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Don't Ask, Don't Tell—Don't Care?

by Jesse Fruhwirth

November 17, 2010

4 comments

Brandon Burt pondered the possibility that perhaps the queer movement is better off with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—the military’s discriminatory rule that keeps queer soldiers closeted [see “DADT—Should We Keep It?” Nov. 14, CityWeekly.net/gayblog]. Online commenters mostly shared his ambivalence.

Joseph told of his own experience of joining the military and later using his homosexuality as a way to avoid service in the foolish and failed Vietnam War.

“They did not believe I was gay, so I had to go to a psychiatrist for evaluation,” Joseph wrote. “Eventually, I was given a general discharge with honorable conditions.”

Hayduke, with obvious snark in response to Joseph, pointed out the obvious.

“Seems the fact that it was illegal for gays to serve openly worked out quite well for you, then,” Hayduke wrote.

Rant Control also has mixed feelings about repealing DADT [see “Honored Silence: Gay Soldiers on Veterans Day” Nov. 11, CityWeekly.net/newsblog]. However, when the issue of national security really hits the fan and assuming the government re-institutes a draft, DADT, if not already repealed, will be forgotten quicker than Karl Rove’s first wife. That being the case, queers ought to be able to join in peacetime, like everyone else—if ever we return to peacetime.