Straight guys tell. Interviews with soldiers on DADT

[Touchdown]

It's a long article, but worth the read.

http://www.advocate.com/Politics/Straight_Guys_Tell/

I walk away feeling lucky. First try, and I’d found that one soldier in four who actually knows he’s serving with a gay guy. Odds are, others will be more resistant or more hostile, so I choose another friendly face for my next attempt. He’s wearing little spectacles, which means, I think, he must read books, which means he might be safe -- but not too safe, because I watched him drive up to the PX in his Camaro. I swallow my dread again and give my spiel, but as I’m talking, he just nods and smiles, and in an aw-shucks Midwestern accent he relates the tale of how he left the farm and saw a lot more of Paree than he had bargained for: “At first when I got in, I could not believe how open the homosexuals were. But it doesn’t matter. I had one in my unit that was an officer, and we would joke around with him and say, ‘Hey, you pipe smoker,’ and he’d say, ‘So what? You got a problem with that?’ Everybody likes him. He’s good at his job. So what’s the big deal?”

He too shakes my hand and thanks me when we’re done, and I wonder how I managed to get two flukes in a row. For the next interview I decide to look for somebody who might be tougher. But this one -- tight striped T-shirt, late 20s, and handsome in an unapproachable, stone-faced way -- says, “A couple of the best soldiers I’ve known have been gay. One of them got drunk and got in a fight one night. He cleaned the guy’s clock and looked down at him and said, in front of a bunch of people, ‘How does it feel to get your ass beat by a faggot?’ He got thrown out over that remark. Which is stupid. It made me angry the way that was handled, because if a soldier is gay, it makes no difference to me. It’s a personal decision, and if that’s their decision and they still do their job, and the same policies governing sexual harassment and fraternization apply to them, then there is no reason for this policy to exist.”

[redqueen]

1. K&R

[Vincardog]

2. there is no reason for this policy to exist.”

[pleah]

3. K&R

[RKP5637]

4. Excellent Post!!! Tells it the way it is, not some RW CR crap. n/t

[Touchdown]

5. Well, this dropped off fast. I feel deprived of my "Pony" posts.

;)

[Solly Mack]

6. K&R

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. The military gets a bum rap sometimes.

They were led the way in desegregation.

I think that the soldiers are probably way out in front of the officers on this.

[LynzM]

8. K&R - good read.

Thanks for posting. :)

[Sirveri]

9. That was NOT the impression I got about gays in the military during my time in the USN.

Submarines are possibly the most homophobic place I've EVER seen.

[Touchdown]

13. The reporter didn't talk to groups of men. Just individuals.

No appearances to keep up that way. I imagine subs would have a lot of ears, even if conversations were private.

In my life experience, I find that straight guys aren't nearly as homophobic alone as they are when the "gang's all here!" ... or maybe they're just being nice to my face.:hide:

[TicketyBoo]

10. I've never understood how anyone can think

"It's a personal decision."

It's my profound belief (backed up with quite a bit of scientific study) that it is who you are, not some "decision" on how to behave.

[Toasterlad]

12. If You're Not Gay, And Aren't Close With Any Gay People...

...I'd imagine you don't think about it too much, and thus, when some knuckle-dragging bible-thumper says, "It's a choice!", you might believe it, even if you think a person should have a right to choose.

But I certainly agree with you that anyone who put any thought into the matter and doesn't realize it's NOT a choice is not a rational human being.

[Duncan Grant]

11. Kick

:kick: