Well now, isn't this interesting....
The White House has declared June 2010 to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. Coming on the heals of a potential Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal, it looks like gay/lesbian/trans folks are getting the attention we've been itching for ever since Obama came into office.
I am, of course, happy to see this come about. I mean, yes - the "National X Month" thing is a familiar gimmick, used by Presidents for ages, and is essentially meaningless in terms of its real-world effectiveness. It has no policymaking effect, no legislative impact - it's a purely political move meant as a message from the White House to gays and lesbians in the country to say, "Don't worry - we haven't forgotten about you." Which is nice. It's like getting a card from an old friend you haven't talked to in a while. Of course, the entire conservative psychoscape is just going to lose its collective mind over this, which is always entertaining as well. So as far as political gestures go, this is a nice one. It's not only a reminder that we're still on the list, but it's a sign that Obama is willing to take the heat he knows he's going to get for it. That is the more important message, I think.
As for Don't Ask, Don't Tell, I said on Facebook that I would believe it when Obama's signature was dry, and not a moment before that. I'm pretty sure it'll pass - there are forces not only in Congress, but in the military itself who want to be done with this pointless and self-destructive policy - but there are still some heavy hitters out there who are determined that gay and lesbian servicemembers should either stay in the closet or give up on their determination to serve their country.
Keeping in mind that the Christian right and its marionette, the Republican Party, likes to portray itself as the scrappy underdog even when it's in power, I have no doubt in my mind - none at all - that they're going to do everything in their power, fair and foul, to stop this. And if they can't stop it, then they'll poison the well as badly as they can on their way out. Already they're worried about what will happen is DA/DT is repealed, especially to people who are determined to have hate in their hearts. I loved this bit from a New York Times article on the potential challenges that the military will face once the policy is repealed:
Ms. [Elaine] Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, a nonprofit policy group, also predicted fierce debate over rules governing antidiscrimination policies toward homosexuals. She said she and other supporters of the ban worried that service members who oppose homosexuality on religious grounds would be denied promotions, a policy she called “zero tolerance” toward anti-gay discrimination.
“Over a period of time, not all at once, people who find themselves out of step with zero tolerance will not re-enlist,” she said.
Oh, noes! Good Christian soldiers won't be free to bother, mock, harass, needle, discriminate against, assault, injure or murder their gay and lesbian colleagues? They'll have to treat them with... consideration?! *spit* Like they're actual human beings?!? What a horror! What a mockery of freedom! Won't somebody please, please, think of the BIGOTS?!?
Fuck you, Elaine Donnelly.
As an aside, my friend Chris rightly pointed out that bigots aren't unique to the military, which is true. But there's less of a chance that Phil, the asshole from accounting who doesn't even hug his father, is also a highly-trained murder machine. Just sayin'....
Now the good news is that looking at other integrated militaries seems to show that having openly gay and lesbian soldiers serving really doesn't cause all that much trouble. Interviews with US servicemembers seems to show that a lot of them really don't care after whom their fellow soldier lusts, so long as they do their job as a soldier. The best thing the DoD can do is just say, "All right, enough of this noise," make the proper amendments to the rulebooks and then drop the issue. None of this "Should we give them special barracks" bullshit, or re-assigning gay and lesbian soldiers to less sensitive positions or keeping them away from situations where they might Fall Prey to the Demon Lust.
Just treat them like every other soldier, and let's get this over with so we can focus on more important issues....
I am, of course, happy to see this come about. I mean, yes - the "National X Month" thing is a familiar gimmick, used by Presidents for ages, and is essentially meaningless in terms of its real-world effectiveness. It has no policymaking effect, no legislative impact - it's a purely political move meant as a message from the White House to gays and lesbians in the country to say, "Don't worry - we haven't forgotten about you." Which is nice. It's like getting a card from an old friend you haven't talked to in a while. Of course, the entire conservative psychoscape is just going to lose its collective mind over this, which is always entertaining as well. So as far as political gestures go, this is a nice one. It's not only a reminder that we're still on the list, but it's a sign that Obama is willing to take the heat he knows he's going to get for it. That is the more important message, I think.
As for Don't Ask, Don't Tell, I said on Facebook that I would believe it when Obama's signature was dry, and not a moment before that. I'm pretty sure it'll pass - there are forces not only in Congress, but in the military itself who want to be done with this pointless and self-destructive policy - but there are still some heavy hitters out there who are determined that gay and lesbian servicemembers should either stay in the closet or give up on their determination to serve their country.
Keeping in mind that the Christian right and its marionette, the Republican Party, likes to portray itself as the scrappy underdog even when it's in power, I have no doubt in my mind - none at all - that they're going to do everything in their power, fair and foul, to stop this. And if they can't stop it, then they'll poison the well as badly as they can on their way out. Already they're worried about what will happen is DA/DT is repealed, especially to people who are determined to have hate in their hearts. I loved this bit from a New York Times article on the potential challenges that the military will face once the policy is repealed:
Ms. [Elaine] Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, a nonprofit policy group, also predicted fierce debate over rules governing antidiscrimination policies toward homosexuals. She said she and other supporters of the ban worried that service members who oppose homosexuality on religious grounds would be denied promotions, a policy she called “zero tolerance” toward anti-gay discrimination.
“Over a period of time, not all at once, people who find themselves out of step with zero tolerance will not re-enlist,” she said.
Oh, noes! Good Christian soldiers won't be free to bother, mock, harass, needle, discriminate against, assault, injure or murder their gay and lesbian colleagues? They'll have to treat them with... consideration?! *spit* Like they're actual human beings?!? What a horror! What a mockery of freedom! Won't somebody please, please, think of the BIGOTS?!?
Fuck you, Elaine Donnelly.
As an aside, my friend Chris rightly pointed out that bigots aren't unique to the military, which is true. But there's less of a chance that Phil, the asshole from accounting who doesn't even hug his father, is also a highly-trained murder machine. Just sayin'....
Now the good news is that looking at other integrated militaries seems to show that having openly gay and lesbian soldiers serving really doesn't cause all that much trouble. Interviews with US servicemembers seems to show that a lot of them really don't care after whom their fellow soldier lusts, so long as they do their job as a soldier. The best thing the DoD can do is just say, "All right, enough of this noise," make the proper amendments to the rulebooks and then drop the issue. None of this "Should we give them special barracks" bullshit, or re-assigning gay and lesbian soldiers to less sensitive positions or keeping them away from situations where they might Fall Prey to the Demon Lust.
Just treat them like every other soldier, and let's get this over with so we can focus on more important issues....