I was shocked that I didn’t receive more support than that from my hometown. I think the Findlay area has been especially harsh on me – just really wary of what my intentions were. These are the people I spent most of my childhood growing up with … so I was hoping that Findlay would be able to accept me as one of their own and to support me in this. But I ended up getting some of my toughest critics from my hometown, and that personally disturbed me.
—Katherine Miller, the West Point cadet who quit over Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, saying the only place she didn’t find an outpouring of support was from her hometown, where she graduated from high school just two years ago [via]
Steve
To be fair, she bases most of that reaction on online commentaries in a local newspaper. Those commentary sections are filled with the biggest idiots imaginable (and worse) anywhere in the world.
David
Agreed.
One sure-fire way to lose a popularity contest is to send a press release to your hometown newspaper outing yourself while a cadet at West Point.
When you volunteer that sort of information, you either already have a thick skin, or you’re well on your way to developing one. It’s a sad thing but, there you have it.
Welcome to the “Out of the Military Closet Club.”
YAL
She wasn’t just a West Point cadet, she was at the top of her class. (watch Rachel Maddow piece on her, this girl is amazing) Very sad that backwards ignorance and prejudice is resulting in losing such incredibly talented and skilled people.
I have to say, as well, that I greatly admire her integrity. To walk away from something she clearly loves, because she refuse to live a lie, is admiral. Good on you, Katherine Miller.