Nate Silver pinpoints a problem with the Pentagon's new Don't Ask, Don't Tell survey. Among other questions, troops are asked whether they're serving with anyone they "believe to be homosexual." Silver writes:
[T]here's nothing to prevent a solider from speculating that some of his colleagues are gay, and this must occur rather frequently. Indeed, the survey almost seems to encourage troops to use their "gaydar" -- the question it poses is not whether they know other troops to be homosexual, but whether they believe them to be homosexual. Occasionally, there might be some relatively decent evidence for this, or there might be some dubious evidence that just so happens to be right. But for the most part, it would seem that you'll be picking up a tremendous number of false positives -- soldiers who are believed to be gay, but aren't -- and that these false positives will swamp any instances in which soldiers (in spite of DADT) are actually somewhat open about their same-sex attractions.
The Pentagon is spending $4.4 million on the research, part of its plan to spend the year studying a repeal of DADT. Service Members United, among others working to repeal the ban on gay soldiers serving openly, have condemned the survey as biased and derogatory.
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Can someone out there who has served in the military who is straight explain to me why serving alongside an openly gay or lesbian soldier is such a big deal?
Retired Navy - 23 years. The answer to your question, crabshack, is that it isn't. Maybe we shouldn't permit women to serve, since so many men are apparently heterosexual. Of course, this problem could also be solved by ONLY permitting women to serve. It gets curiouser and curiouser, doesn't it?
Let's just all agree- if you're not a jedi you can't be in the US service.
The Pentagon has admitted that they are considering segregating gay soldiers from straight soldiers if they repeal DADT - this is heartbreaking. Please have Rachel shed some light on this.
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/07/12/dadt-segregation-forever
Bi/pansexuals to the rescue.
How about the only journalist on TV willing to do an indepth story on this topic?
I hope Rachel will go into this in some real depth. So far I have not seen that in what she has done on this subject.
It appears you haven't been paying attention......Rachel has reported on this subject for a very long time. And I know she has been doing a good job at staying on top of this Issue.
Rachel has done some reporting on the subject. I will admit I quit watching for awhile, she was going on too much on the oil spill and I can watch just so much misery. As for recently, not so much reporting. I think we may disagree on depth.
Of course they are. The whole point of doing the year long review is to give the defense department the ability to construct evidence that will either A. justify that gays cannot serve openly in the military or at all or B. justify that gay soldiers must serve as segregated troops in order to maintain combat readiness. Being a gay soldier does not in anyway shape or form effect combat readiness, if it did you'd already see that outcome being that gays are already serving in the military just not openly. The entire year long review is a ploy that will more than likely end up making things worse than better. If repealing DADT was something that our elected leadership ACTUALLY wanted to do there would be NO reason for an adjustment period. I hate to utilize the phrase "common sense" but common sense should tell you that there is no logical reason for why the policy change will have any impact on our service. The fact that they want the review should be an indicator to everyone that they are either hoping to conclude with biased evidence that gays can't serve or that gays can't serve with straights. It's appalling.
Shouldn't whoever in the military/Pentagon who thought of this idea and those that agreed to it be fired - for asking opinions instead of barking orders?
Doesn't the very existence of this 'study' (independent from the subject matter) show that there is a serious lack of leadership and backbone in our military? Isn't it time to clean-ranks of question-mongers in favor of those who implement orders?
No, Drew, there's a big difference between field operations and desk operations. The DoD has a bureacracy unrivalled by any other US agency save perhaps the EPA. Overstudying and foot-dragging and paperwork is what they do.
I should also point out here that separate but equal does not have a good history in our country and that segregating our troops will probably lead to increases in instances of rape or beatings as a means of oppression towards gays. It will also mean that upon joining the service you have to out yourself as a means of not violating the policy. That means if you are bisexual, celibate, or unsure you will have to pick a side that you want to be on and that will mean you too will be subjugated to discrimination even though you aren't necessarily gay. And if you don't have to pick a side or out yourself, then in effect that would mean that the new policy would net out not having changed from DADT. Segregating our soldiers is a stupid, stupid idea but that is exactly what they are going to push for (if not banning the idea all together). You know that there is an inherent bias and an inherent agenda that isn't being announced publicly being that gay soldiers are not allowed to respond on these surveys. Think about it- if you respond honestly about your sexuality or your feelings about sexuality that is going to give the defense department a legitimate reason to investigate your sexual orientation and violate your privacy to see if you have adhered to DADT. This is why so many gay rights groups are calling fowl play about the surveys...and that's putting aside the BLATANTLY homophobic catch 22 that Mr. Silver is talking about. Also if you look at the way questions are worded in the survey, in all likelihood, is going to produce such biased results that it will be considered statistically irrelevant.
