AGILE, ADAPTABLE, CAPABLE AND GAY AS A PICNIC BASKET! HOO-RAH!

As you no doubt have heard, DADT is history. Here’s the official announcement from the US Army [via JoeMyGod].




I have to say – assuming it's the actual letter and not a hoax –  it’s a strikingly well-written letter. You know, considering how hard the military in general tried to avoid repealing DADT in the first place over “morale” concerns.

Still, at least they didn’t write something like, “We’re only doing this because the Commander-in-Chief is making us, and if America start losing wars because the troops are too busy buttsexing each other, don’t blame us.”

And I’ve said it many times before, but it’s worth reiterating: as a primarily hetrosexual peacetime combat veteran of the US Army, this pleases me.

I joined the Army before DADT was implemented, which meant they asked and you told and if you lied you got thrown out. They asked me. And it took every ounce of restraint in my body to not reply, “I’m not homosexual, but I am willing to learn.”

Anyway, I thought the no-gayz rule was silly and pointless then. And I always thought DADT was a weak-ass non-solution, since it essentially amounted to the same thing – keep yr sexual orientation secret or get thrown out. The fact that you didn’t have to lie to a direct question wasn’t much of a compromise to me.

So it’s good that DADT is no longer in effect.

On the downside, it doesn’t mean the OMG THE GAYZ panic among certain political groups has subsided. Which means we’ll probably keep seeing at least some discrimination in the military for awhile.

And of course, DADT could potentially come back – say on Day 2 of President Bachmann’s administration.

In the meantime, there’s only one proper way to celebrate the DADT repeal:

We want you as a new recruit,

This is dF

VIKINGS: LOVELY BLOKES, LIKED SAILING, POSSIBLY GAY

Re: the previous post on DADT, where I included the Village People’s “In The Navy” …

It’s interesting that that song came out when “Ask And Tell” was official US military policy – especially considering that, according to legend, the US Navy actually contacted the Village People’s manager, Henri Belolo, to use the song as a recruiting ad.

The music video was shot at the San Diego Naval base on the USS Reasoner, and the Navy footed the bill. It was only later when protesters complained about tax money paying for gay music videos that the Navy pulled the campaign.

Which suggests either they had no idea the Village People were supposed to be gay, or didn’t care.

Probably the former – I suspect the Village People were as successful as they were in part because most people weren’t that familiar with the Greenwich Village gay scene, let alone the idea that the YMCA might a place to meet guys.

Indeed, “In The Navy” was seen as so patriotic (and therefore harmless) that it allowed the Muppet Show to get away with using the song for a bit with happy Vikings.

I’d never accuse the Muppet Show of being intentionally political (although some people can see political bias in everything), but I’d like to think Jim Henson and the Muppet Show producers knew just how subversive they were being when they thought up a way to work a Village People song into an all-ages show.

Put yr mind at ease,

This is dF