I was asked on formspring: What do you think about the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy being repealed over the weekend?(While I have the feeling that formspring sent this question to generate conversation and that it isn't from a real person, I'll answer it anyway lol)
It is about time this policy is repealed. It is quite easily one of the most discriminatory practices I can think of. It has been standard procedure that employers cannot deny employment based on sexual preference, but our military didn’t have to act accordingly? I am happy that this big step in homosexual civil rights have been taken.
As far as what this means in the field, 35 other countries permit gay men and women to serve openly in uniform, one being the U.K. I’ve read that although resistance was even higher there to repeal DADT type policies, there was little to no disruption in battle effectiveness, lets hope for the same with our troops. There was great support from U.S. military for the repeal, so I think our chances are good.
There are people who are scared, who anticipate backlash in the military towards homosexuals who are not allowed to express who they are. You know what? They are right to be scared. There will be backlash. There will be backlash like there has been after any other step in the direction of civil rights. There will be some backlash because there are people who hate homosexuals to the core of their being, for a reason I cannot understand. As sad as it sounds to say, there will be retaliation, but every movement needs their “Rosa Parks” if you will. Some generation has to be the generation to initiate change, and deal with all that that change means, both good and bad.
On a final note, as far homosexual relationships between military service people I don’t think there will be any higher instance of homosexual relationships or “encounters” than there is heterosexual relationships.
I really don’t care much about this because; your mind should be on the job! When you’re in the battle field the last thing you should be thinking or talking about is “Hey I’m gay or lesbian” or “Are you Gay?” Homosexual or not, each party needs to do their job without getting too personal because it really does not matter!
ReplyDeletemhmm. and we're making slow progress.
ReplyDeleteCanada is another country that allows openly gay people to serve in uniform. I don`t know if there was ever a policy disallowing it or when it might have been recinded, but I do know that there is no policy against it now.
ReplyDeleteI`ve never understood why the U.S. had a rule against gays anyway, so it's a good thing that they have repealed it.
I'm ecstatic about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" being repelled. Yes, when in service it is important to focus on the goal of serving ones country but in doing so one shouldn't have to deny who they are. If men and women can happily be in a relationship with each other while serving than so should men and men, and women and women.
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