Right-Wing Pundit: Gays In The Military Are Like ‘Me In A Platoon With Hooters Waitresses’
Right-Wing Pundit: Gays In The Military Are Like ‘Me In A Platoon With Hooters Waitresses’
Last night on CNN, right-wing pundit Mark Smith argued that “openly gay people” should not be allowed to serve in the military, advocating the military’s current Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. He argued that gay soldiers are unable to “focus” on the war, comparing gays in the military to himself in a platoon of “Hooters waitresses.”
He stated, “[F]or example, if you put me in a platoon with nothing but, let’s say, Hooter waitresses, that’s going to distract me, and I’m not going to be focused on winning the war. I am going to be focused on other things.” Watch it:
Smith gives no evidence for his claim that gays are unable to “focus on winning the war.” His analogy makes light of the work being done by U.S. troops by comparing them to Hooters waitresses, who serve food and beverages in skimpy outfits.
Smith has never served in the military. Jon Soltz, an Army captain who served in Iraq in 2003 and founded VoteVets, called Smith’s comments “ridiculous” and said, “There’s gay people that serve with us when we’re in combat. They serve well.”
Other members of the military also disagree with Smith. Last December, a Zogby Interactive poll of servicemembers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan found 73 percent of those polled were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.” A 2004 poll found that a majority of junior enlisted servicemembers believed gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military, up from 16 percent in 1992.
AMERICAblog’s John Aravosis also appeared in the segment and discussed the military’s policy of firing Arabic-speaking servicemembers just because they’re gay, even though there is a severe shortage of such linguists. Watch the full segment HERE.
Transcript:
CHETRY: Mark, in your opinion, do you think don’t-ask/don’t-tell is successful?
MARK SMITH, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR & CONSTITUTIONAL ATTORNEY: Well, I think we have to keep in mind that the military is about winning wars.
And, as a civilian, I’m not comfortable second-guessing the military with respect to military policy during a time of war. To me, putting openly gay people in the military is a social experiment. And now is not the time for it.
But, certainly, there — there certainly are concerns about having, you know, openly gay people in the military. I mean, the example I like to give is if — for example, if you put me in a platoon with nothing but, let’s say, Hooter waitresses, that’s going to distract me, and I’m not going to be focused on winning the war. I am going to be focused on other things.
And that’s the sort of tension, that, frankly, can hurt the morale and hurt the fighting mission. So, to me, I understand what the military is getting at. And I’m not here to second-guess military decisions on these kinds of critical issues about winning wars.
[…]
SOLTZ: This is ridiculous, these — these statements you make.
I mean, I have been in combat for this country. There’s gay people that serve with us when we’re in combat. They serve well.
SMITH: That’s right. And they’re allowed to serve well.
SOLTZ: They serve well.
SMITH: But they just can’t be openly gay or engage…
SOLTZ: But the difference is that…
SMITH: … in homosexual…
(CROSSTALK)
SOLTZ: … when we were in combat…
(CROSSTALK)
SOLTZ: … and we are fighting the enemy…
SMITH: They can be in the military.
SOLTZ: … of this country in combat…
SMITH: That’s right.
SOLTZ: … they’re helping me as an officer on a battlefield. And they have done a lot more to protect this country and fight al Qaeda than you will…
SMITH: That’s right.
(CROSSTALK)
SOLTZ: … ever do for the rest of your life.
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100 Responses to “Right-Wing Pundit: Gays In The Military Are Like ‘Me In A Platoon With Hooters Waitresses’”
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Then how does he rationalize men and women in the military? I’m in the military, and I work with 4 women in my section. Somehow we manage to get the mission done. Amazing, huh?
~Sean
May 30th, 2007 at 6:41 pmIf you can’t “focus” when someone is shooting at you because you’re thinking about getting laid you’re an idiot.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pmLet’s hear it for mature, civilized analysis, folks! Mark Smith, everybody! Mark Smith!
May 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pmHow is it that people who have never served in combat feel qualified to tell everyone else what would or would not work in combat?
Personally, I’d rather have the Hooters waitresses watching my back then rely on this jerk.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pmYeah, but Sean, did the 4 women look like Hooters waitresses? ;-)
I feel sorry for Jon Soltz, I don’t know how he can listen to this asshole without punching him.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pmMy experience is that the focusing part comes with the territory. You depend on each other regardless of ANYTHING ….. you are held together by survival, a pretty strong bond. It never crossed my mind about gays, but that was over 35 years ago.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:45 pmYeah, but none of these chicken hawks have the balls to serve, so the Hooters waitresses would be really disappointed if one of them did show up for duty.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:45 pmSocial experiment??
