A person calling himself J.T. Chestnut claims that his dad forced him to join the Army to get his life together and “become more of a man” (ie. straight). Desperate for his dad’s love, Chestnut joined, got “framed for homosexual conduct” and endured homophobic abuse during the resulting investigation. Depressed and distressed, he went AWOL to California and spent four happy years running marathons and working for gay rights. This last week, the army caught up with him and if you support gays in the military, you should applaud that.
According to Chestnut, West Hollywood police stopped him for “no reason at all”, arrested him for his military warrant and told him to report to Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he will face military judicial proceedings. There’s a petition asking the army to release Mr. Chestnut (yeah, the army will surely be swayed by 500 e-signatures), but if you support equal treatment of gays and lesbians in the military, you shouldn’t sign it.
No matter the circumstances under which Chestnut joined (assuming he is real and this isn’t all a big hoax), he had to know what he was getting into when he enlisted. Anyone with a VCR and a copy of Full Metal Jacket or Private Benjamin knows that basic training sucks times one million. He probably did face bullying and abuse in the military, but so do tons of people singled out for being fat, Latino, stupid, skinny, short, Asian, red-headed or any number of mockable traits. Is it fair? No. But it is the military.
He also knew he was gay and could have gotten out with a honorable discharge under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” but instead he took all the time and money invested into him by American taxpayers and bailed. While we might understand or even empathize with what he did, he did so as a legal adult with full knowledge that going AWOL is against the law. Thinking that he’d somehow slip under the military’s radar for the rest of his life is even more ridiculous.
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.
While our heart goes out to any gay kid who goes against their better judgment to win their parent’s love, the gay community just got the right to serve and be treated equally in the military. If Mr. Chestnut wants to respect that, he’ll stop saying that he deserves special treatment because he is gay and take his punishment just like any other gay or straight adult should.
Little Kiwi
JT is a friend of mine. Daniel V, you should be ashamed of yourself. This guy has been through more than your cowardly ass will ever know, was indeed the victim of a prejudiced bullshit policy and now you’re blaming him for it? Your inability to understand that JT did this four years ago, and that DADT has only been repealed very recently, shows that you’re either a complete dunderhead when it comes to understanding timelines, or you simply have no understanding of what the experiences of others are.
To say that “if you support gays in the military you should not support JT” is fucking intellectually dishonest bullshit considering that his ill-advised choice was an act of desperation during a time in which DADT was still in total fucking effect.
learn something.
Daniel Villarreal
@Little Kiwi: I understand that DADT was in effect when he was in the military. If he wanted out, he should have said, “I’m gay” and gotten discharged under DADT as so many others did. But he didn’t and that’s what I don’t understand. Because he went AWOL and is now being prosecuted for it, this isn’t a gay issue at all—it’s a military issue. Anyone else who goes AWOL would be treated the same as he. So why should he get off the hook? Because he got treated like crap under DADT? I don’t buy it. Saying that he should get special treatment now just because he’s gay goes against the idea of equal treatment in the military and I’m against it. But that’s just one man’s opinion.
Em
Actually, Daniel V., your logic is extremely strange. Being gay isn’t a “mockable trait”. It isn’t okay to abuse someone for being gay no matter what organization you belong to, including the military. I don’t understand the combative tone you are using here, either. Are you angry we supported the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell? Are you trying to make us repent for asking for equal rights? What was this article meant to accomplish?
Em
@Em: Never mind, I reread and understand now. Please disregard earlier comment.
Ogre Magi
@Little Kiwi: He is kind of cute
Little Kiwi
I think what should be taken into consideration, D.V., is that the factors that drove him to going AWOL were bullshit in the first place. I’m not saying i accept his actions, i AM saying that i understand them. he joined to appease his father, he was faced with shaming, he fled. the country had no problem wasting hundreds of millions discharging highly-qualified LGBT military members for the years DADT was in place. And you know, dude, it wasn’t so much a case of soldiers saying “I’m Gay” and being Ousted – it was witchhunts, and it was being being Found Out.
it’s not asking for special treatment – it’s asking for an intelligent and discerning look at the specificities of CIRCUMSTANCE.
it’s not a different set of rules. at all. it is wholly a different set of circumstances.
Little Kiwi
you asking us to “applaud” the military for hunting down a person that they were going to drive out due to a bigoted policy is just fucking stupid.
