Shameful Petition Echoes Fears of the Past
On Tuesday, the Center for Military Readiness unveiled a petition of 1,000 retired flag officers, who are warning President Obama to oppose repeal of the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law.
The signers of this sad petition are mired in the fears and politics of the past. More than 75 percent of the American public, including most younger service members as well as many active duty flag officers, realize the question is not if "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is repealed but when and how. We hope President Obama will take advantage of his first real opportunity, coming in May during the defense budget process, to stand firm in his campaign commitment of getting rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
As for the petition's claim on unit cohesion, there is no evidence, data, or research supporting the claim that gays and lesbians serving openly disrupts unit cohesion. Actually, many are already serving openly, without incident. And the serious studies on the subject show unit cohesion actually improves. Brandon Friedman further underscores the absurdity of the petition in today's blog post on VetVoice.com, a project of VoteVets.org.
We deeply appreciate the service of these retired officers but what they are expressing here is irrational fear. Unfortunately, some invariably have a hard time understanding that times have changed -- and so have people.
No doubt in 1948 hundreds of flag officers opposed President Truman's Executive Order to end racial segregation in the ranks. Their insistence on calling for continued discrimination wasn't valid or right, nor did it make for a stronger military. Likewise, today, for these retired flag officers to call for official and continued discrimination in the ranks will hardly make our country and our military stronger.
We should be ashamed that 26 nations permit open service and manage it successfully, while the United States, a beacon of democracy and with one of the strongest militaries in the world, lags behind.
To learn more about the petition, click here. You can also read a letter illustrating how the Center for Military Readiness has engineered this shameful ploy. Let us know what you think.
03-31-09 By Aubrey Sarvis, SLDN Executive Director |
3 Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.Sidney Stickman in Washington Dc on April 02, 2009 at 12.20 pm
It is Sad, but not unexpected to see the Marine General Officers listed in the letter, it is somewhat ironic however since one of the “biggest clusters” of gay service members are usually found on said General Officers Personal staffs…..CMC and ACMC staffs are widely “known” for their large numbers of “Gay” staff…..
It is also strange that a Former CMC, widely “known” to be Bisexual has yet to weigh in on the issue…...
Pepe Johnson in Clarksburg, West Virginia on April 01, 2009 at 09.29 am
The Commandant’s own statements demonstrate how one must twist logic and reason in order to justify Don’t ask, Don’t tell.
His opposition to our service is clearly a “knee-jerk” reaction and he, like many others, has not truly given any thoughtful consideration to the reality of service by open and honest gay Americans.
Michael Bedwell on March 31, 2009 at 07.34 pm
The fears of Nathaniel Frank and others, including myself, have come true: Obama’s inexplicable and indefensible refusal to immediately and publicly frame the narrative for repeal of DADT has allowed the ruthless enemies of equality to plant their fascist flag in an abandoned battlefield.
Not surprising to see the assault’s design knitted together by the Antigay Industry’s own Madame Defarge, nor her charge led by the apparently still venomous and virulently homophobic Carl Mundy. As Commandant of the Marines in 1993, Mundy matched Colin Powell’s insubordinate deviousness with more direct action, distributing countless copies of the notoriously homohating, semi-pornographic video “The Gay Agenda” throughout the Pentagon. Pray his VCR isn’t warming up again.
Mundy comes from a long line of shameless Marine bigots. When racial integration of the services was being debated in the ‘40s, Marine Commandant Thomas Holcomb declared, “If it were a question of having a Marine Corps of 5,000 whites or 250,000 Negroes, I would rather have the whites.”
Within months of helping force Clinton to surrender with his barrage of gay terrorist tapes, Mundy was forced to apologize for remarks on “60 Minutes” suggesting that black Marines were inherently inferior to their white peers.
He claimed his comments were edited out of context but offers no such disclaimer for recycling his rancid homophobia and willful ignorance.
Continuing to ban out gays from the military is not the only poisonous personal prejudice he’s attempted to paint over with his perception of what “American society” wants. In 1992, he said “I do not believe the American people want [women in combat because combat is] debasing”—a similar, persistent obsession of Madame Defarge er Donnelly—proving once again that the root of homophobia is ancient sexism and atrophied gender role expectations.
Admirers of Mundy frequently quote his well-worn Marine “Core Values” speech:
“At the foundation of our core value system is honor. A person cannot be a Marine without honor. It’s the bedrock of our character. Honor is integrity, honesty, and responsibility. It’s the quality that guides Marines to exemplify ethical and moral behavior; never to lie, cheat, or steal; to abide by an uncompromising code of integrity; to respect human dignity; and to have respect and concern for each other.
We subscribe to a creed that an individual is entitled to be judged on his or her merit as a Marine . . . . The Corps cannot foster or tolerate discrimination . . . or any other form of mean-spirited behavior.”
By his own definitions, by his actions in 1993 and today, by his continuing to defend a policy that forces gay Marines to lie, that discriminates against them regardless of their merit, Carl Mundy has tarnished the very service and servicemembers he prides himself on honoring and loving.
One can only hope that he one day realizes the difference. And that our Commander in Chief will cease being Missing in Action.