Friday, May 25, 2007

They Shouldn't Ask, Who Cares If You Tell?

The Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy in the US military is one of those things that I don't get. It seems that every time a group want to integrate into the military and society as a whole, some narrow-minded jackass (often toting a Bible) starts braying on against it.
Some of the opposition to gays serving openly in the military seems to echo the hoo-ha over the integration of blacks into the military, including the ideas of unit cohesion, operational needs, and not using the military as an instrument of social change.
The current administration in the States seems to think that homosexuality is so wrong that weakening the core skills needed in the Middle East is more reasonable than repealing the DADT policy.
I've found a good little rundown here:

Brilliant at Breakfast
So what are the actual risks of having gays in the military? Surprisingly small, actually.
Since the British military began allowing homosexuals to serve in the armed forces in 2000, none of its fears — about harassment, discord, blackmail, bullying or an erosion of unit cohesion or military effectiveness — have come to pass, according to the Ministry of Defense, current and former members of the services and academics specializing in the military. The biggest news about the policy, they say, is that there is no news. It has for the most part become a nonissue.

The Ministry of Defense does not compile figures on how many gay men and lesbians are openly serving, and it says that the number of people who have come out publicly in the past seven years is still relatively low. But it is clearly proud of how smoothly homosexuals have been integrated and is trying to make life easier for them.

So why is this not trumpeted?
Nonetheless, the issue is extremely delicate now. The military does not want to be seen bragging about the success of its policy when the issue can still cause so much anguished debate in the United States.

Ah, I see.
Ultimately there's no real reason for this crap, this abrogation of human rights and freedoms. It should end.


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