“hey! we don’t hate you for being gay anymore! now we’re gonna punish you for leaving us for hating gays rather than letting us kick you out for being gay”
that’s literally what you’re proposing, Daniel. It’s fucking stupid. But hey, what would I know. I’m just a Canadian who supports vietnam-era draft dodgers.
Daniel Villarreal
@Little Kiwi: I guess the other thing I am not so clear on is why he thinks he’ll endure more abuse at a military base over a non-gay charge. Presumably, a hearing on his AWOL status would allow him to voice the circumstances behind his decision, right? Maybe I’m wrong but I’m talking with the Servicemembers League Defense Network for more info on Chestnut’s story.
matt
This article is terrible, I wasn’t gonna sign the petition beforehand but now I’m gonna just to spite you.
EK
I understand where Daniel is coming from. This man made mistakes and let others push him into doing something so he should deal with the consequences. Lets put this in a different light. Say that J.T.’s dad was a drug pusher. So he tells J.T. that he should get into the business. For arguments sake, he does so (just as he joined the military) and thinks nothing of what his new drug filled life style will do. Then the police sniff him out and hook him on drug charges but he flees. Finally the cops catch up to him. There is no way that they would let him off the hook because his father started him on the business or because the officers who were trying to arrest him in the first place told him mean things.
JElder
I’m sorry, I agree with this article completely.
This happens quite often, a group of people (especially in the LGBT Community from my personal experience) want equal treatment if it’s going to benefit them but not when it’s going to be a disadvantage.
This isn’t a LGBT issue at all, it’s a military issue. No one can force you to join the military, if you’re old enough to enlist, then you’re old enough to move the hell out and start your own life.
Little Kiwi
so the fact that he went AWOL because of a discriminatory policy that has been deemed unconstitutional and has since been repealed means nothing? america is weird
RVH
I really cannot believe the cowardice and lack of empathy of the author here. This is the most nauseating piece of garbage I’ve ever read on this site.
eddie
can somebody please explain to me why it’s illegal to go AWOL? i get it’s kinda like a school issue where they don’t want to be accused of loosing their charges but seriously? you’re punishing me for? what is the punishment anyway?
if the guy was miserable and he left isn’t that kind of like a good thing for both him and the military? who wants a depressed soldier that when put into action he can’t really deliver, God forbid dies and that somehow, amazingly the public finds out he was depressed do to homophobic slander? he left, you have many more soldiers. and if this is a sign that others might follow his initiative then shouldn’t the military be looking at itself? why is there so much discrimination?
besides, if you were the one being discriminated like that, would you want to spend paperwork and time just to get out. it’s human instict to act immediately when in danger. please! who knows how long it takes to get out of there. during that time you’re mocked for being gay AND a chicken because you’re leaving. while i’m not one who really cares what people think i think i would have commited some murders.
think of his own perspective a little deeper rather than he was bullied and left.
yes it’s protocol that someone who went awol should be punished but why? if you’re in danger of people harming you or worse you to yourself, you leave immediately.
Greenluv1322
This article is not nice at all! Try being a little less judgmental next time. Damn cut the kid some slack.
G
Daniel Villarreal you better sure hope you don’t go to jail one day. Karma…
eddie
it’s like saying bullies or chasing you down the hall but you’re not allowed to leave the school gate in order to protect yourself because other people who are suffering the same thing might follow your lead. if they want to let them!!! at least the military will be able to see that there is something definately wrong with their recruits and some of their generals.
Little Kiwi
“we’re gonna discharge you and publicly shame for you being gay even though it costs us money to do so”
what’s their problem? that he left on his terms and not their baseless bigoted ones? fucking nonsense.
Alex
Sometimes, I wonder whether Queerty is even on our side. Reading these endless streams of victim-blaming is so tiring. Just get your act together, and stop letting us down. Little Kiwi puts it perfectly: you’re not considering his circumstances, Dan. THE REASON WHY A GAY PERSON SHOULD BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY IN THIS CASE IS BECAUSE GAY PEOPLE ARE OPPRESSED.
Little Kiwi
gays were being discharged for decades. and it cost the country money. now they want to punish a guy who walked away rather than let them discharge him on their own baselessly prejudiced terms? it’s nonsense.
