Military Discharged 770 Last Year for Being Gay

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Post by Wicked Pilot »

Stormbringer wrote:I don't know. Then again I don't know exactly why the US military has so many problems with hetrosexual military personell compared to the Britians either.
Britian seems to be a bit more liberal than the US, and as such you can probably expect less of her citizens to automatically assume that gays are all sexual predators who will take every oppertunity to make advances on their straight counterparts while in the shower.


Generally speaking, there are two schools of thoughts concerning 'don't ask, don't tell'. The first, which we are all probably familiar with is the 'homosexuals are evil, they're gonna purposefully cause trouble, they're a bunch of pussies, etc.' Believe me, there are a lot of people in the military that think this way. I'm sure I don't need to explain why this is wrong.
The second is the 'we don't want to deal with the problems caused by people subscribing to school of thought one.' Face it, if homosexuals come in, there will be conflicts. Most will be stupid, some will be serious. Commanders do not like conflicts within their units, expecially those of a sexual nature. Those cut down morale like Abrams cutting down Republican Guard. So, instead of having to roll up the sleeves and do the necessary dirty work, the problem is preempted by denying service to homosexuals. It's the easy way of doing business. Yes, we could simply weed out the homophobes, but unfortunately, homophobes probably outnumber gays in this country, so that's less warm bodies to sent to Iraq.

The whole situation sucks ass, and honestly I am glad that in this stage of my career it's not something I have to deal with.
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Post by Elfdart »

consequences wrote:
Elfdart wrote:
Well yes, I do think homophobia explains it. What's the big deal? The great fear is that when some gay dude showers with the others, he'll get excited and pop a boner. Even if this is true, SO WHAT? It's a fucking compliment! I think I'd be flattered if some guy looked at my flabby, hairy, chigger-scarred ass in the shower and said "Yeah Baby!" -and I'm not gay. Grow the fuck up, people.
No, the fear is that you'll go out drinking and end up date-raped when you weren't even on a date.
Are you saying you're just irresistable? Women get raped, too you know. :roll:

Besides, I thought it was straight guys who were supposed to not want to be near gays, not guys who claim to be straight don't want to be near gays because they're scared that their own budding homosexuality will blossom. Which is it?
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Post by consequences »

Elfdart wrote:
consequences wrote:
Elfdart wrote:
Well yes, I do think homophobia explains it. What's the big deal? The great fear is that when some gay dude showers with the others, he'll get excited and pop a boner. Even if this is true, SO WHAT? It's a fucking compliment! I think I'd be flattered if some guy looked at my flabby, hairy, chigger-scarred ass in the shower and said "Yeah Baby!" -and I'm not gay. Grow the fuck up, people.
No, the fear is that you'll go out drinking and end up date-raped when you weren't even on a date.
Are you saying you're just irresistable? Women get raped, too you know. :roll:

Besides, I thought it was straight guys who were supposed to not want to be near gays, not guys who claim to be straight don't want to be near gays because they're scared that their own budding homosexuality will blossom. Which is it?
I'm expressinfg the unspoken fear that seems to underly at least some of the homophobic hostility I've encountered while in the military.

Excuse me? What part of date-raped implies blossoming homosexuality? Or do you seriously think that being drugged and fucked up the ass is supposed to convert someone? :roll:
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Stormbringer wrote:Of course it's all the knuckle dragging Neanderthals fault. :roll:
You're god damn fucking right it is. If people weren't so fucking afraid of homosexuals, we wouldn't have this problem, would we?
Nevermind that simple improper fraternizations and the problems it has caused for units morale. Never mind the numerous problems that are simply the result of socially awkward people. Never mind that most people as you aren't so comfortable as you about all thing sexual.
Ah yes, "Gays will fraternize with their comrades and destroy unit morale." How could I forget?
Yeah, any one that doesn't fit your mold must be a knuckle dragging asshole.
No, they're just ignorant, insecure assholes, and there's no reason why we should be catering to ignorant, insecure people. You know what will happen if the military allows "openly gay" people in tomorrow? Nothing. People will live with it.
And of course no guy would ever look at some one unavailable. :roll:
And no male soldier has ever given a once-over to a female soldier? Give me a fucking break. Women are allowed in the service, and it hasn't caused massive problems for morale, like you and your fellow doomsayers are predicting it would if "openly gay" people were suddenly allowed to serve.
And of course you're assuming that ever gay guy will never so much as look at another man unless he's riding a rubber phallus float singing YMCA. :roll:
See above, you fucking idiot.
I never said they shouldn't serve. In fact I've said quite the opposite. However as I said I think you're initial and ongoing assumption that any man that would find living in close quarters with a gay man (or for that matter a woman living with a lesbian) uncomfortable must be a knuckle dragging, homophobic asshole.
Bullshit. I said that this idiotic "Don't ask, don't tell" policy was the result of draconian homophobia by policymakers, and that's the fucking truth. You then turned it into "Well, people might feel uncomfortable living with someone who might be sexually attracted to them, so it'll damage morale."

