Rep. Jared Polis is now on the Air Force Acadedmy's supervisory board, which reports to congress and the pentagon. If he were a student, he would be kicked out.
Discuss.
Let us hope a step forward is made as far as the acceptance of homosexuals is concerned, it'd be about time
You Americans have some very silly rules :P
I know. They don't even let us stockpile hollowpoints and set an AK-47 to full auto so we can go on killing sprees! What kind of psycho would make laws against something so fun?
:lightbulb Wait... I know we have laws about killing people... But I don't think we have laws against indiscriminate slaughter! :evillaugh
My mom was a lesbian (RIP Mom) and when she first came out some time in the seventies cops harrassed gays, gay bashing was a "victimless" crime and murder of gays and lesbians was called jokingly "****-cide".
In some parts of this country it is still this way. As recently as the nineties there was the case of Matthew Shepherd in Laremie, WY. If you don't know what happened, Google it.
Don't expect the military to live up to something that the entire country isn't prepared to do as of yet. People from those "backwards" places join the military and so they expect homosexuals to still be a shadowy subset of Americans.
However, homosexuals are finding acceptance more and more often and so one day the military will follow as the country goes.
- Go to work.
- Read news.
- Share interesting/relevant news.
- Update PbP games.
- Call mom.
- Pick up cheese from the grocery store.
Woo.
However, homosexuals are finding acceptance more and more often and so one day the military will follow as the country goes.
Especially considering plenty of other militaries allow homosexuals and transgender people to serve just the same as straight and cisgender people.
I was quite glad last year to see in my city of Toronto that the Canadian Forces had in-uniform members marching in the Pride Parade. Actually just this month too, the UK for the first time put on the cover of their military, Soldier magazine a openly gay soldier.
EDIT:
Edit: Sides, isn't being hated what you want?
Well, no.
But it's all I get...
Damn straight.
NO LOVE FOR YOU!
:P
anyway, as far as i remember it, it really wasn't all that political or even "oh god they are looking at my butt!' when we were in the basic training open shower.
it has mostly to do with what happens when two gay people in the same unit fall in love and then are put into a situation where one of them is forced with a decision, and the added emotional stress can deter them from the percieved "right" course of action, or even cause them to make a bad choice and there goes the whole firing team.
sort of along the same lines as to why many women were not allowed in heavy combat units.
when i was "down range" (i could tell you where, but then i'd hafta kill ya, lol) we had a female with us, and guess what! The plane with the pallet of feminine hygiene products got diverted (any ex-military people should know all about this!) and our poor female had to make do with what she had.
we were in the field, with no hot showers, and maybe some semi damp baby wipes for bath once a week.
so you can imagine her plight. and any one with good field training know to trust their sense of smell right? as men we just rolled in the mud to cover most of our scent, but, well, it didn't work so good with our poor female.
if she had gone out on patrol with some of us, and the enemy was down wind, that would be that!
also that, and there is an special unwritten "written" rule (again, any ex-military people will know what this means) in a special ops manual that has to do with worldwide holocaust which states that the women will be needed to repopulate the world in event of near global human extinction.
and as far as the op's post, yeah, sometimes cruel and unusual things happen in the military, and things like this usually have to do with politics.
oh, and p.s., thanks to wizards for sending us all those free games and gaming supplies! you guys rock!
Most hardcore and dedicated Soldiers to ever exist. And you know.. they were Greeks...
Gays are every bit as capable of Doing Their Effin Job as "straight" people. I would think that the Spartans proved that well enough when it comes to military capability.
Also about scents, Actually it's easier to smell someone that's not bathed etc than someone that does. It's a proven fact actually. "they can smell the soap a mile away" is a myth, and actually it's BO that can be smelled at a much greater distance.
Women should be allowed on the modern battlefield at 7 billion strong, we don't have to worry about "repopulating the species" even in the event of a Nuclear Holocaust. (somewhere around 1 billion of us would still survive that -without- special measures) Due to how well fire arms level the playing field as well inherent disadvantages of the Female Chassis are pretty well covered. And infact in a firearm equipped environment women actually have an advantage in that they are generally smaller targets.
This sort of thing is just silly. Does it make a difference to you that Person X is straight? It probably never even enters your mind. There is no reason whatsoever to question whether or not a person is gay. It shouldn't even enter your mind. People are people. The end.
Let alone once the bullets start flyin.
Now if bein gay somehow either attracted bullets in the general direction (beyond being a soldier fighting someone etc) then maybe it'd be important as there would be a direct strategic reason to not be near a gay guy when the shooting starts... (Ie you don't want to get shot at even more... some how bein gay draws more aggro)
or on the flipside made that general direction all but impervious to bullet fire, then you'd want to be as near a gay person as possible so you don't get shot to pieces.
Ignorant, uneducated people tend to fear what they don't understand. And fear tends to turn into hate.
Ignorant, uneducated people tend to have faith in their religious leaders instead of understanding their faith on their own terms. Many religious leaders take a hardcore stance against homosexuals.
Many uneducated people end up in the military because it is their best option. I'm not saying that everyone who joins the military is ignorant and uneducated. I know many people who have gone to serve our country that are intelligent people.
