military might find it can no longer be so picky. In the old days, to avoid the draft you needed to run away to Canada. But with the current policies in place, all you have to do is be gay? If that is true and I ever get drafted, I suppose I'll have to pretend to be gay just to get out of it!
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Name : Eric, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Independent, Age : 19, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Upper middle class,If that's your attitude about serving your country in time of war, you don't deserve to be here in the first place. I work for the Department of Defense, and although I'm not fighting on the 'front lines,' I'm risking my life every day I walk into my building, especially now when these kinds of buildings are nothing more than targets to terrorists. Thank God we have plenty of MEN willing to fight for us.User Detail :
Name : Anonymous, Gender : F, Age : 26, City : Southern, State : NJ Country : United States, Social class : Middle class,Not the same issue but along similar lines, I once had a boss who opined that gays were 'sick.' I asked him if I could take a few sick days off work, as I was homosexual. As I recall, he didn't seem to think it was that funny...Seriously, the 'Don't ask, Don't tell' policy is a bit of a lame compromise and open to abuse in the way you suggest. Of course, it's well known that men with homosexual proclivities make terrible soldiers. Like Alexander the Great. Or Lord Kitchener. In the Australian defense forces, there isn't any legal prohibition any more, and once the prohibition was dropped, the issue just died - the culture hasn't changed overnight, and there's inevitably victimization, but not, I think, on a great scale.
It also made me feel a bit more comfortable about the idea of volunteering when it seemed that Australia might go to war with Indonesia over the East Timor issue.
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Name : Ben S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 35, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Occupation : corrections officer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,Actually, many men in the past got out of military service by pretending to be or actually being gay. There's nothing new in that.User Detail :
Name : Rick29966, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : Springfield, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Real man speaking here. Not in the military, not in the reserves. Because the United States prides itself on its freedoms, why is Danielle so upset that young Eric does not wish to take part in the slaughter of innocents to get one man? Isn't that his free choice? Apparently he is not the like the fanatics who gave their lives in order to 'make a point' and kill thousands of people. Eric could go and do the same, but unlike the other terrorists, he would be acting for another radical religion - Americanism. Canada also has a policy on allowing gays in the military. It was passed into law, and no one much cared because it's a non-issue. I'm glad I live in a truly free country, where men and women (Danielle, is it OK for women to fight? You didn't mention them) who want to fight and defend their countries cannot be dismissed because of whom they love.User Detail :
Name : Martin, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, City : Vancouver, British Columbia, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,You're right Eric - they did throw it out. Once again the military has suspended "Don't ask/Don't tell" (just as they did for the Gulf War) because they need all the competent soldiers they can get. Again they demonstrate that the policy is merely an excuse to drum gays out of the military, and that gays in the military do not represent a threat to its operation or readiness. I guess prejudice is a peacetime activity. Oh, and your humor was not lost on me, about pretending to be gay. Just be willing to kiss a man to prove it!User Detail :
Name : James D., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 47, City : Summit, State : NJ Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College,There are many lesbians and gay men willing to fight for their country. There always have been, and there always will be. In fact, I've always admired those men and women, be they gay or straight, who are willing to go through the rigors of military training, be chewed up and stuffed into the mold of a soldier, and be willing to die on the fields of battle. During the past decades of relative peace for the United States, conservatives have seen fit to deny gay people the opportunity to serve their country. But my guess is that if we do go to full-scale war against terrorists and the nations that support them, any concerns about gays in the military are likely to be conveniently overlooked. Those of us in the gay community are just as patriotic as our straight brothers and sisters.User Detail :
Name : Chuck A., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 41, City : Spring Hill, State : WV Country : United States, Occupation : AIDS Educator/Part-time radio announcer,Apathy among those in the armed forces must surely rate as a worse quality than homosexuality. This was certainly recognized 2,000 years ago in ancient Greece, where soldiers were encouraged to develop an intimate fondness for a fellow fighter, the philosophy being that on the battlefield a man would fight with more conviction to save the life of someone he had bonded with. Classical scholars are so far unaware that this contributed in any way to the eventual downfall of the Greek RepublicUser Detail :
Name : Jim R., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 36, City : Adana, State : NA Country : Turkey, Occupation : manager, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Maybe I didn't explain myself thoroughly. I'm not trying to infer that a real man can't be gay or non-military. My point is that if you are living in the United States and enjoy its freedoms, a real man (or woman) should be willing to fight to protect those freedoms. Eric was insinuating that in the event of a draft, he could lie and say he was gay to get out of it. In my opinion, if you are not willing to answer the call for your country, you should be living somewhere else. In addition, the 'slaughter of innocents to get one man' is NOT the case here. This isn't a campaign against bin Laden only, it's a campaign against terrorism, which has a much larger reach than just one man. I couldn't care less if a soldier is gay, straight, white, black or whatever. If they are willing to fight for the freedom that I enjoy living in the United States, they should be thanked regardless.User Detail :
Name : Anonymous, Gender : F, Age : 26, City : Southern, State : NJ Country : United States, Social class : Middle class,Danielle, I think you missed the point. You are angry at Eric, a 19-year old kid, who is nervous about a draft. The point that he was making is, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is making it so that gays who want to serve can't, and straights who don't want to can simply state they are gay. It has the potential for backfiring on itself, which it deserves, so shouldn't it be rethought? Eric's thought is not a lone voice. Look at the big picture. I'm sure there are 1000's and 1000's of Erics, thinking that they don't want to go to war, and if they do, are going to claim there are gay, and avoid being enlisted, thanks to policies our military has in place. If you are angry at someone who will feign being gay to avoid the military, you should be equally angry at the military for discharging dedicated and capable soldiers simply for being gay.User Detail :
Name : Craig, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Age : 36, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I think he was being ironic. Maybe he was trying to make the point that not allowing people into the military based on their sexual orientation is a ridiculous policy.User Detail :
Name : Sara28323, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 34, City : San Diego, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper class,I've been in the military for three years, and trust me, Don't Ask Don't Tell is a joke.User Detail :
Name : Susan, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 22, City : Parma, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,I have no problem with the thought of gays in the military. They just need to focus on their duties, and not all the meat around them. But the way some of the flaming gay males act I don't know how great of a job they will do. I'd be pretty embarassed to see or hear of a flaming gay being captured and making us look like a joke.User Detail :
Name : Geneva, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Catholic, Age : 19, City : Porterville, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College,If they did ever decide to let gays in the military they'd have to have seperate showers and latrines for gay and straight people because I know for a fact my husband would not take a shower next to a gay man. And thats understandable, isn't it the same reason for seperating straight men from straight women?User Detail :
Name : Stephanie27795, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : Phoenix, State : AZ Country : United States, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,I don't mean to be rude like this, but you are wrong. No way that the Army would just throw out something like 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' I am in the Army and i can tell you that something they tell you is 'You are a soldier 24/7.' And by being a soldier, that means you abide by UCMJ (UNiform Code of Military Justice). I am not saying that by being a soldier, you have to closed minded. I don't care what you sexual orientation is, as long as you can hold a rifle, and cover my behind when i need it, you're my battle buddy. Now to prove that even though we are at war, the Army is still discharging people for being homosexuals. http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/06/01/military.homosexuals/index.html I can't find a link that has a story that is very interesting, but maybe you can find it if i tell you about it. The Army discharged some soldier for engaging in homosexual acts. These soldier were at Ft. Huachuca(sp?) and what was interesting is that the were Arabic Linguists, one of the Army's high demand languages.User Detail :
Name : Julio, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Catholic, Age : 20, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Military/Student, Education level : High School Diploma,
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