That is what I labeled as homophobic. And wanna know why? Because straight men in the service wouldn't give a flying fuck if women were living in their barracks. The women might, but the men wouldn't start feeling uncomfortable or losing morale.

If a gay man, however, is living in their barracks, the men are suddenly uncomfortable, and that is a homophobic attitude.
And of course all that integrating women in the military boiled down to was paranoid women fearing men's advances. Funny how there's continual problems with even innocent intentioned things like improper fraternization and all the consequences that brings.
Try and get the issue straight here. You're talking about straight men's discomfort, so your analogy about integrating women simply does not apply here. Women were the ones trying to get in, so they're more analogous to gays.
I don't expect all of them to advertise it. But then again if the only way to deal with it while in uniform is to hide it, we're right back at don't ask don't tell except they're still there with all the complications that entails.
Do you honestly not see the difference here? If the Army lets gay men in with full knowledge of their sexuality, then gays aren't compelled to hide it for fear of being booted out. They may hide it for personal reasons, but at least they won't be discharged if it comes out.
And I said I never favor that. I just object to your moronic assumption that any one that has a problem with gays being forced into close quarters living with homosexuals is some knuckle dragging barbarian asshole.
Okay, so let's ask ourselves: Would it be "uncomfortable" for straight males to have women living in the same barracks as them? Probably not. It may be uncomfortable for the women, but that's because they're outsiders. Now, would it be uncomfortable for straight males to have a gay man living in their barracks? Why, yes! This notion of discomfort you're prattling on about is the result of being around a gay man. And that is what we call homophobia, and that is why I label it as the anti-progressive filth that it is.
And once again you're back to the assumption that the only reason a person would be uncomfortable around gays is because they're an asshole. Thank you for that brilliant example of simply repeating yourself.
No, the only reason someone would be uncomfortable around gays is because he's homophobic. That's the only conceivable reason, because in every single other aspect, gays are identical to heterosexuals. This "Don't ask, don't tell" mess only proves my point. If a gay man was getting along just fine in a platoon, and then told a buddy that he was gay, that buddy suddenly starts getting uncomfortable. That's because he's homophobic.
Oh wait, I wasn't aware that homosexual attraction was the result of being gay. :shock:

Of course sticking a gay man into a platoon of men is going to cause the problem! If you stuck a man into a platoon of women you'd get the same laundry list of problems: the root cause, he's hetro.
The difference between a man and a woman is far greater than the difference between a gay man and a straight man, you moron. Believe it or not, not all gays are flamers who participate in the gay pride parade. They act just like straight males.
And oh my god, we don't put a man in an all female barracks! And oh my god, we don't call females assholes because they have a problem with how some guys behave. And oh my god, we don't call women or men assholes when unit morale tanks because of he's sleeping with her, she's sleeping with him bullshit.
Putting a man in an all-women barracks is far different from putting a gay man in an all-straight-male barracks, and you know it. You're tying these two situations together with the tenuous thread that's possible sexual attraction, because that's the only thing they have in common. In the former situation, the man stands out visibly, behaves differently and is of a different gender. In the latter, the gay man does not visibly stand out, does not necessarily behave differently and is the same gender.
Yet if you replace woman with gay man, suddenly they're assholes.
See above. Your analogy is total bullshit.
And racial integration is mostly a problem of ignorant people.

The problem of human sexuality is one that far dwarfs that and might I remind you, simple hetrosexual relationships are still an ongoing headache for the military. Do you really think that trying to use the military to provide therapy is the best way to go about it?
Who said anything about therapy? I said we should forcibly integrate the military, just like we did the South.
And if you'll note, I don't disagree. However I take issue with the notion that anyone that has a problem with living in close quarters with a homosexual is simply an asshole.
Anyone unit that collectively suffers a morale loss from simply having a gay member probably is full of assholes. They're homophobes. What's so hard about this to accept? Mild discomfort from possibly never having known a gay man before is expected, but you're scenarios and arguments imply that the presence of a gay man in a unit will destroy morale.
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Post by Elfdart »

consequences wrote:
Elfdart wrote:
consequences wrote: No, the fear is that you'll go out drinking and end up date-raped when you weren't even on a date.
Are you saying you're just irresistable? Women get raped, too you know. :roll:

Besides, I thought it was straight guys who were supposed to not want to be near gays, not guys who claim to be straight don't want to be near gays because they're scared that their own budding homosexuality will blossom. Which is it?
I'm expressinfg the unspoken fear that seems to underly at least some of the homophobic hostility I've encountered while in the military.