HAL
Actually, I have to agree with Daniel here. The petition is the same reason people accuse us of wanting “special treatment”. Because in this case, we do. His leaving the military, regardless of whether or not he did it because of DADT, was illegal. He should be held responsible.
I believe the military tribunal should go easy on him, because these were mitigating circumstances. And who knows, they might dismiss the charges since he would have been discharged anyway. But let’s take another theoretical person who does something that would have gotten them discharged. If they ran away, instead of facing the discharge, they would also be held for going AWOL.
Nobody is defending DADT here, nor are they angry that it was repealed. What they’re saying is that he went AWOL and as a result he has to face the consequences. We need to stop getting worked up about times we’re treated equally, and get worked up about things that we get fucked over on every single god damn day. Jesus people.
Little Kiwi
Right. he should be treated equally be being punished for something based on sheer inequality.
is that it?
even though he wasn’t being treated equally for being gay as opposed to straight, he should be punished the same way.
America….come ON.
don’t use theoriticals – use specifics. they were discharging LGBT people. that’s inequality. it was unequal treatment. were there no DADT, he’d not have gone AWOL. what are they truly upset about? that he ran away before they got the chance to shame him and kick them out themselves?
AJ
As a gay Army officer, I applaud this author. We should not be treated as “special cases” only because we are gay.
Little Kiwi
A link to your online profile, “AJ” so that we can verify that you are not only an actual gay army officer, but an OPENLY gay one? a link would be great. youtube page, blog, etc. you’ll provide us with one? thanks.
“We should not be treated as “special cases” only because we are gay”
we should not have been discharged simply for being gay. which we were for decades. which JT would have been had he not left.
we were treated as “special cases” under decades of bigoted policy. should the specifities of that bigoted policy not be taken into consideration when dealing with the specificities of this case?
terra_firma106
@Little Wiki: I completely understand that you are defending your friend. However, I believe you are becoming too emotional to see the more objective points of this issue.
First, JT signed up for the military voluntarily, knowing full well that at the time he was likely to face discrimination. I believe that was the first bad choice he made. I understand he was being pressured by his father. However, he was still an adult (he was 18 at the time), and he could have refused to sign up. JT had other options: tell his father to F off and move out; ask family members for support and to talk to his dad; find professional help that could end the obvious family problems they were having, etc. Instead he decided to sign up to appease his dad.
Second, once he realized how bad it was in the military, he went AWOL. That is the second bad choice he made. Again, he had other options. Like Daniel said, he could have used DADT to be discharged (given he did not want to stay in the military anyway). It could be that he was afraid his father would be upset with him if he was discharged, but he obviously had the ability to move away since he moved to LA after going AWOL, so he could have moved away after being discharged. Other options could have been, again, to receive professional help if he needed help coping with the discrimination and all the mocking he seems to have received.
Third, he is now asking for help because he is afraid he will be punished for going AWOL. However, as we already established, he had other options other than going AWOL. So technically, he is asking not to be punished because he made bad decisions. Unfortunately, that is not how things work. It is likely they might go easy on him, and I hope they do, but the bottomline is that he made those choices as an adult and now there are consequences for those choices, regardless of sexual orientation.
terra_firma106
@Little Wiki: I completely understand that you are defending your friend. However, I believe you are becoming too emotional to see the more objective points of this issue.
First, JT signed up for the military voluntarily, knowing full well that at the time he was likely to face discrimination. I believe that was the first bad choice he made. I understand he was being pressured by his father. However, he was still an adult (he was 18 at the time), and he could have refused to sign up. JT had other options: tell his father to F off and move out; ask family members for support and to talk to his dad; find professional help that could end the obvious family problems they were having, etc. Instead he decided to sign up to appease his dad.
Second, once he realized how bad it was in the military, he went AWOL. That is the second bad choice he made. Again, he had other options. Like Daniel said, he could have used DADT to be discharged (given he did not want to stay in the military anyway). It could be that he was afraid his father would be upset with him if he was discharged, but he obviously had the ability to move away since he moved to LA after going AWOL, so he could have moved away after being discharged. Other options could have been, again, to receive professional help if he needed help coping with the discrimination and all the mocking he seems to have received.