WTF? Every other nation in the industrialized world allows gays to openly serve and with great success adding critical skills and expertise.
This goes to the heart of their incompetence and innefective positions. They are so fixated with ass because its where their heads resign. The Rape_public-Cans are the most repressed homosexual deviants alive.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:47 pmIf men soldiers wore only their tightie whities, t-shirts, boots, helmut and utility belt only, what het female or gay male wouldn’t be waiting in line to join. ROFLMAO!!
What this a**hole fails to mention is there are thousands of dedicated supposedly only het women soldiers serving in the same platoons as all the supposedly only het male soldiers right now. There is no distraction now and there wouldn’t be with openly gay soldiers in the the same platoon.
What a fricking moron!
May 30th, 2007 at 6:47 pmSmith is a jerk.I guess the women already serving in the military are distracting from the troops at this very minute.Ah them right wingers are something.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:49 pmWas that a scarlett “I” on Smiths forehead for Ignorance? His analogy being akin to serving on Hooters platoon was so patheticly embarrasing and lame anything subsequent screamed “I am an idiot and do not know what i am talking about”.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:50 pmGays serve hot wings?
May 30th, 2007 at 6:50 pmGet this Christian Taliban to explain why in Gods divine omnipotence that over 150 species of animals practice homosexuality. Is God wrong?
May 30th, 2007 at 6:51 pmI have read many articles that claim that many women in the military are routinely abused by the male soldiers. Many female soldiers claim that they have been gang raped. It would not surprise me if this was true.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:52 pmConstitutional Attorney my ass.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:53 pmI would LOVE to see a platoon of Hooters waitresses, right on. If we were at war together, I wouldn’t be preoccupied about getting in their pants, I would be trying not to die.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:55 pmIs there a ban on moms kissing their daughters or dad kisses their sons to show they love each other? These are female to female and male to male relationships that should be banned by the military. But they aren’t because it’s silly. The ban is all about being uncomfortable about anal sex between two guys. Forgets the lesbians, guys won’t turn gay if they see two girls but they will if they see two guys.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:57 pmThese homophobes don’t understand homosexuality. They think gays are perverted and think about sex more than they do.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:57 pmthis jerk has some fears that seem to be all based in some crazy gay military orn. I am gay and i served in the Coast Guard…..Trust me, in reality, this guy is a wacko with fear based imaginary Facts.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:57 pmGet this Christian Taliban to explain why in Gods divine omnipotence that over 150 species of animals practice homosexuality. Is God wrong?
Comment by Your Conscience — May 30, 2007 @ 6:51 pm
No, they chose to be gay, they can go back anytime they want - perverts.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:57 pmTypical right pundit. Talks over the other gentleman when he trys to state his point. It appears all and I mean all of these right wing loud mouths don’t want to let others talk.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:58 pmEven Hooter’s waitresses have better taste than that!
May 30th, 2007 at 6:58 pmQuick, someone tell the UK before it’s too late!
May 30th, 2007 at 7:01 pmI thought our society, our way of life is on the line, mind you our very existence by these islamofascists, evil doers, muslim extremist, murderous terrorists.
Yet lets be dogmatic in who can defend out national peril. One more piece of evidence these a$$clowns garner no credence nor merit any credibility.
Did you go shopping today? It is what our Failure in Chief asks of you to save our Republic.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:02 pmI think Mark Smith would feel more comfortable fighting along side….or behind….the Chippendale Dancers.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:04 pmAn all gay army couldn’t do any worse in Iraq than the current hetero army.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:05 pmSorry for the typo, it is 1,500 animal species who practice homosexuality. God is such a pervert.
http://www.innovations-report.de/ html/ berichte/ biowissenschaften_chemie/ bericht-72574.html
May 30th, 2007 at 7:06 pmI think Mark Smith would feel more comfortable fighting along side….or behind….the Chippendale Dancers.
Comment by Zooey — May 30, 2007 @ 7:04 pm
HAHAHAHA!! I agree. My gaydar was up the second that guy started speaking. How in the hell do people take these right wing hypocrites, chickenhawks, and downright idiots seriously?
