Gays And Lesbians In The Armed Forces Face Institutional Hatred

I just walked in and had to write this about my trip back from Las Vegas. On the plane I sat next to two female soldiers who had obviously been returning from a deployment. They were both very tan and wearing those gray camouflage that blends in urban fighting. Both could not have been over 20and they were dog-tired.

I tried not to disturb them as they slept, but I wondered how their superiors would have reacted to their intimate sleeping arrangements. They lay in their seats, heads resting on each others shoulders, a lot like my partner and I do when we fly. I didn’t ask them, but I strongly suspect they were lovers, and that made me even more sympathetic to them. I felt proud that they were serving our country, yet sad that they were so young and if they were gay, that they were on such shaky ground.

Don’t ask, don’t tell may be the official policy on the Armed Forces, but it sucks as both a practical and moral regulation. In recent polls of the military the majority of soldiers have no problem with having gay or lesbians serving in their ranks. So much for the bullshit argument about gays causing problems with unit cohesion.

Beyond that, it forces young men and women who already have enough to worry about in a combat situation to have yet another concern. Staying in the closet is tricky and dangerous both to their career and to personal sanity. Funny how the Spartans, (the real ones not the ones in the movie) were often lovers fighting side by side. They considered lovers the best fighters because they would fight fiercer for each others safety. Pity the Army can’t study history any better.

As I sat down to write I saw this story that emphasized the whole insanity of this policy. A recruiter, upon learning that a potential recruit was gay is quoted as saying in an official email:

"GO BACK TO AFRICA AND DO YOUR GAY VOODOO LIMBO TANGO AND WANGO DANCE AND JUMP AROUND AND PRANCE AND RUN ALL OVER THE PLACE HALF-NAKED THERE."-- U.S. Army recruiter Sgt. Marcia Ramode

Looks like Peter Pace’s policies and attitudes are paying off with big dividends. Just what our government needs, more hate and prejudice!