Poetic.
Military men and women booted because of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell can take the same position at federal agencies, where they’re protected against employment discrimination. This queer contradiction has activist Steve Ralls remembering a friend’s two-line poem on torturous, tortuous love, “”I love you; please go away/ hate you; why won’t you stay?” [HuffPo]
This really does highlight the absurdity of DADT. If the military REALLY thought GLBT military personnel were a threat to the smooth functioning of the armed forces, you would see an increase, not decrease, in the number of soldiers booted under DADT during times of war (and certainly not a message that these fired individuals could use a loophole to keep their jobs as civilians.)
Even for fired military people who use the “loophole,” I wonder if those civilian jobs have equal pay, benefits, and can make up for having a less-than-honorable discharge from the military on their record (which could affect obtaining such civilian jobs). Also, I doubt that there are civilian jobs out there that could replace every military position. I had several friends of mine that wanted to be JAG attorneys who had no option but to closet themselves to do so because there is no civilian equivalent.
Who’s telling? Could it be that female soldiers, unhappy with the war, are taking a lesson from M.A.S.H.’s Corporal Klinger and getting the modern version of a Section 8? Are they “outing” themselves, whether they are lesbian or not, just to get out of their military commitment?
The NY Times policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Report” is alive and well.