Third, he is now asking for help because he is afraid he will be punished for going AWOL. However, as we already established, he had other options other than going AWOL. So technically, he is asking not to be punished because he made bad decisions. Unfortunately, that is not how things work. It is likely they might go easy on him, and I hope they do, but the bottomline is that he made those choices as an adult and now there are consequences for those choices, regardless of his sexual orientation.
terra_firma106
I apologize for double post!!
Little Kiwi
I was rather clear that I don’t agree with his actions, but i do understand them. i just think it’s an interesting “controversy” – the military is angry that he ran away before they were able to kick him out.
terra_firma106
I know, I agree that it seems kind of ridiculous. However, they would have been angry too if anyone else would have run away for whatever reason. Which is why I think the author of this article was praising the military in this situation.
Also, I’m a little unclear. You are saying that you don’t agree with his actions but that you understand them, and at the same time you are also defending his actions. You can understand someone’s actions (as I understand the reasons JT made his), but you do not have to defend them if they are clearly wrong (as I think of JT’s actions).
EK
What really gets me is how he went through abuse from his father and bullying from the military (although the comment he makes in his claim about being scared of being physically hurt is a bit much)and then becomes proud of who he is. I would love to hear just what homophobic abuse occurred. Also, the comment about being framed seems like a lie. He admits to being led on and caught. It wasn’t exactly a wrong time at the wrong place kind of situation. And he wasn’t arrest for no reason, he had a warrant, that is a reason. From what I’ve seen, he seems melodramatic and should confront the consequences of his actions just like the rest of us have to.
Little Kiwi
the thing is, Terra, up until very recently the military WAS making “special cases” out of LGBT people – so special that it didn’t matter how qualified we were, no matter how well liked we were, no matter how NEEDED we were with our skills, we were discharged simply for being who we are – not for having sex in the barracks, but for things as asinine as a letter from a loved one being found.
so, we get discharged, which cost the country a LOT of money of the last few decades.
that said, there is no “but if this was for some other reason” theoretical talk to be had about this – this is specific to DADT. he would have been discharged, unfairly and due to inEquality, simply for being gay. instead, he fled before they could do it. do two wrongs make a right? no. not always. not even in this case, possibly. but the reality is that if people are gonna say “his sexual orientation shouldn’t get him off the hook!’ they need to cop to some intellectual honesty and also declare that his sexual orientation shouldn’t have put him ON the hook in the first place, and it *did*.
lemon-lime
@Little Kiwi:
“While we might understand or even empathize with what he did, he did so as a legal adult with full knowledge that going AWOL is against the law.”
I think you and Daniel agree more than you might think. I’m sorry to say that while I disagree with the phrasing of Daniel’s article, I do agree with the meat of it. That is: J.T. went AWOL, which is a punishable offence. Your argument towards leniency isn’t incorrect…this is precisely the argument I expect him to use during the court proceedings, but the point of the matter is that he broke the law knowingly. It doesn’t matter what circumstances we are under when we break the law.
If we break the law, we are responsible for the consequences. We punish people for unknowingly breaking the law. We also say that starving people who steal bread broke the law. They all get their day in court, and the punishment may be reduced based on the circumstances.
Based on the story as told by J.T. himself he:
1. Signed up for the military of his own free will. (Albeit he was pressured, but he has never claimed he feared for his life or was afraid of the physical consequences if he didn’t sign up.)
2. Decided, once again of his own free will, to go AWOL with full knowledge that he was breaking the law.
That is all we need to know. He is guilty of breaking a law and should be arrested, tried, and punished accordingly. Leniency may be called for, but to say he isn’t guilty of committing any crime is a silly argument to be making.
What if he wasn’t gay and was taunted mercilessly for being an Athiest/Jewish guy/Asian? You can’t go AWOL because you feel like people don’t like you or taunt you mercilessly. Just like you can’t go AWOL because you decide you don’t like the bullets being fired at you.
It’s the military, not a fraternity.
terra_firma106
No, his sexual orientation didn’t put him on the hook in the first place. He did not go AWOL to escape DADT (as you seem to be claiming), he went AWOL to avoid the discrimination and taunting he was receiving (which makes sense, those things are hard to handle). He actually could have used DADT by outing himself and asking to get discharged instead of going AWOL. He used an illegal way of escape when there was a legal one at his hands (given that the legal one was based on inequality and is currently repealed does not have any baring on the fact that he could have used it when this was going on).