Excuse me? What part of date-raped implies blossoming homosexuality? Or do you seriously think that being drugged and fucked up the ass is supposed to convert someone? :roll:
First of all, gay guys don't try to "convert" anyone, nor are they any more likely to committ rape. If a gay person sees a guy who gives him wood, but turns out to be straight, they do what I did when I found out a really hot chick who lived across the street was a lesbian: Mutter "Damn, what a waste." and get on with life.
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Post by Frank Hipper »

Outside of prison stories(which are largely a myth according to a guy of my aquaintence who spent a couple years in prison), I've never heard of a straight man being "drugged and fucked up the ass"... :?
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Post by consequences »

Elfdart wrote:
consequences wrote:
Elfdart wrote: Are you saying you're just irresistable? Women get raped, too you know. :roll:

Besides, I thought it was straight guys who were supposed to not want to be near gays, not guys who claim to be straight don't want to be near gays because they're scared that their own budding homosexuality will blossom. Which is it?
I'm expressinfg the unspoken fear that seems to underly at least some of the homophobic hostility I've encountered while in the military.

Excuse me? What part of date-raped implies blossoming homosexuality? Or do you seriously think that being drugged and fucked up the ass is supposed to convert someone? :roll:
First of all, gay guys don't try to "convert" anyone, nor are they any more likely to committ rape. If a gay person sees a guy who gives him wood, but turns out to be straight, they do what I did when I found out a really hot chick who lived across the street was a lesbian: Mutter "Damn, what a waste." and get on with life.
Given that gay men are essentially the same as straight men, that means that the same percentage should be the sort of asshole who will take advantage of someone while drunk, who wouldn't say yes normally, and may not even be conscious at the time. Assuming that a rapist like that will make the same decision as you is either faulty logic, or an admission that you would commit date-rape.

We aren't talking about the majority here, we're talking about the perception of the ignorant hick from <fill in the blank>, who learned everything he knows about homosexuality from his parents bad-mouthing it, and makes up a pretty laerge percentage of the armed forces.
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Post by consequences »

Frank Hipper wrote:Outside of prison stories(which are largely a myth according to a guy of my aquaintence who spent a couple years in prison), I've never heard of a straight man being "drugged and fucked up the ass"... :?
And given the percentage of women that never comes forward about being raped, and the much greater stigma that would be palaced on any man who admitted to letting it happen, this is surprising how?
Equality of treatment, means I treat homosexuals exactly as I would a heterosexual. Since my opinion of heterosexual male humanity is pretty fucking low, this means that everyone is guilty until proven innocent. Anything else would be discrimination.
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Post by Illuminatus Primus »

Frank Hipper wrote:Outside of prison stories(which are largely a myth according to a guy of my aquaintence who spent a couple years in prison), I've never heard of a straight man being "drugged and fucked up the ass"... :?
Really, HRW implies it pervasive and everywhere.
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Post by Exmoor Cat »

The British Army is doing a lot in making up for the impacts it's anti-gay policies have had. Sometimes with inadvertent results. (e.g. the case where a transsexual lost their case against the MoD for being transferred out of a frontline unit to PR).

My personal favourite put down to someone who was going "urgh!" to the idea of serving alongsdie gays, was from a girl I knew a while back "Don't worry, I don't find you attractive either".
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Post by Exmoor Cat »

Thought this was interesting reading -
http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Para ... belkin.htm
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Post by Darth Wong »

Yes, it's a good article. But since it only discusses hard evidence and the positive expeience of other countries which have integrated gays into the military rather than upholding right-wing American dogma, it is really of no value in debate.
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Post by Augustus »

Darth Wong wrote:Yes, it's a good article. But since it only discusses hard evidence and the positive expeience of other countries which have integrated gays into the military rather than upholding right-wing American dogma, it is really of no value in debate.
I would consider myself "right-wing", but I'm not opposed to any modification to current enlistment policy of the armed forces that has zero impact on their primary function.

Being gay should not exempt anyone from the opportunity to serve their country, or lay down their life in defense of what they hold dear.

Integration of the forces will happen eventually. What bothers me is the way that integration will be carried out. I would hope that its done with enough common sense to respect the rights of each group and still preserve the integrity of the forces.
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