Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Is this an 1D10Tic policy or what?
It’s amazing to me that in this day and age we are arguing whether or not gays/lesbians/bisexuals/transexuals (GLBT) should be allowed to serve in the military.
There should be no question whatsoever.
In hindsight, integrating the military in 1948 was a good thing and helped in the Civil Rights movement.
Yes, there were problems. Those problems came from the blatant racism that was prevalent at that time.
And in 2010, because of blatant homophobia there will be problems with integrating the GLBT military personnel. And like most policies in the military, it will be another one of those things that Soldiers, Sailors and Marines just will have to work through.
A tough one. And necessary.
And I’m glad that the Congress and the President are actually doing something about it by repealing the law. My 1D10T Congressman, the dishonorable Vern Buchanan, voted against it. As did most Republicans.
Their story? They want time to study the effects of repealing this ID10Tic policy. In the words of Bluto Blutarsky – bullshit.
Apparently the Army still doesn’t get it.
At a time when the US is at war on two fronts, the Army discharged gay activist Lt. Dan Choi.
Lt. Dan Choi. A West Point graduate. Infantry. Arabic Linguist.
From the New York Daily News:
Army Lt. Dan Choi, the gay New York soldier who became the national face of the battle to overturn the military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy, was booted by the Pentagon on Thursday.
Choi, an Iraq war veteran and West Point grad, found no honor in the honorable discharge he got.
"After 11 years since beginning my journey at West Point, and after 17 months of serving openly as an infantry officer, this is both an infuriating and painful announcement," said Choi, of Manhattan.
"It hurts, but then you remember what your service really meant," he told the Daily News. "Wearing the uniform is not about symbols or rank. It’s about fighting for freedom and justice.
"It’s the absolute duty of my life to fight this," he said.
Choi, 29, a Army reservist and member of the New York National Guard, has been challenging efforts to discharge him since coming out last year on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC.
This year, he chained himself to the White House fence to protest the 17-year-old law that has forced more than 12,500 men and women from the military.
Choi, who is fluent in Arabic, was an infantry platoon leader in Iraq in 2006 and 2007.
President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates support repealing the DADT policy, which lets gays serve as long as their sexuality stays secret.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), are resisting and say letting gays serve openly would negatively affect military morale.
Dan Choi is a brave man.
I’ll leave you with this…
Back in the day, there was another war veteran who came out and fought the military’s policy on homosexuals. Technical Sergeant Leonard Matlovich (1943–1988) was a Vietnam War veteran, race relations instructor, and recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
He lost his life to AIDS in 1988.
Here’s his grave stone.
Source: NY Daily News, wikipedia, findagrave.com
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