Please note that I am not saying the repeal of DADT is a bad thing. I 100% agree with the repeal of DADT since it was discriminatory and completely baseless. I’m very happy it got repealed.
I agree that his reason for going AWOL was based on his sexual orientation, since he fled due to the harassment he was receiving. But it was not DADT that made go AWOL, and thus he should not be treated differently now that they caught him. I truly feel for him, as a human being, but I do believe he made some unfortunate decisions that are now coming back to bite him.
Btw, off topic, but I just realized you are the author of Word Museum of Wonder and Terror. I really like your grindr posts and the way you handle the blatant racism and hypocrisy found there!
Little Kiwi
And I’m one who believes that sometimes the law must be broken to make a point about injustice. After all, much of America’s history of progress was built on such actions.
I’m also one who supports, and indeed knows several, Vietnam-era draft-dodgers.
“What if he wasn’t gay and was taunted mercilessly for being an Athiest/Jewish guy/Asian? You can’t go AWOL because you feel like people don’t like you or taunt you mercilessly. Just like you can’t go AWOL because you decide you don’t like the bullets being fired at you.”
Stop with the What If’s – he IS gay, and he was in the military during the Reign of Bullshit that was DADT. It has nothing to do with not being liked. It has everything to do with the specificities of being gay and serving in the US military under the bigoted, baseless and prejudicial DADT policy.
i hear what you’re saying. it is indeed military law. it just looks bad on the US military, once again. “how dare you run away before we could kick you out!”
Little Kiwi
well, thanks terra! I try 😉
The way I understand it, and from what I’ve known from my military friends who WERE discharged – the harassment is what lead many to get Outed – there were indeed witchhunts. NOBODY was discharged for ‘Asking’….which speaks volumes.
we’re talking about a still-young guy, aware of the DADT policy, aware of the way he’s already been perceived by others around him……was there no anti-gay policy in the military there would have been no added ‘fear’ of what will happen to him. you’re not only not protected from discrimination, you’re targeted for it.
i hear you, too. he messed up. he didn’t do the right thing. my feeling is simply this: the military spent DECADES not doing the right thing. thousands of highly-trained men and women lost their jobs simply for being part of our community. for the military to want to pursue action against JT makes them look pathetic. they’ll do it, he’ll go through the wringer – but the US military should be ashamed of how they’ve been for the last few decades.
Rachel
If you claim you wanted to be treated like an equal, it can’t just include the good things. He broke the law, and being gay, straight, green, or blue shouldn’t change the standard consequence that goes with going AWOL. Would you be saying the same thing if he killed a person? That he should get away with it because he’s been through some hard times? The law is the law, and no one FORCED him to break it. He’s a legal adult and he’s not an idiot. He knows what he was getting himself into.
Little Kiwi
Rosa Parks broke a law. It changed the face of America. Are you gonna compare her crime to murder or are you capable of intellectual discernment?
yes, gay or straight white or black it shouldn’t matter. too bad it does. hey America, your country was discharging LGBT servicemembers up until a few weeks ago. They weren’t treating us equally a few weeks ago, and now you’ve forgotten.
no wonder equality hasn’t come to this country yet.
Riker
@Little Kiwi: Rosa Parks broke the law. She was right to do so, and her breaking the law brought publicity to the injustice. However, she did so with full knowledge and acceptance of the fact that she would be arrested, tried and convicted. She didn’t plead for leniency, nor did she claim she shouldn’t be arrested because the law was unfair. In fact, when the bus driver told her he was going to call the police, her response was “You may do that.”
Civil disobedience is sometimes a valid option. However, before engaging in it, one must accept the consequences of their actions, whatever that may be.
Interesting
@Riker: Civil disobedience does not mean wants to get arrested. this is the myth making of the current discussion of civil rights. Yes, one goes in knowing its a possibility, but one also hope better angels will win out. Your comment is like those who say that the guy who was shot in the head by the Oakland police should have known he would get shot since he was engaged in civil disobedience. Its a really warped since of the point of the disobedience. Its not about getting arrested or beat up. Those are side results. You need to be able to understand that in order to understand how you are engage in mythologizing the whole point of the movement.
Pep, Italy
Great article ! Completely agree with the author’s point.
