Don’t ask, don’t tell…screw that, don’t date!

Andrew Sullivan pointed me to this link (“Army Fires Arabic Linguists for Being Gay”) and this link, (“"DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL” V. THE WAR ON TERRORISM.”).

What is so important about these stories?

We’re still persecuting gay people based on their sexual orientation, that’s what.  To put it plainly: We’re firing useful people because of the sex of the person they like to have an orgasm with.  What could be dumber?

Read on:

In April, Gamble was finishing his second semester of the Arabic basic course at DLI when, during a surprise “health and welfare” inspection at 3:30 a.m., he was caught in his room with his boyfriend, also an army language specialist. (In eight months of dating, the two men say they had never before broken visitation policies. But Gamble’s boyfriend was nearing the end of his course and preparing to relocate to Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas. As their separation approached, they decided they could risk one night of sleeping side by side.) After the two men were found in bed, nearly a dozen people searched the room while Gamble was escorted to his First Sergeant’s office. Gamble says he was not yet thinking about being discharged. “I was just absolutely embarrassed,” he recalls. “There’s really nothing like having someone who’s your age, but a slight rank above you, discussing whether or not lube is sufficient evidence to prove homosexuality. It’s like getting felt up; it’s horrible.” The search turned up a gay-themed, non-pornographic film, photographs showing affectionate, but not sexual, behavior between Gamble and his boyfriend, and several gift cards expressing romantic sentiments. Two weeks later, Gamble was officially notified that his unit was initiating an investigation into his sexual orientation. He was pulled from class and honorably discharged on August 2. About eight weeks later, his boyfriend was discharged as well.

My first reaction is “Oh, how stupid.” We need Arabic linguists right now, and I mean BADLY.  Gay, straight, Tri or alien, who cares?  There are larger issues at stake!

Then I started to think about this some more, and I keep returning to my original ideas on the subject: All sexuality in the military is disruptive, but homosexuality can be especially disruptive due to the large number of homophobes in military service.  Hey, I’m not saying all, but let’s face it, the average kind of guy who wants to be a jarhead probably isn’t too comfortable with the idea of two gay men living in his barracks, or worse, in his tent in the field.

It is right?  Well, no.  It’s stupid.  But...this isn’t a corporation or the grocery store or your dentist’s office...this is the United States military, and the rules HAVE to be different.  There has to be a camaraderie second to none.  There cannot be any of this “us against them” mentality that seems to follow Gay/Straight conflict.  SO this issue becomes a problem, because the average grunt is NOT going to be happy with a gay gut sleeping next to him in the desert when their lives are on the line.

Before anyone yells at me, I KNOW that is a stupid mentality to have.  Gay soldiers can run and gun and fly and kill just as well as straight soldiers, and the odds are they don’t give a shit about *you*.  Gay men don’t want to have sex with ALL men, regardless of what you may have heard on Rush or read on the Internet.  I know that the right, and given the current climate the safe, thing to do is simply to outlaw ALL dating and sex between soldiers.  PERIOD.  Under all circumstances.  If you want to date, you wait until your ass gets near a civilian.  Being a soldier requires sacrifice, and this might just have to be one more sacrifice for the good of the military machine.

It’s tricky.  On the one hand, gay people have EVERY right to fight and die for their country.  Hell, knowing how hard it is to be gay in the military, an argument can be made that gay people who choose military life are a hell of a lot braver than the straight people serving along side of them.  On the other hand, gay people in the military can cause chaos, and that can’t be allowed either.

I feel that I’m on to something with this idea of STRICTLY forbidding ALL dating between soldiers.  You can’t discriminate based on who someone enjoys in bed, it’s stupid criteria to use.  You can’t allow straight dating and not gay daing...so the answer is to eliminate ALL dating, thereby lowering the overall drama level and negating the need for “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Channel the frustration at not being able to date into your work...be a better soldier. 

I would also just like to add that Alastair Gamble is a dumbass for trying to get away with the “one night together” routine.  While I believe his skills are desperately needed, on a kind of boss/employee level, screw the guy.  he knew the rules and he chose to break them.  It’s hard to feel sorry for him...I feel sorry for *us* because we’ve lost his linguistic skills in the military.

I realize my opinion doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things, but there it is.  My $0.02.

What’s yours?

Posted by JimK at 03:10 AM on November 09, 2002
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