May 30th, 2007 at 7:07 pmAn all gay army would certianly have the place looking and smelling a hell of a lot better.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:11 pmTypical: A pundit who is not in the military and not gay (I assume) thinks he knows best about how either one operates.
It’s ceaselessly amazing that people listen to these people making points that they are not qualified to make.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:12 pmMark Smith = Jeff Gannon = QUEER as F%@k
May 30th, 2007 at 7:18 pmI wonder if any of the soldiers who died today were gay?
If so, would we care more for them? We certainly couldn’t care less.
Maybe that’s it. Maybe that’s the answer that has been eluding the “brain trust” here. We should convince all of the soldiers in Iraq to claim that they are gay.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:18 pmAm I crazy, or is this not only an insult to gay Americans, but also to soliders?! Like, they are so Stupid (Smith feels) that they cannot do their job–fighting, shooting, saving lives, dying–because they would be too distracted by the mere possibility that someone on their side was gay? Talk about the bigotry of low expectations!
May 30th, 2007 at 7:19 pmSo he didn’t serve anywhere, either? How come all these chickenhawks have such a platform on which to speak, but they never contribute anything useful. Only fear and smear, baby…
May 30th, 2007 at 7:23 pmIt just goes to show the righties thinking process seems to always be around sex and these folks also appear to be the sexually deviate ones. Also, this Right-Wing Pundit must be suffering from homophobia due to his fear of desire of being gay.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:28 pmMark Smith is a total wanker and so out of touch with reality it’s beyond repair….He’s also a severe closet homosexual in my opinion….He’s got Ted Haggert stamped across his forehead…It still to this day, continues to blow my mind how far some people will go in sacrificing their character and integrity with their blind support of all things George W. Bush and Con-Serv GOP?? I hope hear appears on these shows as many times as possible to air his views…Every time he opens his mouth he hurts the republican cause a 1000 times more than he helps it..
May 30th, 2007 at 7:30 pmOne of these days some commentator/talking head is going to reach across the desk and “Bitchslap”,someone like Smith!
May 30th, 2007 at 7:32 pmIf this jackass ever found himself in a platoon of H@@ters waitresses, they’d be giving him wedgies and putting out cigarette butts on his tongue.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:36 pm#28 ~ FFU
May 30th, 2007 at 7:42 pmYou got it. That is the answer. If every serviceman and woman went to their CO tomorrow and pronounced their gayness, the military would shut down like a Jack in the box on e coli.
Which branch of the service did Mark Smith serv in?
May 30th, 2007 at 7:47 pmI am a moderate conservative and I think that homosexuals should be allowed to serve openly in the armed forces so long as they obey all of the rules of conduct that are expected of every other serviceman.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:49 pm#29: You misunderstand. Smith’s point is that the homosexuals in the field would be panting and distracted by all the hard, sweaty young men–just like Hooters waitresses are always just DYING to go to bed with him.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:53 pmAnother right winger with no military service record. It’s becoming a pre-requisite of the Republican right wing to have had no record of service yet be an expert on what’s best for the American military. Who is this little boy with a yellow streak on his back a mile wide to question gay soldiers, sailors and marines who have actually served their country. Why are these people so terrified of gays. Do they think that homosexuality is a communicable disease? I served with openly gay men in the United States Navy over thirty years ago and I was never approached or hit on once. I also went on to lead a normal post service life and have been married twenty-four years and fathered two children. Tell this anti-gay clown to get a life.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:55 pmSo what is a semi-reputable news outlook like CNN doing with a hate monger like this guy? Why did they give him air time? I am really sad about what this country has become.
I heard on the news today that some scientific poll taken placed the United States at 96 (one place in front of Iran) out of 136 countries for being a peaceful nation. I certainly hope it is not too late to turn this around but I fear that unless the public gets mad enough and tears down the gates of congress, nothing is going to change.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:55 pmLet me guess. This guy, Mark Smith, is probably against women in the military as well, eh? Especially shapely ones. And do Smith’s superiors have an HR file on him and his attitude to women in the workplace. I can’t help thinking he’d be ripe for a sexual harassment lawsuit.
This is the problem with homophobes. When they think about gay men, all they can think about is SEX. They can’t get it in their heads that gay men think about sex no more often than other people and are not attracted to anything that moves.
Of course, men like Smith do seem to be a problem for women in the military. Women in the military are at greater risk of being sexually assaulted by male soldiers than they are of being wounded by the enemy.