Riker
@Interesting: If you commit an act of civil disobedience, you must be prepared to accept the consequences laid out in the law you break. Rosa Parks knew that the penalty for not yielding her seat was arrest and a fine. She chose to accept that punishment (and fight it) with dignity and grace. So did MLK jr, and Nelson Mandela. In doing so, they became a martyr for their cause. If they had instead chosen to whine and beg for leniency because they were forced and it wasn’t really their fault, the world might be very different today.
Besides, framing the actions of this man as civil disobedience is grossly misleading. Ex-Lt. Dan Choi committed civil disobedience by outing himself publicly, and loudly and proudly called on the government to repeal DADT. Mr. Chestnut (I don’t know his rank, and i’m assuming he hasn’t yet been discharded in absentia) realized he couldn’t hack it in the military, and ran away in fear. When you join the military, you sign a contract indicating that they pretty much own your ass. He knew desertion is one of the most serious crimes one can commit in the military, far worse than being a homosexual. There are legitimate ways out of the army, one of which was already underway.
He could have sat it out a few months, and then gotten his General Discharge. He could have waited out the three or four years he probably enlisted for, and transferred to a job in the private sector. Instead, because he ran away, he’ll likely get a Dishonourable Discharge as the best possible outcome. At worse, he could face a court martial and even execution, though a deserter hasn’t been executed by the US military since 1945.
His superiors weren’t ordering him to shoot children or frag an officer, either of which might excuse his actions under the Nuremberg Principles. No, his desertion was a simple act of cowardice. I have zero sympathy.
Allen D.
If he had gone back after the repeal, I would have more sympathy.
Snee
Alright guys wtf do you want? You asked for equal treatment and now you got it. A man went awol and now he’s getting punished; whether he’s gay or straight. We can’t ask for equal treatment for one moment, then complain we should be treated differently the next. and yes, (*gasp*) bullying does happen in the army. Just like in schools. That doesn’t mean you can stop going and not expect consequences to follow. I’LL ALSO END IN ALL CAPS SINCE POSTS ENDING LIKE THIS SEEM TO MAKE PEOPLE LOOK. All in all, you got a taste of what you wanted. Dont be angry if it doesn’t taste as good as everyones making it out to be.
Sam
This sounds like a total hoax.
Sam
I also doubt that this guy is even GLBT at all, even if they do want to show him having gay face in the first picture. Secondly, who goes AWOL for 4 years?
Drew
I know this guy and he’s full of crap. I’ve heard so many unbelievable and impossible stories come out of his mouth, and sincerely doubt that this story is true. He’s also stated on his Facebook page that he isn’t interested in people signing the petition, but they can donate money to him via Paypal, so he can “get back home” to LA and because he won’t have a job or anywhere to stay. I believe he’s a compulsive liar and a conman with a desire to constantly create drama in his life to gain attention. Lying to people to get attention is one thing… lying to get money out of people is fraud. Someone should start doing some fact checking here.
Dan
Funny story (listen up gay kids, here’s a story of what not to do… there once was an idiot named JT…). What a moron. What a waste of tax dollars – gay and straight tax dollars. How about a petition that he pay back all the tax dollars to gay and straight taxpayers spent training and locating him. What an asshole – he’s like Rick Perry.
kylew
@Little Kiwi: But he knew what he was joining. Yes the disrimination was wrong, but only a naive fool would join the army as an out and flambouyant gay man, and think that in an environment full of jocks and testosterone, that he was going to have a smooth ride.
As has been said before, parental pressure or not, he joined as an adult, now he needs to take the consequences as an adult. And IF as you assert, there were exceptional extenuating circumstances, he will have his chance to explain those at his court martial.
Daniel has also pointed out that he had a perfectly reasonable of legal escape route from his situation, but he chose not to take it. Instead he just cut and ran. Blind panic might count as justification for a week or two, but sooner or later he had to realise that he was going to have to face the music. And let’s be honest, you can see by the photos, that this guy was not living in trauma!
I agree wholeheartedly with the general sentiment that if gay people want full equality, that goes for the good and not just the bad.
kylew
@Dan: Hear hear. Mind you, what about employees in the rest of the job market who stick around only long enough to get trained, then move on. It’s common across the board.
ousslander
he knew what he was getting into. prosecute.
