Saturday, May 16, 2009

Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Don't Be Ridiculous

So I've got this on my mind because it's been in the News lately and it's the whole subject of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" concerning gays in the Military. I'm serious, Bubba (Former Pres. Bill Clinton) will go down in infamy for that line. I know he was thinking it was a way to avoid the drama and let Gays serve in peace but it backfired.

Think this through for a minute. Since 1993, over 12 thousand gays have been discharged from the Military after having admitted or folks making assumptions that they are gay. The recent one is a Platoon Leader Dan Choi, who faces discharge because he came out in March. But the Obama administration is staying silent even after the President (then Senator) promised on the campaign trail to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." So much for campaign promises.

Look, this (Don't ask, Don't Tell) absolutely makes no sense. Most of the Arabic translators in the Military are gay and many of them have been discharged over this mess. And do they still realize we're living in a post 9-11 world and these linguistic skills are critical to the way we engage the rest of the world and those who "harbor terrorists.?"

But no, we will rather torture (oh, I'm sorry, use enhanced interrogation techniques) and beat the living daylights out of them. But what happens after all that is done and the person doesn't speak English, you still didn't get your information and the person who could help, you fire because he has a boyfriend. What The Hell! How's that keeping us safer.

We civilians work with people of various sexual orientations and it doesn't bankrupt the company. I remember speaking with a colleague a couple of months ago who had a problem with how another employee dealt with him because of his sexual preference. You guessed what I said to him "so what . . . what's that going to do with the job you do."And I still had to encourage him to recognize these particular individuals were also dealing with culture shocks living in South Florida. They came from a culture they want to believe NOBODY is gay.

So here's my beef today: Think Obama Administration. Repeal this stupid law that is doing nothing to take our country forward and more importantly, keep it safe.

Tags: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gays in the Military