One Utah

The history of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a sordid tale of bigotry, ignorance and fear-mongering. The Clinton Administration tried to do the right thing and got blown out of the water. Congress - stampeded by a bunch of raving homo-bigots - decided to set military policy. DADT was the result.

DADT has resulted in some of the most absurd and self defeating actions imaginable. For instance, one of the casualties of DADT was a gay Arab language translator at a time when the Army had too few Arab speakers. Ultimately, it is all about anti-gay bias and not about actual policy or actual military discipline.

A recent article reported:

Congress should repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law because the presence of gays in the military is unlikely to undermine the ability to fight and win, according to a new study released by a California-based research center.

The study was conducted by four retired military officers, including the three-star Air Force lieutenant general who in early 1993 was tasked with implementing President Clinton’s policy that the military stop questioning recruits on their sexual orientation.

“Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion,” the officers states.

Navy Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan had this to say about the effect of DADT:

“Everyone was living a big lie - the homosexuals were trying to hide their sexual orientation and the commanders were looking the other way because they didn’t want to disrupt operations by trying to enforce the law,” he said.

Predictably, the ridiculous right is trotting out the usual bullshit talking points:

“We don’t want San Francisco values imposed upon the military,” said TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty. “If the 1993 legislation is repealed, it will result in the subversion of our military and create sexual chaos in the barracks and shower facilities. We cannot have our service men and women subjected to open displays of homosexual behaviors.”

We’ll see more of this in the future. I have a difficult time imagining that the lack of privacy in said barracks is conducive to any kind of romantic interludes. So exactly what of “homosexual behaviors” does Ms. Lafferty believe will be displayed? Does she think the gay soldiers are going to go all queer eye on the straight ones and give them stylish new haircuts and help them propose to their girlfriends? Is she afraid lesbians will demonstrate how to use power tools?

I suspect Ms. Lafferty’s real fear is that openly gay soldiers - fighting and dying by their comrades in the sands of Iraq - will make it difficult for her and her fellow travelers to continue pretending the gays hate America. It will also force them to deal with the fact that acting all manly and carrying a gun and shooting things doesn’t make you straight. I have never had a strong desire to serve in the military - my patriotism takes the form of volunteering my time and energy to advocate at the state legislature and local governments and giving time to campaigns. But for the gays and lesbians who feel called to serve in the military, they should not have to adopt a systemic dishonesty to do so.

Policies against allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military are based on a wide array of misconceptions about sexual orientation. The constant refrain about “showers” and “shower facilities” suggests that gay soldiers will sexually assault their straight comrades in the showers. Its a scare tactic, based on the idea that gay men are sexual deviants incapable of controlling their sexual urges. The “threat” that a straight soldier will be seen undressed by a gay soldier in the shower is nothing more than ignorant fearmongering. Anyone who has ever used a school locker room has shared a shower with a gay person.

At the end of the day, gays and lesbians are part of the mainstream of American life - gay men and lesbian women have performed and served with honor in the military for . . . well, forever. The fear that gays and lesbians will serve openly in the military has nothing to do with all the talking points - they are just a cover for bigotry. To conservatives, the military represents the most American of all institutions - it is emblematic of living patriotism. If gays and lesbians serve openly in the military, mainstream acceptance of glbt people is a foregone conclusion. And that outcomne more than anything, inspires conservatives to oppose the end of institutionalized bigotry in the military.

This entry was posted Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 11:19 am and is filed under Bigotry, Civil liberties Infringement, Conservatives, Disgrace to the Military, Homophobia, Human Rights, Religious Fundamentalism, Society, This Blog. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.