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I agree. Think about all of the women who have been sexually pursued and even assaulted by guys in the military. Using his argument, I guess we should get rid of all heterosexual males in the military because of those incidents.
People are human and sometimes they break the rules. That doesn't mean we should judge an entire class of people by the actions of those few who break the rules. Just as the vast majority of heterosexuals are able to follow rules, the vast majority of homosexuals and bisexuals are able to follow the rules too. The discrimination is ridiculous.
The logical side of me knows that these were probably two isolated incidents and because of the four gay guys on my first ship, I know that not all gay men act that way. But that doesn't change how I feel inside after those incidents. Those incidents changed me in a bad way. I felt that this was my fault and maybe I might have sent them the wrong signals. I went out of my way to be girl crazy and it led me on a downward spiral of prostitutes, broken relationships, and serious trust issues. There were thoughts of jumping ship in the middle of the Atlantic and hope they never find me. I'm better now but I do still feel the trust issues. I would never have lasted these five years with my wife if I hadn't worked through these issues and talked with her about them. You can say not all gay men do this, I can realize not all gay men do this, but it still haunts me all these years since spring 1993.
I find it ironic that people feel the soldiers are somehow "threatened" in some way by gays in the military. I would think hand grenades would be far more intimidating. Other countries have gays in the military, and they don't seem to be popping their fear corks. Maybe the US should ask them how it's working out ?
Just because you believe that "people feel the soldiers are somehow "threatened" in some way by gays in the military" does not mean that soldiers feel the same way you do. That's only your perceptions. For example, as a heterosexual male (former military member), I would not have a problem whatsoever taking a shower with all of my female coworkers (this is not allowed in the military, of course, but I just used it as an example). I would have a big problem taking a shower with my male co-workers and having one or two of them coming on to me. That would have created a big fight, injury, and even death to some of us. It's a simple as that.
Yes, there have always and will always be homosexual military members in the military. Some military members may be "swingers," bisexual, homosexual, some even rapists, child molesters, etc. But the bottom line is that all of these sexual practices (in the open or known to others), are punishable offenses under military and sometimes civilian law.
Try to imagine sleeping in a large room with 200 other men. You sleep within inches (a foot or less sometimes) from the next guy. Now mix genders. Put both men and women in this situation for six months a year. They must now work together, sleep together, shower together, and even undress in front of each other every day for six months out of the year. Such a situation will create problems. In some ways, it's exactly the same thing with openly gay men in the military. This is the situation on many navy ships. 50, 75, 100, or even 200 or more men all sleeping in the same room.
IMO, those that do not understand the concerns that you or I have raised have not served in the military, let alone served in a combat area.
I believe it is difficult for them to comprehend fully the issue we speak of.
Frankly, it is one of the reasons why I have some doubts that Congress will actually pass legislation repealing "Don't ask, Don't Tell"
But I don't think either of you have explained why the American military's treatment of sexual orientation should be different than all of the other militaries in the modern world. Not that we need to copy what other countries are doing, but I think there should at least be a rational explanation as to why we do things differently here.
But I don't think either of you have explained why the American military's treatment of sexual orientation should be different than all of the other militaries in the modern world. .
The US Military Code of Conduct - including the Code of Military Justice has been different from Day 1.
And, there is no reason to "copy" what other military's have done.
For instance - for YEARS - Many nations have included women in combat roles while the US did / does not. We had our reasons for this.
For years, other nations allowed the entire male population of a family to serve - even side by side in combat. The US changed our policy decades ago and will not allow this.
So you want to do things like other countries? Some countries execute gay men. Would you like to do things like those countries? On a more serious note, did you know that many NATO nations' Navy ships serve alcohol on their ships even when at sea? Let's go ahead and let our nation's sailors have a couple of beers and then sit at launch control or the controls of a nuclear reactor or the flight deck of an aircraft carrier as they rapidly launch and recover jet fighters. Why not, everyone else is doing it.
The US Military Code of Conduct - including the Code of Military Justice has been different from Day 1.
And, there is no reason to "copy" what other military's have done.
For instance - for YEARS - Many nations have included women in combat roles while the US did / does not. We had our reasons for this.
For years, other nations allowed the entire male population of a family to serve - even side by side in combat. The US changed our policy decades ago and will not allow this.
We follow our own policies -
That still doesn't explain why the policy differs from other countries. Perhaps you don't know the answer. That's okay.
That still doesn't explain why the policy is what it is. Perhaps you don't know the answer. That's okay.
It is because, "straight" members of the military do not want to serve in combat with "gays". It is because such integration has proven bad for unit morale.
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