image source: lathefamily.org

This week the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law was finally repealed, now gay service members no longer have to hide their identity and sexual orientation.

Recently Libergirl and I were watching Stripes. When the Bill Murray and Harold Ramis characters went to the recruiting station, the recruiter asked them if the were gay. I was taken aback briefly. When I joined the Army I don’t remember being asked the question. It also made me think of just how long this issue has been around, Stripes was 1981. The other thought is having the hide your identity. During my time in the military it was an issue we never really dealt with.

On my second day of basic training; the Sargeant Major over my unit gave us a brief talking to. The issue he dealt with was, what else, the gay issue. He used ARMY psychology. He said, “If you are worried about another man seeing your private parts, then you must be gay.”

This is such a heated yet guarded issue. One that some are going to dislike and disagree with while others are letting out the proverbial heavy sigh.

Lastly, I would like to say that  some will come out while others will continue to hide. When I was in the military, for the most part we knew who was gay.  My Sargeant Major was right, if gays seeing your junk is your biggest worry then you may have a problem. What about  the 30 to 40(straight) men seeing it? You get my drift.

The NON-Conformist