DADT Is Over

[eclipsegryph]

And DADT is officially over today. Congratulations, America, on looking like a laughing stock to the rest of the world by fighting so hard to keep this inane policy in place, and for so long. We now join over 40 other secular countries in acceptance and tolerance, with some members of you still kicking and screaming like a petulant child. It will

Comments

[moriar]

I agree, it is a good day. Serving in the closet almost killed me.

Mom keeps asking why I don't re-enlist. I don't have the courage to tell her I'm transgendered.

[shockwave77598]

Read my post below. You think DADT was terrible? Try serving BEFORE it when you were suspected of homosexuality just for minding your own business and keeping to yourself. If you didn't sleep around, you got dismissed for "Suspicion". You think you had it hard -- I had an OSI agent (his ID said NO RANK -- shouldn't leave things like that around) planted in my dorm room in Guam because my playing D&D meant I was a closet homo who liked "fairy" stuff. And I'm straight as an arrow...

[moriar]

It is a good thing that DADT is gone. It was a good thing when DADT went into effect and replaced the older policies.

Did I ever make any sort of claim that I had it harder than you?

I spoke of my experiences. Not of yours. Not of anyone else's.

What do you know of my experiences, that you can claim yours to be so much worse?

[phineus]

Oh goodness. That's terrible. I'm so sorry to hear that your hobby got you suspected of being a homosexual (how awful) and threatened your job. I'm one of those sub-human GLBTQ folks that's still barred entry in the military, it would seem, so I could never truly imagine what it's like to have the threat of discharge looming over my head for something I'm not. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a career job -- oh wait

[shockwave77598]

Everyone so glad that DADT is finally done with missed a very important detail. Before DADT, you could be thrown out of the military for simply being silently gay. Or you could be thrown out for saying something or doing something out of the ordinary. You could be thrown out if they SUSPECTED (suspicion was considered evidence) you were gay

[kynekh_amagire]

Uh. Why are you bringing this up? No one missed that detail. Certainly DADT was better than getting thrown out of the military for even being suspected of "homosexual tendencies", but it wasn't necessary as a "stepping stone" or "transition period" or what the fuck ever between the original "no queers allowed" policy and permitting homosexual military members to serve openly. DADT set the queer rights movement back by decades. So hell yes I'm going to party now that it's over (although transgendered members of the military, and homo- and bisexuals with same-sex spouses who wish them to receive the same military benefits that heterosexual spouses do, are still hosed. OH WELL BABY STEPS I GUESS).

[shockwave77598]

party all you like. Were it not for the baby step, we'd still be in the same "eject all the queers in damaged condition" bullcrap that the military -- a very slow to change organization -- has operated under for centuries.

No, I won't shed a tear for its passing. But I and a lot of veterans I can name would have loved having it in place back when we were in, rather than ANYBODY being able to get you fired for nothing more than "we think ee's queer..."

[kynekh_amagire]

Let me take a moment and play the world's tiniest violin for you, straight person, while we reflect upon the true victims of anti-gay legislation and exclusionary policies: the straights.

DADT? Better than nothing. Still not as good as, I dunno, equal rights for straight and gay military members. Clear now?

[lilsongbird]

It's about time! Now if only the US would allow gay marriage, you could fully join much of the rest of the developed western world. ;p Joking aside though I really am glad to see the rule gone. It never should of existed in the first place.

[semisonicstar]

Hoping this leads to the removal of other similarly bigoted laws, regarding military and society in general. Very very happy day :)

[moonsinger]

It's a good thing. Now equal marriage rights not just in the military either.