Aloha my lovelies. Tonight I am venting. Hope I don't scare ya off. lol
When I went into the Army in 1974 the Vietnam war was still raging on. We all had to report to the Retention Center for testing. We filed into a room and sat at desks much like the ones we had just left behind in high school. As we were all nervously waiting for the test to begin, there was a sergeant making the rounds, sitting on one of the desks, just talking and trying to get us all to relax.
He proceeded to tell us that there would only be a short quiz on that day. He said he would be passing out a 3x5 card with several question on it and we were to answer them honestly. He also said the answer to number 5 and number 6 were no.
Question number five asked if you had ever done drugs, including marijuana, and question number six asked if you were a homosexual. I raised my hand and asked what a homosexual was. The sergeant laughed. He said if I had to ask, then I wasn’t it. He said again that the answer to ALL the questions were no. He looked especially long and hard at a particularly fragile looking young man in the room. At that time I did not know what a homosexual was, and I did not know the significance of what the sergeant was saying or doing.
I soon discovered what a homosexual AND a lesbian was.
I remember the witch hunts of the late 70s, even as we were winding down the Vietnam War. Gays were afraid to breathe, afraid to associate with anyone, even themselves. I remember a girl named Charlie Brown being marched into the barracks and sequestered on the third floor. We were told in formation not to associate with her, not even to SPEAK to her. Charlie actually, with a civilian lawyer, in Germany, won her case, but I can’t imagine she stayed out of trouble long… she was a LOT of fun. Lol I hope life, after the military treated her well.
They seemed to comb through the ranks with a fine toothed comb. There always seemed to be someone in ’trouble’. But in spite of that, I practically LIVED in my GF’s barracks room, day and night. She worked in the Orderly Room, so she had a room of her own. We entertained like an old married couple. Hell, even the First Sergeant came by often for some of whatever we were cooking up. We snuck into the communal bathroom and took bubble baths together (the bathtubs had a door, even if the walls didn’t go all the way up to the ceiling, lol), and no one ever said a word.
That was in 1977, before DADT ever made an appearance. No one bothered us, and we didn’t bother them. We did not flaunt or TRY to bring undue attention, but by the same token, we pretty much did not hide. We lived our lives, just as others did. We respected them, and expected them to respect us in return. I can honestly say that no one ever said anything negative to either of us, that i am aware of. We were expected at house parties and nonmilitary functions as a couple. I think we were pretty well liked and accepted.
I also remember a young soldier, very effeminate who TOLD the military he was gay. That did not prevent him from serving two tours in Vietnam, or from earning a Purple Heart (he stubbed his toe…actually, he was ‘accidentally’ shot in the foot, trying to get out of his second tour in ‘Nam), OR from being the General’s Aide. The General loved his attention to detail, and no one could touch him. It seems, as with most things, it is a matter of convenience, no? It is a matter of who you know, and who you are.
Those years of the blatant witch hunts were scary times. I imagine that it is much like that in the military again now. Like post war Hollywood, someone was always trying to get someone to turn or someone else, or rat them out. I was in the Provost General’s office on MORE than one occasion. There was no edict, but I did not ask, I did not tell, and I REFUSED to be pursued. I stood on my personal integrity.
Then, in 1993 came Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue. It was a mandate that SHOULD have allowed soldiers to live our lives, to just BE. In actually, it became a way for gays to be subjected to unspeakable things, and to feel we had no recourse, nowhere to turn, no leg to stand on, no advocate. It became a living trap, a death sentence for some, a torture chamber for others. The last part, “Don’t Pursue”, has been completely discounted, so much so that it is not even referenced anymore. The first part, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, has been raped. This mandate was put in place so those volunteering to serve and to die for their beliefs and their country could still answer no to the questions on the card (what‘s one little white lie when democracy is at stake), and then have a measure of protection once serving. It seems to me, there was NEVER a ban on gays in the military, just on asking someone if they were gay, telling someone you were gay, and if any circumstances for suspicion arose, the command was not to pursue, ask or attempt to prosecute. There was to be no acknowledgement, no seeking, no determining if there was any truth to such allegations. So much for following the letter of the law.
This THING that is in place now, this DADT, this beast, SHOULD have it’s head lopped off. The cute, cuddly, well meaning baby that was to PROTECT a sect of soldiers has grown into a monster. An out of control, evil, begrudging, vengeful, sneaky monster, controlled by a heartless Beast Master for his own purposes.
IT NEEDS TO DIE!DADT
Ó2010
Ms M
Don’t Ask,
for help if you’re harmed because you’re gay.
Don’t Tell,
anyone if you’re hurt along the way.
Don’t Pursue,
JUSTICE
To ask or tell is living hell,
oh yeah, this system’s working VERY well.
