I will concede that I focus on DADT and the need for its repeal a great deal. I do so for several reasons. The two main reasons are as follows. The first is that living in Hampton Roads and knowing many, many gays who serve currently in the military, I see first hand the injustice of the law and the strain it puts on honorable and decent people. I know these individuals both as friends and in some cases as clients who need Wills, medical powers of attorney, etc., given Virginia's toxic anti-gay laws. Secondly, along with the denial of same sex marriage rights, I believe that DADT represents one of the Christianists' main tools to make LGBT Americans inferior under the civil laws and then cynically use such manufactured inferiority as justification for their own prejudice and bigotry - and willingness to trample on the religious freedom of other citizens. Recently, a top cadet at West Point resigned because she could no longer sell her soul and remain in the closet in the military. The New York Times has a follow up story on this loss to the military. A loss repeated every time a qualified and honorable member of the military is discharged under the perversion known as DADT. Here are a few story highlights:*
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Code words, secret societies, covert meetings, fake identities: these are tools that a certain set of cadets learn here at the United States Military Academy at West Point. These cadets are not spies or moles. They are gay, and they exist largely in the shadows of this granite institution known for producing presidents and generals, where staying closeted is essential to avoid discharge under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
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“The most important thing I’ve learned here is how to be a good actor,” said one gay male cadet, who grew up in Philadelphia and is in his fourth year at the academy. The resignation this month of Katherine Miller, a top cadet who blogged anonymously about her lesbianism, has turned a spotlight on the hidden gay culture here and revived debate on campus about “don’t ask, don’t tell,” at a time when Washington is also focused on the issue.
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The two lesbian cadets described all this . . . . “Anyone you meet here,” the senior female cadet said, “you have to assess their personality very closely, and see if you can trust them.” . . . . She and others also mask their orientation by using nonchalant greetings with other lesbians and feigning attraction for men. And, inevitably, they stay silent amid slurs and slights.
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The male cadet in his fourth year said he had had sexual relationships with several other men at the academy. Last year, he fell for a guy at a gay bar in Manhattan who, to the surprise of both of them, turned out to be a classmate.
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Back on campus, they enjoyed and suffered through a seven-month relationship on the “down low,” he said. They might share a meal at Grant Hall, but if they passed each other in company, they would simply nod hello or offer a casual back-slap. They did not attend the year-end formal dance together.
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Ms. Kanis, a former Army captain who now lives in Los Angeles and works with a social services organization, Common Ground, said that her own sexual orientation was investigated twice during her years at West Point — friends interrogated, lockbox searched — and that gay cadets often spoke in code, using genderless pronouns, for example, when talking about significant others. “You have to operate in a ‘shush network,’ ” she said.
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Obviously, DADT does nothing to enhance unit cohesion. Instead, it is all about giving special legal preference to one set of religious beliefs and allowing mean spirited scum like Elaine Donnelly feel superior about themselves. It is a disgrace.
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