This is just further evidence that the military has been taken over by the Christian Right to the same degree that the Republican Party has. I’m sure if there wasn’t a crisis in troop levels they’d be sending the women home. It also explains the hypocrisy of carping about Islam’s view of women –a case of projection.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:08 pmI’m with everybody up here - if I’m in a life or death environment with naked supermodels, I think I’ll be able to concentrate on keeping alive. Plus I’m more motivated to protect my platoon!
That’s not a double-entendre.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:10 pmMethinks he dost project too much…
May 30th, 2007 at 8:22 pmI have never had a compulsion to discuss gays in the military. In fact I don’t even talk about gays. Am I the odd duck here?
May 30th, 2007 at 8:23 pmIf you can’t “focus†when someone is shooting at you because you’re thinking about getting laid you’re an idiot.
Comment by bob (not the hacker) — May 30, 2007 @ 6:44 pm
Hey, the hacker agrees with you.
Do two bobs make a right, or is it three lefts?
May 30th, 2007 at 8:23 pmWhat a bunch of hippies you all are. As a US military servicemember who has served alongside gays in the past (and been hit on) it’s more than a little uncomfortable to say the least. Any extra distraction (subliminal or otherwise) that could get me killed can stay at home and work in the gay bar. You want to flaunt 200+ years of military traditions and customs? Fine, go start your own country. Until then, leave the articles of the UCMJ intact for all the right reasons they are there.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:32 pmAh Jason you doth protest too much! And I bet you don’t even know what that means! LOL
May 30th, 2007 at 8:35 pmMight he be gay himself?
May 30th, 2007 at 8:37 pmIf guys like Mark Smith would accept openly gay people in the military, it would be easier for him to deal with and accept his own homosexuality, AND be proud of it.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:39 pmWell, all I can say about that is,
If he was in a foxhole with a bunch of Hooter’s waitresses
and bullets were flying all around with his name on them…
I bet he’d be pretty grateful for those waitresses and
their machine guns, fighting by his side, defending his life.
Or maybe not. I wish I was a hooter’s waitress in a foxhole
with this guy…
We’d have one less screeching head warmonger about now…
May 30th, 2007 at 8:40 pmAh, might he not want to be drafted? Chickenhawk? Gay chickenhawk?
May 30th, 2007 at 8:40 pmI know a lot of gay people who have served more gun-time for this country than these chickenhawks have. They were, invariably, great soldiers and leaders. Some got kicked out when they were outed (they did not out themselves). Oh, and they were trained in Arabic.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:43 pmWhat a bunch of hippies you all are. As a US military servicemember who has served alongside gays in the past (and been hit on) it’s more than a little uncomfortable to say the least. — Jason
I served, am straight. Frankly gays do not bother me, because I am totally straight.
You know homophobics have been proven to mostly be closet gays in clinical studies. Is that why it bothers you so much?
Someone hits on you, you just say,”dude, I don’t swing that way.”
May 30th, 2007 at 8:50 pmThats it.
Uh oh, looks like somebody outed themselves as a sexist.
Look, if his rationale is that gays would behave just like he would in his respective platoon of Hooters waitresses, he is indicating his propensity for lecherousness. If he presumes all gay people are sex addicts, as he inadvertantly implies, and he seems to know so much about them and that they share that….common bond, or as he puts it, inability to focus.
What is up with these supposedly straight people always thinking every homosexual would be walking around brandishing an erection and looking for takers, if it werent for people like him supposedly keeping them in check? He probably thinks if he stepped into a gay bar they would all line up and beg for his attention. Somebody needs to buy a cart to push lug around that ego in….
Dare I even say he needs to come out of the closet?
May 30th, 2007 at 9:05 pmSo Mark Smith is a moron who doesn’t think with his brain, but is led by his gonads, and he falsely and mistakenly thinks everyone else is as idiotic as he is.
May 30th, 2007 at 9:06 pmComments that come from the mouths of these right wingnuts are just so incredibly ignorant.
I served, am straight. Frankly gays do not bother me, because I am totally straight.
You know homophobics have been proven to mostly be closet gays in clinical studies. Is that why it bothers you so much?
