Go, Don't Kill: The US Military Policy Of Don't Ask, Don't
29 December 2010By Cindy Sheehan
The recent repeal of the US military policy of "Don't
ask, don't tell" is far from being the human rights
advancement some are touting it to be. I find it
intellectually dishonest, in fact, illogical on any
level to associate human rights with any military, let
alone one that is currently dehumanizing two
populations as well as numerous other victims of it's
clandestine "security" policies.
Placing this major contention aside, the enactment of
the bill might be an institutional step forward in the
fight for "equality"; however institutions rarely
reflect reality.
Do we really think that the US congress vote to repeal
the act and Obama signing the bill is going to stop
the current systemic harassment of gays in the
military?
While I am a staunch advocate for equality of marriage
and same-sex partnership, I cannot – as a peace
activist – rejoice in the fact that now homosexuals
can openly serve next to heterosexuals in one of the
least socially responsible organisations that
currently exists on earth: The US military.
It is an organisation tainted with a history of
intolerance towards anyone who isn't a Caucasian male
from the Mid-West. Even then I'm sure plenty fitting
that description have faced the terror and torment
enshrined into an institution that transforms the
pride and enthusiasm of youth into a narrow zeal for
dominating power relations.
Wrong battle for equality
It is hard to separate this issue from the activities
of the military. War might be a "racket", but it is
also the most devastating act one can be involved in,
whether you are the aggressor or a victimised
civilian, no one can shake off the psychological scars
of war. No one.
Its effects on the individual as well as collective
human psyche are terminal. Championing equal rights is
an issue of morality, war is immoral, and the US
military is heading further and further down the path
of immorality.
Even with the advent of WikiLeaks, transparency and
accountability of US military activity has been sucked
into a black hole of silence. Drone attacks, illegal
cross-border interventions, extra-judicial
assassinations all occur in the name of national
interest. It is not in the interest of equal rights
activists to support an institution that is intent on
ignoring every protocol of human decency.
Face it, gays are now and have been in the military
since before Valley Forge during the Revolutionary
War.
The only difference being one can now admit their
orientation without fear of official recrimination - a
major boon for the equal rights movement! The capacity
for increased carnage should not be celebrated as a
victory!
I cannot help but think about those that are on the
receiving end of US military aggression. So a minor
change has occurred at the input juncture of the war
machine, but the output remains the same: we dismantle
systems of indigenous governance, support disingenuous
often criminal overlords, commit endless acts of
brutality, and worst of all leave entire nations
rudderless, spiraling downwards into the same abyss
that engulfs the US military's lack of accountability.
I wonder what the response towards don't ask, don't
will be overseas? I wonder if mothers across the Swat
Valley in Northern Pakistan are cheering the repeal of
the act (most likely not), gathering in the streets to
celebrate a victory in the global pursuit of human
equality, only to be forced to take cover as yet
another hellfire-laden drone appears on the horizon.
Hell hath no fury, as a drone operated from somewhere
south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Don't equal human rights extend to those that the
Empire has mislabeled as the "enemy"? Or do we now
have to ignore the fact that innocent people are being
slaughtered by the thousands?
Unjust binaries
We live in a world governed by binaries, straight or
gay, them or us, freedom or tyranny. Until we break
away from this norm, we shall forever be shackled to a
narrow existence, manipulated by a political
establishment that serves its own interests.
We should embrace complication, appreciate difference
and most of all not be duped into accepting
"victories" that clearly benefit an elite, that you
and me (pardon the binary) will never be part of.
Some of us in the peace movement work really hard to
keep our young people out of the hands of the war
machine that preys on disadvantaged young people in
inner cities and poor rural settings.
To see a demographic that is (without appearing to
stereotypes) traditionally better educated, more
politically progressive, and economically advantaged
fight to join this killing machine is very
disheartening.
I can see how one could view the repeal as a step
forward, framed in the context dictated by the
political elites of the Washington beltway. I can
imagine much displeasure amongst the military brass –
but I cannot reiterate enough how this is not a
progressive moment in the social history of the United
States.
The US military is not a human rights organisation and
nowhere near a healthy place to earn a living or raise
a family. My email box is filled with stories of
mostly straight soldiers and their families who were
deeply harmed by life in the military.
Because of the callous and violent nature of the
system, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is on
the rise and suicide rates among veterans and the
spouses of active duty soldiers are skyrocketing.
Veterans still find it very difficult to access the
services, benefits and bonuses that were promised to
them by their recruiters. I cannot imagine the
repealing of DADT significantly improving the material
conditions experienced by gays during military
service.
While the children of war profiteers and politicians
are protected from any kind of sacrifice, this Empire
preys on the rest of our youth – gay/straight;
male/female – and spits their mangled or dead bodies
onto the dung heap of history, without a qualm or a
twinge of conscience.
Joining the US military should never be an option for
the socially conscious while our troops are being used
as corporate tools for profit, or hired assassins for
imperial expansion. Soldiers are called: "Bullet
sponges," by their superiors and "dumb animals" by
Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state.
While soldiers are dehumanised and treated like dirt,
they are taught to dehumanise "the other", and treat
them as less than dirt. It is a vicious cycle, and the
way to stop a vicious cycle is to denounce and reject
it, not openly participate.
I want to bang my head against a wall when another
young gay person commits suicide as a result
despicable bullying, yet people within the same
community have fought hard for the right to openly
join the biggest bully ever! Don't go, don't kill!
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