Don't Ask, Don't Tell--Gone, Not a Day Too Soon

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com
September 20, 2011

Another pernicious piece of discrimination and bigotry has gone under the wheels of progress, and not a day too soon.

How legislators can twist themselves and our country into illogical contortions of ignorance that blatantly violate constitutional rights with such laws as DADT, is beyond me.

But not really given so many other shameful statutes such as the DOM act that is supposed to protect straight marriage. Protect from what? DODT protect troops from what? Is sexual orientation a form of disease?
(photo: Col. Grete Cammermeyer)

DODT was a piece of legislation but it was also symbolic of how socially diseased our conservative branch of culture is, how much our much balled Christian democracy can violate all spiritual decency and secular fairness.

I am repeatedly amazed at how much supposedly cognizant, rational, 21st century legislators can be so ignorant of their own irrational, undemocratic thinking that is based on primitive, revengeful, wrathful Biblical scripture which violates modern standards of respect.

DADT crushed constitutional guarantees of equality, heaped dishonor on honorable citizens, violated bonds of brotherhood in the military--all because of bizarre Biblical ancient phrases that have no relevance in modern society.

The repeal of DADT offers a glimmer of hope that secular, truly democratic, fully constitutional thinking can trump the homophobic distortions of right-wing primitive fundamentalist thinking.

A Remarkable Week for Gay Dignity

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com

It doesn't happen often in today's contentious culture wars, but our LGBT worldwide community has achieved--along with our allies--a double win this month against blatant homophobic forces that refuse to recognize our equality and dignity.

First, highly symbolic and very real is the restoration of "sexual orientation" to a UN resolution against extrajudicial executions of minorities. Read the full story in the Washington Post:
Gay advocates win victory at UN
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122104517_pf.html
"Gay rights advocates scored a hard-fought victory at the U.N. on Tuesday when member states restored a reference to sexual orientation, dropped last month from a resolution opposing the unjustified killing of minority groups. The removal of the reference, at the urging of African and Arab countries last month, alarmed human rights advocates who said gay people are among minority groups that need special protection from extrajudicial and other unjustified slayings. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice at the time said she was "incensed" by the change and announced she would sponsor the measure to restore the language..."

Second is the voting down of the egregious and blatantly discriminatory 'Don't Ask-Don't Tell' prohibition against gays in the U.S. military. Read the full story in the New York Times:
With Obama’s Signature, ‘Don’t Ask’ Is Repealed
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/us/politics/23military.html?_r=2&hp
"The military’s longstanding ban on service by gays and lesbians came to a historic and symbolic end on Wednesday, as President Obama signed legislation repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the contentious 17-year old Clinton-era law that sought to allow gays to serve under the terms of an uneasy compromise that required them to keep their sexuality a secret..."

Thus do civilizations move forward, slowly, to recognize the humanity and equality of all people on this planet. As much as there is celebration this week, there is an ever-present shadow that moves to deny, repress and harm person against person, individually and socially. How joyful and poignant is the struggle of light and right against darkness and danger. It is sadly the way of the world, the way of humanity, that people can be so in love with family and hateful to strangers who are 'other' races, beliefs, wealths or sexualities.

How did this happen? Tribe against tribe? We no longer see (if ever we did) the 'divine' in one another. A few resilient charitable folks make great efforts to spread love and care but often it's conditioned on being straight (non-gay). The human spirit should be the guiding force, not religion, politics, economics, race, age, gender or sexuality.

I can only hope we see the wisdom of compassion before 'civilized chaos' overtakes us. This week is a hopeful sign that light will outshine darkness.

Why this absurd brouhaha about gays in the military?

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com
May 29, 2010

Why this absurd brouhaha about gays in the military? We are already there and serving well. Who are these worried troops and brass who are blowing this issue way bigger than it is?
There are thousands of gays and lesbians already IN the service. When the ‘don’t tell’ ban is shut down, what do they expect us to do, have a gay Pride parade at West Point or down the streets of Kandahar. (photo right: openly gay UK soldier)

Be realistic. Just because the ban is lifted, homophobia will still be alive an well in America and in the military. Homophobia can get a gay person bashed or killed—with or without the ban. We are not stupid or eager for strangers to know about our private lives. We will not come flying out with rainbow colors to announce our person sexual preferences.

We will continue to conduct ourselves the same as we already do—discretely, privately but without the threat of being unfairly discharged. We will experience it as no more and no less than a RELIEF. That’s it. Unseen and silently, gays will serve wholly legally in all the armed services.

This overflow of opinionating and the swollen demand for investigations into the effect of lifting DADT verge on the absurd and lack a close intimate understanding of what it’s like to be gay and lesbian or bi or trans. We only want equality of rights and equality of being protected from the dangers of irrational military homophobia, not a parade.

The New York Times today said, "Under an amendment moving through Congress, once that report is finished, the White House and senior Pentagon leadership must certify that repealing the ban will not be disruptive to the military. Once that certification is made, final repeal will occur within 60 days. "

Disruptive? How much analysis and how much empirical evidence does it take to crack the dense homophobic mindset that gays in the military pose some kind of risk? It makes NO difference. The evidence is already in. Take a look: Israel, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Holland, Denmark, Finland, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Argentina, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, England--even highly homophobic Russia, Estonia and Lithuania--all allow gays to serve without hiding. The actual evidence from all these countries is that gays in the military is a no-brainer issue.

Just because there is a difference in sexual orientation does not make people so different that they are somehow unqualified for worldly responsibilities or military service. We already raise families, perform surgery, deliver the mail, teach children in schools and universities, do research for NASA and are elected to public office and serve in the military. Do we have to re-invent the wheel to prove the point?

What’s the big deal if we are in uniform? We will continue to do it with all the respect and duty as we do now.

Stop the madness. Drop the ban. It makes no difference to the quality of our military might. (photo right, Israeli female soldiers--3 are lesbians?)

But it will make a difference for those who choose to stay stuck in 20th century homophobia that as irrational as the tooth fairy or Santa Claus—in the belief that something very unreal is very real. LGBT people are no different as human beings than anyone else. We can climb, shoot, run, follow orders and serve as top brass as well as anyone.

What will have to change, or be cured, is the mental disease of social homophobia that’s historically based on religious mythology and institutional distortions of portions of the Bible that were written by ancient men—humans as vain and ego-filled as we are today. Jesus said NOTHNG about sexuality. He did say to love one another as he loved us. That’s all. The rest is interpretation and mythology and church politics.

Once we expose this caustic mental disease of homophobia that kills thousands of people a year—from teens to elders—we will be a better society for it. Allowing ancient religious-based prejudice to govern modern-day conduct of military matters is like using medieval catapults to confront North Korea’s nuclear saber-rattling.

Social homophobia is a totally curable disease and the sooner the better. On this the military can lead the assault. JFDI.