APPROPRIATE ALTERNATE TITLE: Why I am not showing up to my 10-year high school reunion
STARTING POST: I know it's a touchy subject, but serving in the military personally i hope the bill does not pass & The Democrats need 60 votes Today to bring the bill (DADT) to repeal the legislation to the floor, and Republicans are threatening a filibuster that would prevent the 59-member Democratic caucus from doing so. With all do respect i hope this bill does not pass and the republican party upsets the Dems with a filibuster
COMMENTER 1: Isnt Lady Gaga trying to get this bill passed... i saw something in the airport about it. which to me makes it more important to vote against it.
ORIGINAL POSTER: Yeah, she/he is against it. I find it funny because he/she has never served in the military but is screaming (literally) for this bill to pass. I say if he/she hasn’t served then he/she shouldnt have a say. It's a military issue not a publ......ic issue and the military needs to handle it. It's not an Obama decision, or senator decision in my opinion...it’s a military decision. If people want it changed then they can serve 40+ years, make 4 star general, and become a policy maker at Washington. As for now it stands that DADT is here to stay as many of us hope it stays.
COMMENTER 2: There are/will be some in the military whether it's public info or not. I know what you mean though, not a good feeling in the showers.
And, later by the same person…
COMMENTER 2: Yeah, I don't really think there's anything wrong with the way it is now; kind of a compromise. If they want to go as far as to openly allow it, they need to have separate showers & such, even out in the field.
And now here is what I think about what this conversation string…
I am in favor of ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). I am a veteran. I have served my country. I am qualified to speak on this issue.
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered (LGBT) persons have served this country and still are in uniform to this day. They are veterans such as Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Eric Fidelis Alva. He was the first Marine wounded in Iraq in 2003 and received a purple heart. Lt. Colonel Victor Ferehenbach who patrolled the American skies after 9/11 and received many awards for his service in Afghanistan and Iraq. And of course, Lt. Dan Choi who was an Army Arabic Linguist in Iraq. I thank them for their service because like me, THEY ARE VETERANS! They wore the same uniform that I wore.
http://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2010/06/right-to-serve.html
Most of you probably thanked an LGBT vet and/or served with one without even knowing it.
Other examples of LGBT persons in military history include Alexander The Great, Lawrence of Arabia, and a name that should be familiar in American history: General Baron von Steuben. The Prussian General that trained American soldiers at Valley Forge, PA in the brutal winter of 1778-79 was gay.
Approximately 14,000 people have been discharged due to DADT. That is the equivalent to THREE Nimitz Class aircraft carriers. This policy has crippled our nation's military and readiness.
3 out of 4 people support open service. Other nations, such as England and Canada, allow LGBT persons to serve openly and there have been no problems because of this. We, as the America military, took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. DADT is contradictory to the United States Constitution as it violates the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1965.
I am certain that most you were unaware of that there was going to be a vote on DADT until Lady Gaga was involved. I have been following this as far back as when there was a hearing on DADT in 2008 that I referenced in my blog. I have been championing the end of DADT as the Texas Young Democrats Veterans/Military Affairs Caucus Chair when I was elected to the post in 2009. I am a supporter of the Stonewall Democrats (named for the bar where the modern LGBT Rights movement started, not the Civil War General) and we have worked side by side to end DADT.
I am a fierce advocate of LGBT Rights because my cousin and aunt are LGBT, plus the countless number of friends that I have made that are LGBT. My roommate is a femme lesbian-identified bisexual woman. I am more qualified to speak on LGBT Issues and History than any of you are combined! If you don't know what those terms mean, close the Fox News browser and look on wikipedia (which is more credible than Fox News).
I find such comments as Lady Gaga is a he/she to be offensive to the people that I care about who identify as LGBT as she does (she is bisexual, not for the attention). You have displayed to me to your true colors, and you should be ashamed for this.
In closing....
What Jon Stewart Says!
