Barack Obama offered some sincere remarks on Saturday during his weekly presidential address, as he remembered the thirteen lives lost at the hands of Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. And while it’s clear Obama was working to smooth relations between Muslims, soldiers, and America at large (Hasan was Muslim), his comments about the diversity inside our military was notable for what it didn’t include.
Picking up on the terrible brewing trend that has some folks — like Fox News pundits — suggesting America’s military ranks need to be “screened” of Muslims, Obama said American soldiers “are Americans of every race, faith and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers. They are descendants of immigrants, and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other. What they share is a commitment to country that has been tested and proved worthy. What they share is the same unflinching courage, unblinking compassion and uncommon camaraderie that the soldiers and civilians of Fort Hood showed America and showed the world.”
Not in there? Any mention of LGBTs.
Now, it’s not clear whether any of Hasan’s victims were queer. And so we can already hear the backlash: This wasn’t about gay soldiers, so why should Obama mention them?
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Because in a conversation about diversity in the military, and about certain demographics that serve this country proudly despite unprovoked wanton hatred sent their way, and spoken from the mouth of a man who has repeatedly committed to letting men and women of all backgrounds serve openly, LGBT soldiers are worthy of the same calls of acceptance from the commander-in-chief as any other group.
Must Obama mention LGBT soldiers at every turn? No. But until he ends a law that forbids us from serving openly in the military — as Muslims, naturally, are free to do — he must continue to recognize the sacrifices queer Americans make to keep this country safe.
And it shouldn’t take a gay servicemember murdering anyone — or a gay servicemember being killed by a comrade — for it to happen. In fact, when that very thing did happen? Obama was silent.
That’s possibly because August Provost’s murder didn’t receive the same media attention (only one dead at the hands of a fellow soldier, not 13). Or possibly because it’s just easier to ignore gay servicemembers when they cannot speak up themselves.
Obama’s calls for caution and tolerance strike the right tone. But they make all the more evident that gays in the military are still second-class.
Jon B
Too far again, Queerty. Too far. He doesn’t always have to mention us.
Attmay
What the hell do breeders have to do to get thrown out of the military?
Attmay
Kiss my gay Jewish ass, Obama!
edgyguy1426
That’s what I was thinking too, Jon, but then when you put it in the context of the fact that he wants to end DADT, it was a perfect opportunity to tie us into the mosaic of who the military really is.
MakeItNotBeTrue
Get over yourselves Queerty. This is about way more than mentioning us. Let people grieve.
Jake the libertarian
Hey… This was not some sad little Muslim that didn’t want to be deployed… This was a fucking terrorist attack and 43 individuals were shot. Frankly I think Obama is being very week on this. If he gave half the consideration to innocent gays (the vast majority) as he does to innocent Muslims (also the majority, but not at much as the gays) then DADT would be over right now.
Frankly I don’t understand how in the hell the Army as well as the White House keep calling for calm on all of this. This was an abject failure of our security and screening processes in the Army of monumental proportions. Where in the hell is the anger here? The fucker was under investigation as a terrorist and was still walking around an Army post armed and with Major insignia… ON HIS WAY TO BEING DEPLOYED DOWN RANGE WITH OUR FUCKING TROOPS!!! Obama is bending over so hard for the poor misunderstood Muslims that he wont even call what happened a terrorist attack. I’d be fucking ecstatic if he gave half that much consideration to the gays.
Cindy
This is pretty clearly a situation that required him to focus in on just this particular case.
What I wonder is why we’re sitting around, holding our breath and waiting for any mention from this admin. I’ve heard enough talk already and see it doesn’t bring any action. I’m done with talk and won’t react to any of it or any lack of it. Action is now the only measuring stick for me.
InExile
Agree, lots of talk and no action. It really doesn’t matter if we are mentioned or not at this point. In fact I would prefer to not be mentioned and see him keep his promises instead.
ousslander
Jake, you are so right. The way the army, white house and news media twist themselves up in order not to call it a terrorist attack. It truly sickens me.