Someone hits on you, you just say,â€dude, I don’t swing that way.â€
Thats it. –Wayne
Why is this “closet homosexual” crap always instantly thrown out there? Is it so unbelievable that a heterosexual male in the military simply agrees with the DoD’s policies on homosexuality as readily as 99% of the posters above agree homosexuals should be allowed to serve? Quite frankly homosexuality disgusts me and I have no desire to work around openly gay men. I don’t work in a job where I can quit, and with all the budget cutbacks and extended deployments I’m getting quite sick of the “put up and shut up” attitude we’re fed. This is just one more thing we don’t need now, or ever.
May 30th, 2007 at 9:07 pmYou have no idea how much this sums up the reality of the right wing and this war.
For now, put the gay issue to the side and try to observe the bigger picture …
George W. Bush: “What is at stake is not just America’s freedom. This is the world’s fight. This is civilization’s fight. This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom.â€
Mark H. Smith: ” … That’s Right !!! … uh, …
… except if there are some nice hooters to look at …
… if there are some nice hooters to look at, well … f#ck it … don’t bother me with that ‘fight for civilization’ b#llshit …
… I will be ‘too distracted’ and I will be too focused on ‘other things’ …
… if there are some nice hooters to look at … ”
After all is said and done with his right wing bluster and right wing b#llshit … This putz is actually indifferent between the Iraq War and gazing at some nice cleavage - JUST AS LONG AS HE IS NOT THE ONE ACTUALLY FIGHTING IN THE WAR.
May 30th, 2007 at 9:11 pmSomeone hits on you, you just say,â€dude, I don’t swing that way.â€
Thats it.
Comment by Wayne — May 30, 2007 @ 8:50 pm
Then you go away flattered because someone thought you were attractive! Bonus!
May 30th, 2007 at 9:11 pmI have the utmost disdain for homophobic asses like Smith. Homosexuals have served honorably and heroically since our nation was founded. I would much prefer to serve with them than bellicose Republicans like Smith and neocons to a man, who view conflict as the solution to all the world’s problems, but aren’t willing to put themselves or members of their families in harm’s way.
May 30th, 2007 at 9:13 pmMy husband was telling me a story about when he served. He said an Sgt. of his used to go down to the gay clubs at the end of the pay period so that he could get his drinks paid for by the guys hitting on him!
May 30th, 2007 at 9:14 pmLOL
Yay, more discrimination, hatred, and prejudice coming from the right.
*sigh*
May 30th, 2007 at 9:14 pmWhat would this CLOSET QUEEN know?
He is just another FREAK of nature!
May 30th, 2007 at 9:19 pm“If you cannot be like me, you must be reviled and hated. Ostrasized and purged from society.”
/Right-winger/neocon/christo-fascist……..
May 30th, 2007 at 9:19 pmHey Jason - this guy Mark Smith. Are you proud of being associated with a person like that? This issue aside, do you like having grown men that have never had the balls to enter the military ramble on about courage and honor, while they, apparently, don’t know anything about those things?
I’m just wondering..
I’m a vet myself, and personally I couldn’t care less about the gay issue, but more importantly I’d want to big war yellers around me to get their worthless asses to a recruiting station and quit running their mouths about things they don’t know about.
May 30th, 2007 at 9:35 pmBut that’s just me.
I agree with FunMe, my Gaydar was pinging loudly when this guy was talking.
May 30th, 2007 at 9:38 pmChester- I’m not associated with this Smith character. His Hooters example is stupid. There are bigger issues here than pleasing all the ACLU card-carrying activists out there - I’m talking about getting things done while upholding morale and good conduct. As an NCO I can tell you having an openly gay military is opening the door for all sorts of new headaches - hate crimes, equal opportunity issues, and reduced efficiency due to trust issues. These problems would be primarily focused among the “workhorse” of the military, our junior enlisted troops. Introduce a PC concept to fix something that’s not broken? No thanks.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:05 pmDo you like boobs a lot, boobs alot! boobs a lot?
May 30th, 2007 at 10:08 pmWhat an IDIOT!!
Obviously, he thinks about nothing but sex. I think we all grow out of that when we become ADULTS!!!
I anxiously await the day he is caught IN THE CLOSET!!!!!!!!!
May 30th, 2007 at 10:09 pmI am guessing the only urges this guy would get around a platoon of Hooter’s waitresses would be for the wings.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:09 pmWhy am I not the least bit surprised that someone this stupid would be a Republican?
May 30th, 2007 at 10:23 pmI can’t believe this guy just called the troops a bunch of Hooters women, Im shocked.. Where is Patrick1 to defend this quibble?
