Glad to See DADT Gone, But the Underlying Bigotry Remains

[unhappycamper]

Glad to See DADT Gone, But the Underlying Bigotry Remains
Mitchell Bard
Writer and Filmmaker
Posted: December 19, 2010 01:52 PM

Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been repealed (once President Obama signs the bill). Finally. We are a better, stronger, safer country than we were before the vote. But let's not break our arms patting ourselves on the back.

Why am I so grumpy? No, it's not because I'm Scrooge. (By the way, Happy Holidays to everyone, and yes, I do mean "Happy Holidays." Unlike the systematic discrimination against gays and lesbians allowed by Don't Ask, Don't Tell, I prefer to be sensitive to the fact that not everyone celebrates any given holiday in December. So let the "War on Christmas" bull begin.)

I'm grumpy because the positive aspects of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal pale in comparison to the problems that still surround the larger issue of how we treat gays and lesbians, especially when you consider how long it took for the repeal to arrive, and how much garbage had to be endured to get there.

Even with the repeal, it seems like it's still acceptable in some circles to openly disparage gays and lesbians, in a way that would not be tolerated with religious, ethnic or racial groups. For example, John McCain, in defending Don't Ask, Don't Tell, said, "I think (our troops are) mature enough to make a judgment on who they want to serve with and the impact on their battle effectiveness."

What if McCain legitimized the choice of not wanting to serve with African Americans? Or Jews? Or Latinos? Would his statement be deemed acceptable? Of course not. He would have been the subject of widespread condemination. So why is it okay with gays and lesbians? It's not. The only difference is that we, as a society, allow bigotry against gays and lesbians that we once allowed against African Americans, Jews and other minorities.

[Skittles]

1. that's well known

but this is a START. The more gays who can be open, the less they will be demonized, I believe, because it's harder to demonize folk when you actually KNOW AND RESPECT them.

The military needs to start addressing BIGOTRY. A person can be gay and serve with honor but a person cannot serve with honor and be a BIGOT.

[Zoeisright]

2. Bigotry seems to be a human condition.

Among the uneducated and the just plain mean, it's endemic. There will always be bigots. Always.

[stray cat]

3. Do you want to try to legislate how you should think of conservatives?

[crikkett]

4. FFS some people have to find something to moan about

when the armed forces were integrated by Adm. Zumwalt's order, it didn't immediately erase members' personal bigotries, but it changed everything everywhere anyway.

On edit: it changed everything everywhere anyway, *immediately*.

[xchrom]

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