(Untitled)

[appending_doom]

Apparently, a protest starring Lt. Dan Choi and Kathy Griffin got out of hand when he led a group off to protest outside the White House.

Lt. Choi chained himself to the fence and was subsequently arrested.

See various updates hereI must admit, I get this guy's frustration. If I were working somewhere and was (legally) fired for being gay (as in

Comments

sympathetic disagreement

[lula_vampiro]

I don't think Lt. Choi needs to be a good boy; I think Lt. Choi needs to be a good soldier.

If he were a civilian protesting DADT and he chained himself to the White House I'd say, right on. But anyone who hates DADT can do that. What makes Lt. Choi different, and he himself has stated this over and over in interviews, is that he is needed on the battlefield, which in fact is where he was slated to be with his own direct commander's sanction. Getting out there, interacting with foreign nationals in their native tongues, and saving lives in uniform, all the while having the hots for dudes-that is to say, defying DADT in what I consider to be the most direct method possible-is what Dan Choi does best. He's not fighting for the right to chain himself to the White House; he's fighting for the right to fight while gay, and last I checked he was, regardless of DADT, still a lieutenant, still serving.

Lt. Choi does have to adhere to lieutenant behavior because he is fighting precisely for his right, and every other gay's in America, to behave as a lieutenant. I believe that lieutenant behavior precludes chaining yourself to your commanding officer's (that is, Obama's) house, regardless of what policies of his you find offensive. I empathize with the emotional aspect of Lt. Choi's action, but the guy is not powerless-it was far from the only means available to him to take a stand and express himself. The dude is a TV news regular. I find it dubious that "chain self to White House fence when a huge crowd of people was ALREADY listening to you speak and cheering" is more personally cathartic, let alone politically effective, than calling up Keith Olbermann and being like, "Hey, can I get on your show and vent about my struggle for half an hour?" when you know that loudmouth is gonna say yes. Chaining yourself to someone else's house-someone who isn't even the root of the problem-is neither communication nor catharsis. It's acting out.

I think that it's great for Lt. Choi to express his feelings; but soldiers are called upon to control their feelings (although not their sexual preferences, ideally) when acting in service of a greater good. Of course I support Lt. Choi's feelings; but I don't agree with his actions. Chaining yourself to your commander-in-chief's house in uniform is not appropriate officer's behavior; it's not helping his cause; and while I may be wrong, I seriously doubt it was even the personally healthiest expression of Lt. Choi's feelings.

Soldiers fight for their causes. This morning, Lt. Choi didn't do that. He's still a soldier, but he can do better than this, for others and for himself.