Take these factors and the military becomes a dangerous place to be openly gay. Instead of disciplining the majority of ignorant masses of homophobic troops against bringing harm to homosexual soldiers, the goverment has taken what they consider the easier route of disallowing homosexual soldiers to be open about their sexuality. Which would be somewhat OK if the military applied "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to all personnel equally. Discipline any soldier that talks openly about their sexuality. But that would quell an outlet for male bonding that is deemed important for building a cohesive unit.
The situation won't improve until tolerance in our nation improves. And with people's religious beliefs that tolerance is still a long way away.
There's obviously something about the female anatomy I'm not familiar with
Or maybe there are just some things I'm used to talking openly about that get labelled differently here.There's obviously something about the female anatomy I'm not familiar with
I think he's implying that due to lack of supplies, she stank when it was "that time of the month" when she was "not at her best" because she was "bleeding" from her "******." You know, to use my favourite euphamism. Sorry, "euphamism."
well, back in the day when i was in the service (think mid to late nineties, folks), we had a don't ask don't tell thing going on (it's still the policy i think).
anyway, as far as i remember it, it really wasn't all that political or even "oh god they are looking at my butt!' when we were in the basic training open shower.
it has mostly to do with what happens when two gay people in the same unit fall in love and then are put into a situation where one of them is forced with a decision, and the added emotional stress can deter them from the percieved "right" course of action, or even cause them to make a bad choice and there goes the whole firing team.
A bad decision like not leaving a fellow soldier behind or getting a fellow soldier out of harms way?
The way I always looked at it is that you'll more likely be helped by those in your unit if they like you. And well love is kind of a really strong like. So what I see is that love would help bring more group unity and closeness and whatnot.
I've just never bought the whole argument for keeping gays and women out of the military.
A bad decision like not leaving a fellow soldier behind or getting a fellow soldier out of harms way?
The way I always looked at it is that you'll more likely be helped by those in your unit if they like you. And well love is kind of a really strong like. So what I see is that love would help bring more group unity and closeness and whatnot.
I've just never bought the whole argument for keeping gays and women out of the military.
AFAIK, the bond between people who face mortal danger together is stronger than just about anything, save maybe the love people have for their children and beloved spouses. But maybe the kind of platonic love you develop for people you've faced danger with, is a more 'rational' kind of deep love than other forms of love, so soldiers who've experienced it aren't as likely to go out of their way to save a friend they care deeply for, as a gay guy is to do the same for someone he has a crush on... or something like that.
1. the bond you share with your unit members after training and then being in a combat situation is akin to very close brothers. i will honestly say I felt closer to the members of my firing team than my own brother, and i lived with him for 15 years before i left home.
2. If i were in a combat situation with my wife and kids, and i was ordered to abandon them to save the mission, I would not be saving the mission. However, if i were told to sacrifice one of my brothers to save the mission, chances are i would do it. But i would also know my brother would take a few of the enemy with him, and go out rocking and rolling.
And as far as the BO thing, well, i was there, and i tell you what. the enemy stank, and we all stank. and the females stank differently.
i'd rather smell like a local natural village laborer than joe irish spring ;)
and as an aside, it is little stupid things like that that get you killed. your perfumed underarm deoderant, hair gel, all that junk which many take for granted (even toothpaste!) can be a dead give away in certain ops.
And as I said before, so many people think it has to do with others being afraid or anxious in so far as the having gays serving with them. while there are few, and i stress few people like that, most service men I was with and many others i talked to about it said it didn't really matter much to them.
it has a lot to do with outmoded policies and rules and laws in the UCMJ, and a lot to do with politics. i could go on forever about this, but let's say you work at a minimum wage job and you have an extra marital affair. what happens? and who really cares? now, let's say you are the Pres of the US and you have an extra marital affair. catch the drift?
there's also a lot more i could say that i won't because i want the thread to continue, and not be closed, but i already sense it is getting close to being locked.
I think he's implying that due to lack of supplies, she stank when it was "that time of the month" when she was "not at her best" because she was "bleeding" from her "******." You know, to use my favourite euphamism. Sorry, "euphamism."
Ah. Here we call it "menstruation"
2. If i were in a combat situation with my wife and kids, and i was ordered to abandon them to save the mission, I would not be saving the mission. However, if i were told to sacrifice one of my brothers to save the mission, chances are i would do it. But i would also know my brother would take a few of the enemy with him, and go out rocking and rolling.
But is it the difference between loving your wife so much more than your brothers, or the difference between knowing your brothers have chosen that kind of life and can take care of themselves?
And as far as the BO thing, well, i was there, and i tell you what. the enemy stank, and we all stank. and the females stank differently.
So what you're saying is that the enemy didn't have any female soldiers, and would therefore register the smell of women as being out place, unlike the smell of men?
and as an aside, it is little stupid things like that that get you killed. your perfumed underarm deoderant, hair gel, all that junk which many take for granted (even toothpaste!) can be a dead give away in certain ops.
Why would anyone use perfumed deoderant and hair gel in the army? Sorry but, if I had to be away from home for months, those would be among the last things I'd miss. They aren't even hygiene products.
Anyway, I personally think homosexuality should be encouraged, in the army and otherwise.