May 30th, 2007 at 10:27 pmHAS ANYONE BOTHERED TO NOTE THE OBVIOUS HERE?! That we shouldn’t BE THERE KILLING IRAQIS IN THE FIRST PLACE so it really doesn’t matter about whether or not there are gays serving in Iraq! Red Herring Alert!
May 30th, 2007 at 11:00 pmAs far as Gays serving in combat is concerned the Greeks proved time and again just how effective a brigade of lovers can be. There is nothing that makes a man want to kill more than seeing a loved one shot down…except maybe watching their country taken over by a military neo-fascist junta.
The Republican party–the party of division, fear and hate mongering, and wealth for the Ruling Class.
May 30th, 2007 at 11:02 pm“I’m talking about getting things done while upholding morale and good conduct. As an NCO I can tell you having an openly gay military is opening the door for all sorts of new headaches”
So we’ve heard … repeatedly. That’s precisely what was said before the military was integrated. That’s precisely what was said before we allowed women to serve alongside men. That’s precisely what was said before allowing gay men and women to serve in various European armies and in the Israeli army. It was all crap then; it’s crap now.
May 30th, 2007 at 11:20 pm“Why is this ‘closet homosexual’ crap always instantly thrown out there?”
That’s easy. Research has shown that those who are the most openly antagonistic toward gay men and women often behave that way because of their own insecurities. Most people couldn’t care less what people do in the bedroom — they just want to know that they count on them to get the job done.
May 30th, 2007 at 11:23 pmif you hate gays, then you are truly gay and don’t want to admit it. i think.
May 30th, 2007 at 11:44 pmPerhaps, given his disabilties, Mr. Smith ought to limit his appearances in public, or even in the vicinity of women, period.
It might do wonders to calm his mind … and leave us better off as well.
I suggest a cave in Afghanistan might suffice….
Cheers,
May 31st, 2007 at 12:03 amIt amazes me how many of these neo-con jerkoffs never served in the military but seem to hold themselves as military experts. It seems to me these neo-con a-holes should be sent to Eye-Rack to learn the hard way.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:28 amIt’s the same mentality within the strict homophobic religious types that is prevalent among more strict Muslims who believe their women should be covered. It’s not that women are temptresses and are always flirting, it’s that the men consider themselves unable to control their natural urges. Therefore it’s the WOMEN that have to cover up. A subtle transference of responsibility.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:53 amThis comment is directed specifically at Jason.
–
Hi Jason,
I was on right before the debate started (Video), I’m one of the Arabic linguists that was discharged. I understand the frustration of straight soldiers and why they would feel uncomfortable serving around an openly gay soldier.
There have been hundreds of thousands of gay soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen since the beginning of this nation’s history — 11,000 of them kicked out in the last 12 years. I don’t want to turn military bases into gay pride parades, I just want to live my life.
All the arguments about “unit cohesion” and “military readiness” are a veil for one thing: the shower factor. You fear that a gay soldier is going to look at you and think you’re cute. So? Great, take the complement. If they hit on you, tell them to go away. If you’re harassed, there’s policies against that.
Gay men have been in communal showers since time immemorial and will continue to be there until the Earth gets sucked into a black hole. Just deal with it, it’s part of life.
The Gay Ban itself is an insult to you, as a straight soldier, and to gay soldiers as well. It tells you that you’re not mature enough to deal with someone who’s a little bit different than you. Sorry, that’s life. Not everyone is like you. To gay soldiers, it tells us that we are not professional enough to respect your privacy and have mature, adult relationships with our battle buddies and co-workers.
We’re not children, we’re defenders of freedom.
- Stephen
May 31st, 2007 at 1:08 amYouTube Video
The link in my previous comment was broken.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:09 amJeez, I can’t win at this game. For real, the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3jCNvL1fnc.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:16 amJason,
Welcome to the world of a woman.
You say you don’t want gays openly in the military because you have been hit on and were made uncomfortable. I wonder if it has crossed your mind that women deal with this same situation every single day. And yet, female soldiers somehow still manage to keep unit cohesin and do their jobs.
I think the problem people have with gays in the military really boils down to the heterosexual male fear of being treated like a woman…and not so oddly, most of those who get freaked out are those who are so fixated on those “Hooter girls.”