Separating blacks from whites=racism. Separating gays from straights=sound policy. *Eyeroll*
Excellent comments, navy.
Is anybody else thinking of the Salem witch trials, where all they had to do was point a finger at someone? We look back at history and think how could they do that, but isn't this study a clear example of that? This whole thing also seems like a ruse, a way to get gays and lesbians not to sign up because it would be too emotionally scarring for them to serve.
This country has been through this type of debate so many time, starting, eagle, possible with Salem. The mindset nowadays seems to be to study it to death. An actual copy of this "questionnaire" was posted on Huffington Post one day and I took the time to read the whole thing. It could, indeed, be very prejudicial and harmful, too many opinions wanted.
I hope Rachel is working on an in-depth discussion of why this must be studied for a year, why the questionnaire, why haven't we talked to other countries where their military is already mixed, etc.
But it's not too "emotionally scarring" to have 18 -21 yr olds sign up for war.
Yup! My heart breaks every time the death of one of these young people is reported.
Hey Auteur!
Hey Pjw, what's up?
LIfe is calm again, for a bit anyway. Class is done, made an A, I think. I've taken up biking (the pedaling kind) again. LIfe is good!!
What's new with you?
Nothing current. Same old same old. Though I did see "The Last Airbender." I don't recommend you see it, it's like getting your teeth drilled with no novacaine.
My favorite source of hard news, The Onion, posted this report of congressional testimony:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell-paves-way-for-gay-sex,17698/
'Nuff said!!
I seem to remember some of the same crap being voiced when women demanded to be allowed into the military. Somewhere along the way, there was an All American image of the gallant soldier, sailor or marine as being a macho guy that would rather fight than, 'well, you know', that was instilled into the minds of their faithful admirers.
That idea became the battle cry for sacrifice and devotion to country. The Marines, especially, were seen as brave and fearless and were the first to break the battlefield. They could shower together, sleep together, fight together and never break a sweat because they were invincible in their courage.
And, their secrets were kept together. Those idiots in that report in the "Onion" were feeling threatened and outed. They know their own weaknesses and assume those weaknesses would apply to not 'keeping the secret' in their fellow military personnel. It's the 'all for one and one for all' significance. In order to be trusted to keep secrets, there had to be like secrets.
McCain uses his military experience to declare himself an expert on every factor involved. His voice on this matter is no more relevant to its validity than his voice on how to stay out of a concentration camp. He thought he was a one man army, and now he thinks he knows what's best for a corporate Military. He's a joke.
Putting on a uniform does not change the person. Just like putting on a clerical collar does not make a celibate life possible. Remember those picture of the Blackwater es pose's? A gay person has no interest in a straight person. It's only the egoistic interest in his own body that makes a straight person assume his body is desirable by all who have vision.
Good for you, Don. Spot on!
This survey is just stupid. You can't claim you are fighting for freedom while actively discriminating. It's the flipp'n military. Put up or shut up, soldier. I am guessing this survey was designed to appease GOP homophobes hoping to use its results to push the demoralization/unit cohesion meme and delay the inevitable for as long as possible.
Rewrite from Autostraddle
That's actually a really good link to click on in case anyone wants to know why this study is such a joke. I was trying to articulate that earlier but I suck with words. Thanks Romeo, good job.
That Pentagon Survey is straight out of the "Heritage Foundation". That Ultra-Conservative "BRAIN DEAD" Think Tank.
Everything about that survey is SCREAMING Heritage Foundation.
Wait...$4.4 million on a survey? Did I read that right?...really?.
I realize 4.4 million is not that much, but to spend it on research for the repeal of DADT?
They are just kidding right? The Pentagon is getting money to do this? A survey?
Again...I am incredulous....where IS the bucket?