I Am Somebody!

I honestly wasn't informed about Don't Ask Don't Tell at the beginning of the year. I didn't think it really applied to me because I never plan on serving in the military. But I've recently realized that all these issues are interrelated. Queer rights are civil rights and if we don't ALL have civil rights then none of us really do.

I'm not sure from which perspective I'm more disgusted with this policy: as a gay man or as an American. The ban on open military service is just another privilege being dangled in front of the queer community. It doesn't really shock me though. Unfortunately, I've become used to this type of institutionalized discrimination. I came to terms with its existence a long time ago. But when our country is willing to defend these homophobic policies at the expense of our national security, I find that repulsive. Most Americans would agree that we have one of the most (if not THE most) well-trained armed forces in the world. So to claim that the soldiers cannot handle "forced cohabitation", I feel like that's an insult to their character. If they can't handle fighting aside a gay soldier, I question if they're really qualified to fight for our country at all.

Earlier today, I got to see Lt. Dan Choi speak at UConn. He is AMAZING!!! He's inspirational and funny and nice and on and on and on. He's also a great leader for our community (especially the gay Asians....woot woot). On this occasion, Lt. Choi didn't focus on the logistics of DADT, like how 14,000+ soldiers were discharged and how over a billion dollars were wasted. All those things we can find with a quick google search. Instead, Dan Choi focused on something more meaningful; he shared with us the internal struggle of hiding his true identity. He related it to being in the closet, which really hit home for me because the military isn't the only place with a Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. There are DADT church versions and campus versions and home versions too. And most queer youths can tell you how scary and miserable it can be holding on to such a big secret. I couldn't imagine doing it in the military while risking my life everyday for my country. For that, Lt. Choi is truly a special individual.

The biggest message I took away from his speech is that, "I am somebody". We are all somebody. Nobody is more of a somebody than anybody else. And all of us somebodies should share in the constitutional rights that are promised to everybody. So readers, it's time to help somebody. Dan called the queer movement the ultimate transcendent civil rights movement. It goes beyond race, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation, religion and all the other trivial demographics. This great movement affects our families. It affects our friends. It affects us. It affects us by preaching tolerance and making the world safer. It affects us by shaping the society we live in and the values we teach our children. It affects us by allowing people to love themselves so much that they could never imagine committing suicide. That is how it affects us. That is how it affects YOU!