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered (LGBT) persons have served this country and still are in uniform to this day. They are veterans such as Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Eric Fidelis Alva. He was the first Marine wounded in Iraq in 2003 and received a purple heart. Lt. Colonel Victor Ferehenbach who patrolled the American skies after 9/11 and received many awards for his service in Afghanistan and Iraq. And of course, Lt. Dan Choi who was an Army Arabic Linguist in Iraq. I thank them for their service because like me, THEY ARE VETERANS! They wore the same uniform that I wore.
http://michaels-rant.blogspot.com/2010/06/right-to-serve.html
Most of you probably thanked an LGBT vet and/or served with one without even knowing it.
Other examples of LGBT persons in military history include Alexander The Great, Lawrence of Arabia, and a name that should be familiar in American history: General Baron von Steuben. The Prussian General that trained American soldiers at Valley Forge, PA in the brutal winter of 1778-79 was gay.
Approximately 14,000 people have been discharged due to DADT. That is the equivalent to THREE Nimitz Class aircraft carriers. This policy has crippled our nation's military and readiness.
3 out of 4 people support open service. Other nations, such as England and Canada, allow LGBT persons to serve openly and there have been no problems because of this. We, as the America military, took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. DADT is contradictory to the United States Constitution as it violates the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1965.
I am certain that most you were unaware of that there was going to be a vote on DADT until Lady Gaga was involved. I have been following this as far back as when there was a hearing on DADT in 2008 that I referenced in my blog. I have been championing the end of DADT as the Texas Young Democrats Veterans/Military Affairs Caucus Chair when I was elected to the post in 2009. I am a supporter of the Stonewall Democrats (named for the bar where the modern LGBT Rights movement started, not the Civil War General) and we have worked side by side to end DADT.
I am a fierce advocate of LGBT Rights because my cousin and aunt are LGBT, plus the countless number of friends that I have made that are LGBT. My roommate is a femme lesbian-identified bisexual woman. I am more qualified to speak on LGBT Issues and History than any of you are combined! If you don't know what those terms mean, close the Fox News browser and look on wikipedia (which is more credible than Fox News).
I find such comments as Lady Gaga is a he/she to be offensive to the people that I care about who identify as LGBT as she does (she is bisexual, not for the attention). You have displayed to me to your true colors, and you should be ashamed for this.
In closing....
What Jon Stewart Says!
Michael Joseph Watts
MM2 (NUKE/SW) USN, 2002-08
Texas Young Democrats Veterans/Military Affairs Caucus Chair
5 comments:
Michael J. Watts:
This was greatness. Gave me chills. Makes me feel...indescribable to know that there is such a fierce allied veteran working to repeal DADT and enact pro-LGBT legislation.
In a few words, I love you.
-Nonnie Ouch
Thanks for sticking up for the LGBT, Michael, for marching in the Pride parade (I took that pic!), and for this blog. I am a bisexual veteran of the USMC myself (this was pre-DADT; they asked, I didn't tell), and I am far from being the only one. :)
The thing that has always pissed me off the most about DADT is that it REQUIRES service members to lie and decieve. And by doing so, it makes them vulnerable to coercion and blackmail, by threat of being outed. If they were allowed to serve openly, the threat disappears.
In my day, at periodic security reviews, those of us with high level clearances were always reminded that (among other things) involvement in homosexual liasons would make us vulnerable to being recruited as communist spies, by the threat of exposure. And I always thought, "If it wasn't a secret, it couldn't be used against us." I can't see how DADT helped that security vulnerability in any way.
Michael - Thank You first and foremost for your service to our country. Thank you for using your intellect, common sense, your logical thinking and your heart. The fact that you are so involved in politics and fighting the right fight, even fighting for the Civil Liberties for the LGBT americans is something that I love about you. Most straight men, and too many gay ones don't have the balls, the courage, or just plain common sense to say and do what is right for all Americans Straight / LGBT who-ever, and this fact makes you more of a man than any of them.
Mike:
That response was greatest thing since sliced bread. In the 1.5+ years that I've known you, you have been the staunchest LGBT Ally I know. It's refreshing to know that we have someone as yourself in our corner.
In solidarity,
Your Queer Wing Man
Mike:
With each passing day I grow even prouder to say that I know you. I mean it's really refreshing to have such a staunch ally as yourself on our side. I know that together we can and will move mountains so LET'S ROLL!!
In Solidarity,
Your Queer Wing Man
Post a Comment