Posted by fayeroe on November 19, 2008, at 10:50:35
In reply to Re: 104 retired leaders in army..don't ask, don't tell » Sigismund, posted by yxibow on November 19, 2008, at 1:27:10
> It's still a internal problem and religious issue in Israel, but they have no choice. And I think that takes chutzpah to do it. If you're outnumbered in population and size by its proportion by countries not quite so friendly, it is natural and necessary to include gays and lesbians in the IDF.
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> And maybe that is a lesson to the rest of the world that yes, it's not nonsense, down in the trenches in WWI and WWII, and even some who volunteered for Vietnam (god willing) were gay and lesbian veterans who served for our country, secret may be, but but there they were.I am sure that if the son or daughter of some of these homophobic folks was in danger and a gay/lesbian soldier threw themselves in front of the fire and saved the "child"..all at once it wouldn't be such a huge problem for them to accept a gay person. (That sentence almost wore me out. I haven't had my coffee yet.)
And to take it 11 steps more, how about the gay firefighter saving your house, the policeman who saves your life, an EMS, the rodeo clown saves your cowboy son,(I know one) the garbage man who removes your waste, the carrier delivers your mail, the person who delivers the coal for your heat (i know one), the grocery employee sacks your groceries and carries the sacks out for you, the correction officer guards offenders (eee, I know a gay officer who is black) at the local prison preventing an escape..( although the guards that I know might not be up to par on that one) the computer technician that keeps you running so you can post on here, the employees that keep your city services going..gas, electric, water,the veterinarian that keeps your pets healthy, the broker who looks after your stock? (although right now that is pretty dicey)and I've run out of people. :-0
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> Even we had a segregated division (gack!) of African-Americans building the Alaska highway, why not gay and lesbians serving in the military, in their own way -- nobody said that mass fraternization had to occur, I mean come on among the straight population there were bigamist trysts with the Vietnamese population.You know something..the gay people that I know aren't remotely interested in straights. Not in a sexual way. So what is the big problem allowing gays and lesbians to serve their country. It isn't as though homosexuals see a war as a place to "snatch" a new heterosexual partner. It is just down right discrimatory to me. Clinton blew it. And I love Bill Clinton.
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> It took guts and some tooth and nail diplomacy to "allow" African Americans to enlist in our army post WWII -- I can't imagine why other groups who are willing to die or be wounded for our country and for other countries or for the Peace Corps (I'm not sure on that status) should be denied the same right.Excellent point. If you are capable of serving in the armed forces what is wrong with the people "upstairs"? They are scared? Of what? ...(Cheney has a lesbian daughter.) Did you know that the military fired the best Iraqi translator that we had because he is gay? This man was evidently tops in the field.
There is a book about the first black cowboy that is really interesting.. I met my FIRST and only black rodeo clown in 1989.( he gave me the teeshirt off his back that says "rodeo naked".) ..
The gay rodeo assocation is thriving and their first rodeo was in OKC. The citizens protested like crazy and now they are bidding to get the association to return. I photographed their first rodeo and guess what? They ride just as well as a straight cowboy does...rope well also. :-) And the lesbians didn't try to lure any straight women out of the stands that night.
As you can tell, I get very upset with people who are homophobic.
Pat
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> -- Jay
poster:fayeroe
thread:863764
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20081115/msgs/863977.html