The "you're not a gay man" argument is getting tired. Old. And sad.
I never said you're not a gay man.
I said
I am.
You also keep throwing your age around like you've been around so much longer than anyone else and you know more because of it.
You lectured me about what DADT is, and I mentioned my age in the context of telling you I was around, a fully formed adult paying attention to unfolding events, when DADT was argued and negotiated and written and signed into law. I know what DADT is because I was there and paying attention. That doesn't necessarily mean I know more but it does mean I know first hand what was happening when DADT came into being and am very familiar with what it says.
And not that it's relevant in this instance but it is sometimes true that having been around longer, having been There when events unfolded, does mean that a person knows more than people who where not there. That's true when some of my older friends tell me about the Holocaust and it's true when I tell what I remember about Stonewall or being out the 70s or the first decade of AIDS and it will be true when you tell people younger than you about what you've witnessed or been part of. That's the way life is.
I am sorry that it is so hard to believe that a member of straight society can, is willing to, and will continue to, understand this community, fight alongside it, and not disregard certain laws and issues because "they don't affect me."
I don't know why you place "they don't affect me" in quotes. I certainly never said that to you or anybody else. Why so defensive? I didn't say anything at all about you. I said I'm a gay man and I was an adult in my 30s when DADT came about. I relayed information about me but you've interpreted it as something about you.
I have never once treated anyone here as an outsider in the world, I would appreciate the same sentiment when I am trying to fight beside this community for rights I feel you deserve, and injustices I feel are detrimental to this community. DADT is one of those injustices.
I never suggested you're an outsider here or anywhere.
There are a great many complications to DADT, but at its simplest core, it is about keeping quiet about who you are so you can serve this country. I don't know about you, but I find that unfair. So when we talk about being kicked out because of sexual orientation, we are bringing the law to its simplest form. Not complicating it with ifs, and, or ors.
As Democrats used to try to get Bush and Bush supporters to understand, nuance is important. Details are important.
There is a big difference between gays being barred from serving and gays having to keep it a secret. DADT is not good, should be repealed, but the truth is it IS an improvement over what existed before.
I am not concerned with the circumstances at this point, this soldier is a hero simply for the fact that he's talking. Most people just want to push the stories away and pretend things are not happening. He's not doing that. We need all the voices we can get to stop DADT.
My criteria for hero is higher than speaking out. But --though this may ruffle your feathers again-- my teens and 20s were a time when gays and others, in a much more precarious position than we are today, spoke out loudly for our rights. To me, that's what we're supposed to do, and heroic action is beyond that.
If you want this guy as your hero, have at it. I need something more to classify someone a hero.