Attmay
Which is the greater threat to unit cohesion: Having your butt stared at in the shower or being shot at by a religious psychopath who believes Allah made him do it?
This is why I grieve for the families of the victims. It is also why I stand proudly and firmly with the enemies of Jihad, and every gay man and woman with a brain and his head needs to as well.
@6 Jake the Libertarian:
Obama made a greeting video for the people of Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death. He apparently doesn’t care if bombs rain over the streets of Tel Aviv or if Iran gets nukes. If that doesn’t tell you about where his “sensitivities” lie, nothing will.
Brian NJ
Obama’s failure to mention us is part of a larger pattern of showing disrespect for gay veterans. The biggest act of disrespect is of course dumping them on the street. The second would be working night and day on new, complex, ambitious and expensive legislation, but not lifting a finger to get a simple repeal of DADT on his desk.
pantherq
The murder news was covered up locally. They don’t repeat even important stories if there is pressure not to.
It would be hypocritical for him to act like we matter to him.
Christopher L
Obama stands with Islam over non-Muslims.
Did you see this?
NYC: Cabbie Boots Gay Couple
Muslims throwing rocks at a homosexual man in Minn, a Muslim in Washington D.C. stating that homosexuals should be killed under Sharia law, and now this. Is this the “tolerant” part of Islam, that we keep hearing about?
http://islaminaction08.blogspot.com/2009/11/nyc-cabbie-boots-gay-couple.html
Tony
Oh god, seriously? Should we also be mad that he didn’t mention us during breakfast with Michelle?
Raul
Most of the time I do not agree with QUEERTY comments but today I do.
We need to fight for our rights.
RJ
“Frankly I don’t understand how in the hell the Army as well as the White House keep calling for calm on all of this. This was an abject failure of our security and screening processes in the Army of monumental proportions. Where in the hell is the anger here?”
@ Jake the libertarian
Because they’re trying to detour idiots like you from causing a panic against Muslim Americans.
B
Let’s see. Nobody knows if any of the victims are gay or what the suspect’s motivation was – after being shot to stop him, he only regained consciousness this morning and is still in critical condition. But let’s jump to conclusions and blame Obama anyway. My guess is that QUEERTY is suffering from a slow news day and some people posting comments are still recovering from too much partying over the weekend.
reason
This speech is about the presidents attempt to dampen any blow-back toward the Muslim community in our army, granted that they are a critical part of our current operation. The truth of the matter is it will be a lot more difficult to defeat the terrorist that we are battling in Afghanistan without their language expertise, and cultural acumen. Gays were included granted that every American is encompassed in the categories he mentioned. If he was to give a shot out to every subgroup in America he would be there all day. The government needs to be pressured into overturning DADT, but when you’re injecting it into situations were it is distracting focus on the true objective it becomes a hindrance to military operations. Focus and “constructive” pressure should remain on the Congress, the DNC, and the White House.
Addressing ATTMAY, I don’t see where Iran and Tel Aviv enters into this equation, but America has spent enough treasure, blood, and presidential capital in that region while our own house is decaying. We should be worried about containing the enemies of America exclusively, and spend the rest of the time focusing on problems in our own country like civil rights, energy, and education. This country has enough debt on its books; it makes no scenes to pour endless resources into a black hole that has no intent of reconciling the situations that they are in. Everyone has their grubby hands in our pocket, and then thank us by spiting in our face. It is time for America to show the harsher side of its hand, welfare is not unlimited. We should follow the Texas model three more years and then you are on your own, granted several Middle Eastern recipients have had a free lunch for several decades. Maybe then will people over there get of their lazy a#$#@ to reach peace agreements, and focus on bettering the lives of their citizens.
Charles Merrill
I never agree with Senator Lieberman, but I am glad he is opening the investigation into whether or not Hasan had ties with Islamic extremists.
The political correctness of not being able to even question Muslim extremism in this country is of valid concern.
