DADT survey wording draws fire from some gays

[unhappycamper]

DADT survey wording draws fire from some gays
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Jul 10, 2010 9:09:48 EDT

“If don’t ask, don’t tell is repealed and you had on-base housing and a gay or lesbian service member was living with a same-sex partner on-base, what would you most likely do?”

The 400,000 active-duty and reserve troops who received the Pentagon’s survey on its policy on gays can choose from eight answers to that question: Two suggest normalcy or an effort to get to know the new neighbors, four suggest discomfort and even moving off base, one is simply “something else” — followed by a space to be more specific — and the last is simply, “don’t know.”

The survey, which went out Wednesday, aims to gauge troops’ attitudes on the possible repeal of the 17-year-old policy against openly gay service members. A copy was leaked Friday by the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Palm Center, a pro-gay research group.

~snip~

“While it remains safe for gay and lesbian troops to participate in this survey, it is simply impossible to imagine a survey with such derogatory and insulting wording, assumptions, and insinuations going out about any other minority group in the military,” said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United and a former Army interrogator who was discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

“Flawed aspects of the survey include the unnecessary use of terms that are known to be inflammatory and bias-inducing in social science research, such as the clinical term ‘homosexual’; an overwhelming focus on the potential negative aspects of repeal and little or no inclusion of the potential positive aspects of repeal or the negative aspects of the current policy; the repeated and unusual suggestion that a co-worker or leader might need to ‘discuss’ appropriate behavior and conduct with gay and lesbian troops,” he said.

[Skittles]

1. it is disgusting

a true fucking disgrace that needs to be denounced at the highest level

[msongs]

2. if you were trying to sabotage repeal of DADT what would you do to gather evidence to support? nt