Trent
I am afraid the author is correct here. I hear all the time about equal rights and this is one of those instances where in Black in White it says if you go AWOL you will go to a military Tribunal. So he chose to go AWOL and now this is happening. Equality doesn’t allow us to look at specific circumstances; it says if you do A then B will happen. That goes for everyone. Glad to see this article in Queerty.
Mike in Asheville
@Little Kiwi: It is disturbing to me reading the many comments that disparage this kid, your friend — the lack of compassion and empathy, wow.
Interestingly, not one comment from a discharged under DADT veteran. I would be interested in their take as no one else here is qualified to judge this kid.
EK
@Little Kiwi: you said that sometimes you have to break the law to speak against injustice. Yes civil disobedience is a good way but J.T. obviously didn’t do this. Had he done so then he would have told his story and we would of heard about this during DADT.
Little Kiwi
my point, EK, was that comparing JT’s crime to MURDER is preposterous.
EK
@Little Kiwi: I think you misunderstand what comment I was talking about. I am talking about #35. The same one you talk about draft-dodgers. But really, joining the military because of the draft and voluntarily joining the military are very different.
Little Kiwi
that i understand. what i find funny is everyone saying “if we wanted to be treated the same then we need to be treated the same” despite the fact that DADT was only repealed mere weeks ago and the dude went AWOL while the prejudiced policy was still in effect. im not saying he didn’t break military law, i’m saying the military is literally making a fuss over a guy who walked away before they could kick him out. it looks bad on everyone involved.
Bee
@Rachel:
No one “forced” to sign the piece of paper but they sure as hell COERCE you to sign it.
I’m sorry but to all the a*holes on here who are saying he was a grown adult and nobody forced him; a young adult can EASILY be influenced/coerced to something especially if this person feels threatened by his father.
EK
@Little Kiwi: so if a nonviolent prisoner who had done some small crime was going to be released and he decided to break out before hand should the cops not be so upset about that?
terra_firma106
@Bee: First, please do not call us names because we have a different opinion from yours. It’s rather distasteful.
Second, “being influenced” is not a good defense. If he has a hard time dealing with coercion/pressure, it is his responsibility to do something about it. Of course, those around him trying to influence him and pressuring him to join are, in my opinion, on the wrong. However, and ultimately, it was his hand and his hand only that signed that paper, no one else’s. If I am resolute in not voluntarily signing up for the army (or anything else, like an experiment for example), no one is going to be able to persuade me to do so. I also felt that way at 18. If I could do that, many others can. If he couldn’t deal with coercion/pressure, then he could have reached out for help (either from friends and family or professionals). The “he forced me to do it” is not a good defense, and it just does not apply in this case.
Bee
@terra_firma106:
Umm have you’ve been in an manipulative abusive relationship or know/known people in one?
“Being influenced” is a good defense if he truly was manipulated to the degree that happens to everyday SMART people.
How can you use your experience and say “I wouldn’t be persuaded, so everyone should be able to say no.” Just because YOU grew up to be a strong enough of a person to be able to say that NOT EVERYONE CAN, because not everyone had the same life experience as you.
Why doesn’t apply to this case? Do you know all the details of this case? How do you know what he was threaten with?
I am so flabbergasted that people on here so easy to dismiss him, way to keep an open mind everyone.
Bee
@terra_firma106:
Umm have you been in an manipulative abusive relationship or know/known people in one?
“Being influenced” is a good defense if he truly was manipulated to the degree that happens to everyday SMART people.
How can you use your experience and say “I wouldn’t be persuaded, so everyone should be able to say no.” Just because YOU grew up to be a strong enough of a person to be able to say that NOT EVERYONE CAN, because not everyone had the same life experience as you.
Why doesn’t apply to this case? Do you know all the details of this case? How do you know what he was threaten with?