Where are the Muslim religious leaders standing up condemning the shooting. There are none. CAIR defends the Muslim faith but does not condemn the murderous actions or send thoughts and prayers to the loved ones of the fallen.
reason
@Charles Merrill
I didn’t even have to scratch the surface to find Muslim “leaders” condemning the atrocity. http://americanmuslimjournal.typepad.com/an_american_muslim_journa/2009/11/american-muslims-condemn-ft-hood-shootings-grieve-with-survivors-and-families.html
We should clearly investigate extremism of any kind in this country, carryout an investigation in the Hasan tragedy to see where we can make improvements to keep our military and country safe. I think the point of the sensitivity is not to be political correct, but to avoid carrying out another tragedy by scapegoating innocent Muslims who just want to go about their daily lives like any other American. The sensitivity is recognition that there are crazy people like Hasan in this country that are non-Muslims, and would love to disgustingly capitalize on the murders of Americans to incite violence, discrimination, and hatred on more innocent Americans.
Every time a gay person kills someone in this country I don’t expect my so called leaders that I never appointed to make a statement, and I certainly don’t have the time or inclination to make a statement though it certainly doesn’t mean that I don’t care.
Cam
No. 1 · Jon B said…
Too far again, Queerty. Too far. He doesn’t always have to mention us.
______________________________________________
Unless he made ending DADT a large part of his campaign, then there is no reason to leave out the single largest group screened out of the military. He is naming off a list of people in the military that make up it’s diversity and yet left out the group that he promised to add in to the mix.
B
CAM wrote, “He is naming off a list of people in the military that make up it’s diversity and yet left out the group that he promised to add in to the mix.”
What he mentioned are the categories (racial/ethnic, religion, immigrant/non-immigrant) that people might try to blame. Nobody is suggesting that Hasan was gay. Some nut case is not likely to engage in some gay bashing due to what happened.
Usually such remarks get televised, and the length of time even the president gets in a news broadcast is very small.
Charles Merrill
Reason
Your example is just another cute Muslim black bear. I am talking about clerics, real leaders at the Mosque. What about Farrakhan? He has a billion dollar pact with Qadaffi to elect a President. If it wasn’t for Zionist Rahm Emmanuel as Chief of Staff, I would be worried.
Attmay
@18 Reason:
“I don’t see where Iran and Tel Aviv enters into this equation,”
Because it’s obvious he has an ambiguous at best attitude towards Israel, or any of this country’s supposed allies for that matter. He seems to be cold to them and warmer to the Muslim states, regardless of their human rights records and their attitudes towards America.
reason
@ Charles Merrill No. 23
Lol, are you joking? I hope so because I really got a kick out of that. I always thought Farrakhan was some off brand heretical sect that was looked upon with amusement by Arab Muslims. Correct me if I am wrong. As for the President of the United States being chosen by Farrakhan and Qadaffi, I am still laughing. It sounds like something they came up with at a tea party after ingesting some strange putrid liquid. If only the Israelis still believed Rahm is a Zionist maybe there would be some movement towards peace in that region.
saul
As always, there are Queerty readers who are only too happy to prove the irony of their own bigotry, neglecting the reality that there are others out there who distrust them as much as they do Muslims.
Idiotic xenophobes.
All of this crap about Obama standing by Muslims over non-Muslims is vile and shameful. It’s the same racist crap that the birthers spew.
Given all of the love Obama has thrown to the Christians, from Rick Warren to others, his administration’s refusal to come out strongly for gay rights, you idiots are so blind to how much Obama attempts to curry favor from Christians.
Moreover, you also dismiss the reality that George Bush came out after the 9/11 attacks to lend similar defense to Muslim Americans.
Wasn’t it some nice Christian who shot up his church last year killing and maiming congregants for their liberalism? Wasn’t it a supposed Christian who murdered an abortion doctor in his church earlier this year?
Anyone with a brain knows that not all Christians are murderers. It’s the same for Muslims.
Murderers come in all shapes and forms.
This need to generalize and damn all members of a community that many of you are doing is the very same thing that anti-gay forces use against GLBT Americans. When the D.C. shooter was caught with his young protege, Right-wingers immediately began to speculate that they were gay lovers.