Think about it, and figure out why it seems so much worse to you to have to say no to a man than for a woman to have to do so.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:58 amI saw this on CNN, and Mark Smith came out even against making an exception for gay military personnel whose main work would be as translators/interpreters. The US military and various intelligence agencies are desperately short of personnel competent in Arabic and other languages spoken in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and yet rightwing homophobic idiots like Smith act as if gays are more of a threat than Muslim terrorists. Some of the best interpreters/translators of Japanese during WWII were gay, and without them some of the Japanese military codes would never have been cracked or else cracked much later.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:05 amI also just “lo-oove” how rightwingers with absolutely no military experience like Mark Smith and Melanie Morgan before him feel that they are qualified to shout a veteran like Soltz down.
Stephen Benjamin:
Excellent post! Thank you.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:10 amJust absolutely pathetic of CNN to have this complete moron on TV. Corporate media does such a disservice to actual intelligent discussion and thought in this country . . . I’m sure this yeahoo is so proud of himself for getting himself attention today. It means other idiotic shows will have him on because he provides controversy for their pathetic shows . . . see Hannity, O’Reilley, that Glen Beck clown . . .
May 31st, 2007 at 2:57 amI believe this “logic” used to dismiss gays is the same one the military employs to blame female soldiers for the rapes they endure at the hands of their male colleagues. Men cite their inability to control themselves as an excuse, which is all the more ironic since they condemn the women’s “immorality” for provoking rape: how can they have the moral authority to be the judge, jury, and executioner of others when free will–which they claim to lack–is necessary to exercise morality?
If there are those of you who refuse to believe rape is prevalent in the military (including attacks upon suspected gay men), you must be delusional to think that men are biologically incapable of exploiting physical advantage or that sex cannot be a medium to express violent hatred. Rape is to sex what Islamic extremism is to religion: the use of a powerful force to justify tyranny.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:24 amYou’d THINK that they would realize that with the sorry state of our Armed Forces the realization would come: We can’t afford to be picky.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:46 amThey (meaning the Bush Admin et al) should be grateful that ANYONE would take the awful job it must be, to be a defender of our country.
Why are a bunch of draft-dodgers so afraid of gay men?
Thanks for the honesty and integrity of your post, Steven Benjamin.
I absolutely cannot imagine a society where a$$hats like Mark Smith are actually given a public forum for their completely idiotic views. Seriously, this man should be laughed off whenever he opens his mouth and instead he is given air time? I mean WTF?
May 31st, 2007 at 9:16 amSmith’s evidence is entirely anecdotal requiring a large leap in logic: Because I’m a horny, mysogonistic pig who lusts after every woman i see, all gay men are horny, indiscriminant animals who lust after every man they see. i’ll give him the first part.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:42 amWe’re not children, we’re defenders of freedom.
- Stephen
Comment by Stephen Benjamin — May 31, 2007 @ 1:08 am
Well said, Mr Benjamin. Thank you.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:39 amI’ll bet he believes the Hooters waitress when she tells him that she’s glad he came, because he’s cool and the rest of the customers are really lame tonight.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:54 am#64
My husband was telling me a story about when he served. He said an Sgt. of his used to go down to the gay clubs at the end of the pay period so that he could get his drinks paid for by the guys hitting on him!
LOL
Comment by Bluedahlia
Yeah, right! That was the ONLY reason he went there… of course it was! Do you and your husband actually believe that reason for going to a gay bar? If you buy that, I do have a bridge in the Sahara for sale.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:10 pmWhat an ignorant and sexist pig. Gay soldiers would be too preoccupied scoping out their comrades to be effective fighters? I guess he never heard of the Sacred Band of Thebes, and in any event, what makes him think a homosexual male would have the same problem as a heterosexual male (which, incidentally, is insulting to both)? Oh, the weak egos of the white conservative male… poor, poor things.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:23 pmyeahhh… all gay men are walking sexaholics. Mr. Smith must have a lot of experance with gay men.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:39 pm#70 - ” As an NCO I can tell you having an openly gay military is opening the door for all sorts of new headaches - hate crimes, equal opportunity issues, and reduced efficiency due to trust issues. These problems would be primarily focused among the “workhorse†of the military, our junior enlisted troops.”
Jason, does this happen in England where they allow openly gay service members? Nope. They are professional military members, and lived with the change.
When I served (86-90) all my roommates knew about me, and not one cared. Why? Because they were professional.
June 1st, 2007 at 8:09 am