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Hagel: Sorry About Insulting Gays. Can I Be Defense Secretary Now?
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14 Comments
No. 2 ·
ChiChi Man
I long for and will applaud the day when conservatives admit they’ve been wrong on LGBT issues. But I also think a mere apology is B.S. when you’ve spewed particularly hateful and demonizing rhetoric. What about making amends? What has he done to support and uplift the LGBT community lately?
Dec 21, 2012 at 5:39 pm · @Reply
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No. 4 ·
MK Ultra
Redemntion and forgiveness are two incredibly powerful concepts that are in no way restricted to religion. It’s a humanity thing. There are those who have hurt our community terribly and now seek redemtion. It will be a very long time before our community can even think of forgiveness. But if we refuse to even entertain the thought for those who are sincere in making it right, if we allow ourselves to become so embittered and jaded, then our enemies, those who would seen harm done to us and ours, have truly won.
I’m not saying forgive this guy or forget. I’m saying see what he does in regards to LGBT issues and go from there.
Dec 21, 2012 at 7:28 pm · @Reply ·
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No. 5 ·
Merv
Do I forgive him? Yes, and for one reason only: The neo-cons despise him. We can’t afford to let AIPAC dictate our defense policy, or we’ll end up with more Iraq wars.
Dec 21, 2012 at 9:36 pm · @Reply ·
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No. 6 ·
DannyA
What is aggressively stupid is his 14 year learning curve and the ignorance that gays in Europe often are treated more fairly and have rights American gays are still anticipating. His apology seems hollow and simply a token to get his dream job.
Dec 22, 2012 at 2:06 am · @Reply ·
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No. 7 ·
Someguy
Let’s try to make more of an issue out of this. Surely there’s more.
Dec 22, 2012 at 2:22 am · @Reply ·
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No. 8 ·
gaym50ish
Are you all just too young to remember that his opinion was mainstream 15 years ago? Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, and now supports gay marriage. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed TWO gay-marriage bills in California and eventually applauded the court that struck down Proposition 8. Barack Obama’s viewe had to “evolve” for a few years before he supported marriage equality.
We have only a 10-year history of gay marriage anywhere in the world — the Netherlands being the first — and opinions in the U.S. about gays back then were much like those in some Third World countries today. That a politician in 1998 didn’t think a gay man should serve as an ambassador does not mean he should be branded as a homophobe for life.
Dec 22, 2012 at 4:35 am · @Reply ·
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No. 10 ·
FStratford
Well, he can always say he has learned that he is wrong and has evolved. It worked for Barack. Maybe he can promise to champion Gay marriage in Nebraska
Dec 22, 2012 at 11:44 am · @Reply ·
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No. 11 ·
Out Military
A year later in 1999, Hagel told the New York Times when describing his enthusiastic support of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – the discriminatory policy that banned gays and lesbians from serving in the military:
“The armed forces aren’t some social experiment.”
While no Sec Def nominee will pass every test, LGB(T) service members should take pause and at least ask the question: Does Chuck Hagel have an aversion to my sexuality?
Dec 22, 2012 at 3:41 pm · @Reply ·
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No. 12 ·
Will L
Over the years, he may have learned not to *vocalize* such comments, but I have serious doubts that he has miraculously changed inside. Unless he’s gone through some serious life-changing event, he’s the same butthead he was in 1998.
Dec 22, 2012 at 10:50 pm · @Reply ·
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No. 13 ·
Brian
Hagel comes across as one of those people who gets caught out on something he said years back and then tries to go into damage control because the comment might affect his career prospects. It just seems like a very fake apology on his part right now. Has he actually apologized personally to Hormel?
The other thing I don’t like about Hagel are his alleged comments about the armed forces not being a social experiment re DADT repeal. He most definitely does NOT come across as a friend of gay people and nor does he come across as someone who treats gay people as equals in America.
Dec 23, 2012 at 3:04 am · @Reply ·
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No. 14 ·
JohnQPublic
Wake up, it’s the Israeli lobby, AIPAC among others, and their puppets in Congress, that are behind all this BS about something Hagel said 14 years ago about gays.Let’s hope that President Obama doesn’t pull the same wuss act he did with Rice. The Israelis tried to defeat Obama in NOvember and having failed,now they’re trying to sabotage his second term.
Dec 24, 2012 at 5:40 am · @Reply ·
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Add your Comment
Are you being purposefully obtuse?
He says that those comments – made 15 years ago – do not reflect his views – ie: NOW.
Trying to imply that he doesn’t say what he means, or mean what he says, is just stupid on your part.
How about seeing just how much his views have changed in that time?