Maybe DADT will be a great resource for all, to show that people need to really think critically before putting something into place. Or maybe not... history always seems to repeat itself.
I looked more into DADT when I started trying to understand why something like this would be put into place. And honestly, it seemed like a logical step to protect queer people in the military, at the time. You may argue with me on that, but let me explain a bit.
Historically, the military had rules against sodomy (a very sexist, heterosexist thought), but that was the rule at the time. If you were caught sodomizing, you were immediately discharged. In addition, being "homosexual" was a psychological disease according to all of the literature and research, and was labeled as such until the late 70s. When the military started doing psychiatric exams for people looking to join, if you were queer identified, you would have a mental illness, therefore, you weren't able to join the military.
This way of thinking continued for awhile, where literally people could kick you out for having a "mental illness," or having sex with a person of the similar biological sex. When Clinton came into office, he created DADT as a way to protect queer people in the military. If you don't say you are queer, nobody will kick you out. If you don't ask people, nobody will be found out about, so nobody will get kicked out. This came after a man was brutally killed by someone he was serving with, just because he was queer. So in theory, Clinton thought he was bringing something into fruititon that would protect all people by not allowing people to be discriminated against.
But it slowly evolved into something different, a type of discrimination. Well, it probably didn't happen slowly. I think it happened pretty instantaneously. Where people had to hide who they were in the military, because otherwise they wouldn't be able to serve. It's a scary situation, but one that happens all the time. I think DADT has some very close parallels to the real world, in that people often feel the need to hide who they really are, in fears of being bullied, being isolated, being ridiculed.
It is still a very brave thing today to "come out." If you identify as queer, some of the hardest things you will have to do (my opinion) is come out to yourself, and then come out to other people, especially your main stakeholders. People have been killed for being queer. People have lost jobs, lost families, lost everything important to them because of who they are. It takes so much strength to "come out" and be honest about who you are. And now, you can be honest about who you are if you are in the military. If you chose to do so.
But I argue that DADT is happening at other places than just the military. Yes, it's awesome and amazing that this ridiculous policy has been lifted; but when is it going to be lifted in other aspects of the world? When is it going to be safe to be queer in general society? When is it ok for me to step out and say "I'm queer," and not be afraid of repercussions?
People shouldn't have to hide a certain aspect about who they are in order to feel safe. The world and society should be inclusive so that all people feel comfortable being completely who they are. Again, this is me being idealistic, but I also feel that to change society, it needs to come from small baby steps from individuals.
Yes, the repeal of DADT is great. It's a huge step forward in equality for all people. But we still have a long ways to go. So I say celebrate now, enjoy the fact that the government has seen how discriminatory something is, but also understand that unless we really change society and work towards a safe space for all people, DADT still exists in some form. And I don't want it to.
And now a picture of someone that will love you for who you are, honestly and genuinely:
No comments:
Post a Comment