Charles Merrill
Reason
Farrakhan may be a bastard to the moderate U.S.A. Muslim movement but he is the only one with power and the Middle East Islamic clerics welcome him.
A rose by any other name is still a rose.
Ambrose
You just crossed over from righteous indignation to self-absorbed whining. Please.
reason
I am not talking about just moderate American Muslims, I am talking about the Middle East the heart of the Muslim world and South Asia. The guy is considered a joke throughout the Muslim world by both moderates and extremist. Sure some may pat him on the back when he spews something off the wall but they would do the same and welcome you if you said something vitriolic toward their rivals. Outside of his sect, he has no power.
I am sure most Americans don’t even think of this man when they think of Islam.
B
Charles Merrill wrote, “Farrakhan may be a bastard to the moderate U.S.A. Muslim movement but he is the only one with power and the Middle East Islamic clerics welcome him.” Very doubtful. Qadaffi may have welcomed him (he is from a part of the world where “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”), but given how Sunni and Shiite Muslims have historically fought over minor differences (minor to us, not them), it is highly likely that Islamic clerics would “welcome” the leader of some pseudo-Islamic sect with a theology that defines Allah as some dude named W. D. Fard (or vice versa).
reason
@B No.29
Your completely correct, thanks for providing more clarity to my previous post.
dontblamemeivotedforhillary
What’s next, bovine quadrupeds? I’ll have the Same-Sex Halal meal please!
Attmay
@26 Saul:
“Given all of the love Obama has thrown to the Christians, from Rick Warren to others, his administration’s refusal to come out strongly for gay rights, you idiots are so blind to how much Obama attempts to curry favor from Christians.”
Nobody is more aware of that more than I am, but currying favor from religious fanatics is not a zero sum game.
We don’t need to generalize. We have evidence of the bigotry that is pandemic in much of the Islamic world, and those who carry it out. And the last thing we need is your patronizing scolding.
tjr101
Oh Goodness… Queerty is really desperate in it’s sensationalism.
NotReligious
No. 29 – Profoundly stupid, again.
B
NotReligious wrote, “No. 29 – Profoundly stupid, again.” Just out of curiosity, what is it with you morons? You devout “nonreligious” types seem to have a problem even when someone simply provides a factual description of what these groups believe and what they consider to be acceptable variations in beliefs (which isn’t much).
Charles Merrill
B, wonder what Farrakhan did with the billion ?
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/27/us/farrakhan-defends-ties-to-libyan-leader.html
saul
Charles Merrill,
You really are clueless. The Nation of Islam is not truly Islamic. It’s a hodgepodge of Islam and science fiction. No on in the Islamic world cares a hoot about Louis Farrakhan. He doesn’t represent any of the major branches of Islam, Sunni, Shia, or Sufi.
Your ignorance is astounding but most likely only eclipsed by your xenophobia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_of_Islam
Charles Merrill
Saul
The Nation of Islam is a Muslim stepping stone to being a Sunni. Farrakhan and his over 20,000 followers will eventually convert.
List of converts so far (source Wikipedia)
Malcolm X – Later converted to Sunni Islam
Betty Shabazz – Later converted to Sunni Islam
Muhammad Ali – Later converted to Sunni Islam
Warith Deen Mohammed – Later converted to Sunni Islam
MC Ren – Later converted to mainstream Islam
Ice Cube – Was associated with the Nation of Islam, but never a regular member and became a Sunni Muslim.[33]
KAM- member of the Nation Of Islam and former associate of Ice Cube
reason
@Charles Merrill
You are the exact reason that the President and his generals scrambled to get in front of this story. Your boundless ignorance and inability to learn is threatening to the sanctity of this country. The Nation of Islam is nothing more than a cult that was denounced by one of the supposed prophets own son. There sordid attempt to fight racism with racism and there racialization of the church not only fell flat but ran afoul of a fundamental tenant of Islam. After members of the church traveled to the middle east and found out they had been conned the church fractured forming the American Muslim Mission. Farrakhan seizing the opportunity to line his pockets took over the Nation of Islam and continued with his bigotry and tenets that have nothing to do with Islam. Saying that the Nation of Islam is truly Islamic is like saying that David Koresh and the Branch Davidians were truly Christian.
