Re: The White House Needs Elizabeth Warren, Now More Than Ever

As I said, this is about logistics.  I never said it was about small minds
and bigots.

 

The military, particularly in training and in combat live in close
proximity.  Communal showers.  Toilets without full privacy,  Beds in open
bays.

 

Would you expect women to share a communal shower with the men they serve
with?  The same barracks?  Because they don't.  Woman are segregated (that
word sounds familiar) from the men for privacy reasons.  Women would
understandably not wish to be exposed to the roaming eyes of men.  And let's
be honest, men would look.  They wouldn't be able to help it.

 

Gay men in the same environment look too, and there is no way you can with a
straight face (no pun intended) say they won't.

 

So we will be telling out military women that they deserve privacy and men
do not.  The military with the preferences granted women already is
imbalanced, we now increase that.  Men will not be given the same ability to
claim harassment if they are uncomfortable.  Yes some guys will be ok with
it, but some will not.  Some straight men do not want a gay guy looking at
their junk, and they should not be told to suck it up.

 

I was told once that gay men would not look, that they would not be
interested in a man not interested in them.  Bull.  I worked with a guy who
was clear about cute straight guys he liked and heard him, out loud wonder
or wish they were gay.  We apparently expect gays not to be human.

 

And if you segregate the gays, you introduce a powder keg into a barracks
with relationships forming.  Military units need cohesion, particularly in
battle conditions.  A breakup between too lovers in a unit has bad
consequences even when it is hetero, with gays in even closer proximity it
will be worse.

 

As I said, this is really a logistic issue as much as it is sociological.
Until the military goes in to an open equal all together environment, ala
the movie version of starship troopers, there will be issues.


And let me close with this:  I WANT dadt repealed, I want gays to have the
chance to serve.  I just, from experience do not see how to do it with the
military as it is.  Other countries do it, so there must be ways to do it,
but quite frankly, our culture is messed up and they need time to figure out
how to manage this, otherwise it will be a fiasco.

 

Let the military study this and make the changes it needs.  Forcing this
overnight will be bad.

 

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of [email protected]
Sent: Friday, November 05, 2010 5:31 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [DADL-OT] The White House Needs Elizabeth Warren, Now More Than
Ever

 

**the military is not ready to integrate this, they do not have the
logistics to make it safe and affair, and this could end up being a fiasco.
As I said, you have no idea what you are up against.

 

So, the military is basically so full of small minds and bigots, they cannot
man up and deal with treating gays justly?  And I am supposed to be proud of
and respect an instition that is so backwards?

 

 

Thom
http://thomwade.wordpress.com/
http://www.cafepress.com/Thomwade
http://www.in-one-ear.com
_______________________________________
"I want a song to learn and sing, of a life requited."-Echo & the Bunnymen

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