DADT Repeal: More Yawns Than Howls
Check out this gem, courtesy of Frank Rich in Sunday's New York Times:
"Not only was Obama's stem-cell decree an anticlimactic blip in the news, but so was his earlier reversal of Bush restrictions on the use of federal money by organizations offering abortions overseas. When the administration tardily ends 'don't ask, don't tell,' you can bet that this action, too, will be greeted by more yawns than howls."
Rich pointed to the 75 percent of Americans, according to a 2008 Washington Post/ABC News poll, who favor ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." That poll also registered 64 percent of Republicans who support gay people serving openly.
Nevertheless, some in the Washington press corps choose the path of most hysteria. They think the issue of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is full of "controversy," a "knife fight" in a "dark alley." Those who employ such hyperbole are either still living back in the early 1990s, when there was indeed major drama over "gay" anything, or they're choosing to ignore the outside-the-Beltway reality: People just don't care about gays and lesbians in the military.
But civilian opinion is one thing. What about attitudes of military personnel?
We would be the first to admit that support for open service among the military brass is not equivalent to what it is in the civilian world. But, still, views toward gays and lesbians, as a whole, have changed dramatically among service members. A solid majority of enlisted service members are under age 30. Younger generations, even those in the military, tend not to have issues with gay people. It's a generational thing.
We would also point to top military people-now all out of the day-to-day exposure to the Washington bubble -- who support repeal, including Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Clinton, General John Shalikashvili and more than 100 other retired admirals and generals. General Colin Powell believes the law should "definitely be reevaluated."
So, our hope: News organizations more accurately reflect the attitudes and dynamics around "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." This requires taking more of a panoramic view extending well beyond Beltway cocktail parties, or what reporters might want to see, i.e., a knife fight in a dark alley.
03-18-09 By Kevin Nix, SLDN Communications Director |
1 Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.Michael Bedwell in San Francisco on March 18, 2009 at 10.44 am
Kudos to Rich who often writes some of the most supportive and incisive articles in mainstream media about LGBT equality. AND for summing up so many in our bloodthirsty, arms-of-bigotry-dealing mainstream media. Even in the Bay Area, TV/print photogs still focus on the fringe in San Francisco Pride events.
BUT, Rich [as so many naive gays continue to do], oddly leapfrogged over Congress—where at least as many homophobic dinosaurs still stomp as at the Pentagon—to the President’s signing desk.
Mr. President, it’s time to tell Congress: “If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is not wrong—nothing is wrong!”