reason
Malcolm X didn’t use it as a stepping stone, he found out he had been tricked, and the Nation of Islam was a sham. Therefore he bailed out taking with him a lot of the followers when the church fractured. 20,000 people you are aware that is less then a hundredth of a percent of the U.S. population. LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT, YOU WANT A FAKE MUSLIM CULT LEADER TO COME OUT AND MAKE A STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF A RELIGION THAT HE IS NOT A PART OF.
“Two encounters with the Middle East had particular importance. When Malcolm X, one of Elijah Muhammad’s top lieutenants, traveled to the Middle East, he became aware of the disparity between his faith and its supposed progenitor. On his return to the United States, he demanded that Elijah Muhammad adopt Islamic practices. These efforts failed, and Malcolm X left the fold to become a Muslim, taking some of Elijah Muhammad’s followers with him.”
Charles Merrill
None accept gay people due to Mohammed’s hadith, “Kill the one who is doing it, and kill the one who it is being done to”. Also kill non believers is in their Koran (Qur’an)and they don’t take those words out so that extremists can and do act on them . It is not worth pointing fingers as to which form of Islam is the crazier. One that believes that Mohammed walked up into the sky from the Temple Mount or the Nation of Islam’s wheel of Eziekiel flying saucer. Both myths are ignorant as are those who fly airplanes into buildings and shoot up Army bases.
B
Charles Merrill wrote, “B, wonder what Farrakhan did with the billion ? http://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/27/us/farrakhan-defends-ties-to-libyan-leader.html ” How funny – your URL shows you are full of it. Merrill said Farrakhan was welcomed by Muslim clerics. The URL points to an article from 1996 about him visiting Libya and Iraq, talking to Gaddafi and Saddam. Neither are/were clerics.
Saddam was secular. Gaddafi came up with Islamic Socialism with an emphasis on the latter (he did however ban alcohol and gambling, but wanted things updated to fit the modern world). He had delusions of unifying the Arab world, so the Islamic part of his term may be more marketing than reality – you appeal to rather vague text in the Koran (or other “sacred text” that your culture accepts) and spin it into whatever you want, which is how politicians have sometimes exploited the religious beliefs of the masses.
If you look at http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2001/8/Human+Rights+in+Arab+and+Muslim+Countries.htm (which is from the Israeli Minsitry of Foreign Affairs, so hardly pro-Islamic) it describes various abuses in Arab and Muslim countries (dated 2001). The ones given for Libya are political in nature with other countries being noteworthy for traditional Islamic punishments.
B
Regarding Charles Merrill’s claim, “What about Farrakhan? He has a billion dollar pact with Qadaffi to elect a President,” the NY Times article Merrill cited said:
“Mr. Farrakhan, who also traveled to Iran, Nigeria and Sudan, called parts of his trip ‘statesmanlike’ and said he was on ‘fact-finding missions.’ He said he accepted a pledge from Colonel Qaddafi to provide at least $1 billion to build the black community’s political power.”
Earth to Merrill: a $1 billion “pledge” to “build the black community’s political power” is rather general. It does not require electing a president, and the “pledge” was from 1996, a time when there were not any credible black candidates for president on the horizon. You could easily spend that much money on mailers for electing black candidates to city councils – it amounts to around $14 per U.S. household over a multi-year period. One company spends more than that on me each year trying to get me to buy some product I don’t want as they continually bombard me with junk mail.
Attmay
As for us needing to accept Muslims, this Wikipedia article speaks volumes on how Muslims accept their own when they are gay:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Fatiha_Foundation
That’s right, people. They got fatwas issued against them and must live in secrecy.
It is they who must accept us, accept modernity, and must forgo their 12th century barbarianism, in order for there to be a chance at anything resembling peace.