I am so flabbergasted that people on here so easy to dismiss him, way to keep an open mind everyone.
terra_firma106
@Bee: Please re-read my post. I said if he was not able to deal with the pressure, he could reach out for help. I completely understand, and know, that not everyone is able to handle pressure/influence, but that’s why there are people out there to help (I should know, I’m a therapist and I see gay clients having difficulties with coming out situations). This is also true for people in some sort of abusive relationship, there are people out there that can help, and the hardest step is usually reaching out to those. We should note, however, that we do not know if in this case his father was abusive to him, which he may or may not have been. Ultimately, though, no matter how much influence his father was putting on him, it was still HIM signing up voluntarily. Likewise, a person in an abusive relationship makes the decision to stay in the relationship (for many different reasons). Neither JT’s dad nor an abusive partner can literally control the other person’s behaviors. We are all in control of own our behaviors. Of course, it is much harder to behave appropriately when there is someone pressuring/threatening/influencing us.
Also, please do not misquote me. My post is literally right above yours so you can take the correct portion of my post and not something you made up. You quoted “I wouldn’t be persuaded, so everyone should be able to say no” when in fact I said “I also felt that way at 18. If I could do that, many others can.” There’s no need to disrespect me by misquoting me.
Riker
When a person joins the military, they sign a contract. The contract explicitly states that in return for certain rewards (a paycheck, training, money for education, pension etc), you agree to remain in the military for as long as the contract lasts (usually 3-6 years), and follow the UCMJ as well as any other rules set by your commanding officers. By deserting, you are in effect breaking this contract.
If you break a contract with another private citizen, you are usually forced to pay restitution to them. When you break a contract with the government, you lose big. Drive a car that hasn’t been registered with the state department of motor vehicles? Get an assload of tickets, fines, and your licence to drive any other vehicle is also removed. Fail to pay child support as ordered by a judge? They take it out of your paycheck, plus a fine and possible contempt of court if you continue to not pay. Refuse to pay your taxes? You end up owing more, plus facing possible jail time.
Desert during a time of war? Face a court-martial, and possible execution. Yes, I know that technically we aren’t in a war because Congress never declared it, but for all intents and purposes this is wartime.
Pep, Italy
Seems like some people have hard time dealing with equality!
Shannon1981
Signing this petition proudly. His reasoning for going AWOL is an unconstitutional law only recently repealed. And I have a buddy in the military who says that repeal or no repeal, the discrimination is still just awful against gays, often from homophobic superiors. He came out and his life is a living hell. Fuck these people. JT, I got your back, brother.
bee
@terra_firma106:
1.) It was not meant to be a direct quote (ignoring the english quotation rules) b/c obviously I could have just copied an paste if I wanted to.
2.) Read up on abusive relationships then. B/c I honestly don’t want to deal with victim blaming comments like these.
Mike
This guy was not “forced” to join the military, he signed up willingly and did so with his own consent.
terra_firma106
@bee:
If it was not meant to be a direct quote, then don’t use quotation marks. It’s very simple.
I absolutely did not blame victims with my posts above. I know that some people solely blame victims for staying in abusive relationships and that is wrong. However, those kinds of relationships mutually maintain themselves. An abusive partner uses aggression (which is wrong), the partner responds in a passive way (not the ideal way to respond, but understandable due to fear), which leads to aggressor continuing such aggressive pattern. Thus a cycle continues. Either one of those people can break the cycle. Thus, I am not blaming either or the other, the relationship itself has become a vicious cycle. However, this is way off topic to what this article is about.
Lastly, you are not “dealing” with anything. We are having a discussion.
J.T. Chestnut
@Daniel Villarreal: Daniel, just want to let you know that I am home safely back in West Hollywood, CA and I am REAL. Thank you for the ones who signed the petition and stood by my side throughout the way. Thank you Raymond for speaking on my behalf when I couldn’t, and I hope Daniel that you would come from a place of understanding and if you were in any bad situation seeking help from the LGBT community, they would reach out a hand and not spit on the ground you are laying on like you just did with my name.
Thanks
JTChestnut
@Daniel Villarreal: Daniel, first of all I would like to thank you for presenting me in such a positive light. Secondly, I do want to thank Raymond (LittleKiwi) for defending me in such a wonderful way. Daniel, I wouldn’t have gone AWOL during basic training if I was treated with respect and not being persecuted for the way I was. I didn’t have a choice about joining the Army. My dad made me and I feared for my life when I was 18 because he said he was going to kill me if I did not do what he said and rightfully so, I did that. I came out of the closet when I was 16 and he beat the crap out of me, kicked me out, and I was disowned from my family. Not sure how your upbringing was but how dare you to kick a fellow gay down during his time of need. Shame on you.