Wow. I did not expect this when I clicked on to the Fox News link, which said that I would read the opinion on DADT of one currently-serving soldier. My surprise was not because this is written by a soldier but because it was published on Fox New’s opinion site. Fox News isn’t at the forefront of GLBTQ rights (which is about the biggest understatement I’ve written in a while). For example, here, here, and here (though see below for some other surprising Fox news-people’s stances on DADT).
I think, once you read this, you will understand my surprise.
My name is Jacob Hughes. I’m a soldier, and I’d like to give my opinion on repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” I really have two answers for this. If you were to ask “Jake”, he would say that I personally do not care. What someone does in their own time is there business, not mine. As long as you are willing to live by the seven Army Values, Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage, welcome brother or sister! If you’d take a bullet for me, I’d take a bullet for you.
Now, if you ask, “SSG Hughes”, he would say I still have no problem with it, as long as it does not affect mission readiness. All homosexuals who want to join must realize that it’s not about you, me, or any one person. The mission is all matters. And if you say you don’t care about that, you just want equality, then gay or not, I don’t want you anywhere near me in battle.
So in conclusion, if the military reports in December that repealing will not affect mission readiness, welcome aboard.
If not, then I’m sorry.
ARMYSTRONG! HOOAH!
SSG Jacob Hughes
South Korea
So, of course, there is that assumption in there that gay people may have the tendency to only care about their equality and that that care of equality can get in the way of the mission (which really doesn’t make sense at all seeing that there are plenty of gay people who serve right now and, in order to help complete the mission and to keep their jobs, willfully set aside their equality and take on the burden of discrimination). But the idea that he puts mission above everything else, including someone’s sexuality, that is good to hear.
[Also, side note: I hate the word “homosexual” and I think it is used because US citizens respond less favorably to it than to the word “gay” or “lesbian” (and I always pay attention to who uses it and who does not). Not only was “homosexual” was popularized in our society by the psychological field to denote the mental illness of being gay, but people just plain think that “homosexuals” are worse than gay people. So, I hate it and never use it. That’s all on that.]
See also this anti-DADT Fox News’ editorial. Nice.
And O’Reilly (!?!) was on Leno slamming Obama for not ending DADT. Is that simply because O’Reilly thinks ALL decisions that Obama makes are bad? Or is he actually championing equality in the military? You know, when I start to think it’s the latter, there’s always this.
Jessica Luther 