posted on March 17, 2001 11:02:27 PM
You know, this whole thing really has me confused. I was in the U.S. Navy for four years. We had quite a few male and female homosexuals in uniform. We all knew it, the officers knew it, but on one cared about it. Most of them were relegated to office and paperwork jobs, but not all. No one onboard ship or on any naval base I've ever visited ever gave a damn. They didn't tell unless you asked, so most sailors I knew didn't ask. We didn't harass them, call them names, physically assult them in any way. I guess the troubles is an Army thing. I never hear about the Navy, Air Force or Marines being involved in beating deaths or whatnot.
posted on March 18, 2001 08:18:20 AM
I dont get it. (Not being gay, maybe thats why). So what if someone is gay. They can still do their jobs, i.e. boy scout group, teacher, military. Whats the big deal what they prefer sexually? Has not one damn thing to do with job performance any more than it affects heterosexuals doing THEIR jobs. So, I dont get it.
posted on March 18, 2001 08:46:24 AM
Add me to that list, Hepburn. I don't get it either. Never have. People say the Bible speaks against homosexuality, but nowhere in the Bible (to my knowledge) does Jesus address that issue. He does, however, address the issue of "Judge not that ye may be judged" many, MANY times.
posted on March 18, 2001 11:47:17 AM
Me too. I am neither a homophobe nor a homophile -- I just couldn't care less where some concenting adult puts their genitals with some other concenting adult(s) behind closed doors. I've had many gay men approach me or make passes at me, but I treat it just like as if it was a female making the pass, one that I didn't want.
Thank you, bobbysoxer for those articles. I think that navy story is more about a murderer wanna-be, than a homosexual being killed because of his sexual preferences. Certainly, anyone who has spent any amount of time onboard a ship at sea becomes aware of the many gay sailors. This is due to the very close quarters that exist. The US Marine Corps has a LOT of gay men in it: where else to meet buffed-out young men?
At also at close-quarters is a lot of homsexual jokes and innuendo and not pointed at gays either. When in close quarters for long periods of time, the jokes get raunchy. But pointing this humor at the gay men was concidered to be harassment and no one I knew, worked with, or heard of ever bothered them.
The fear of going overboard is real to every sailor - not just homosexuals in fear for their lives. It's not just the thought of being sucked into the propeller blades, it's the multitude of sharks that follow the ship waiting for things to splash into the water (usually garbage). We used to have Man Overboard drills where they would throw Oscar the Crash-test Dummy overboard and try to retreive him. But this always failed, because the instant Oscar hit the water, the sharks ripped him to shreds and there never was anything to retreive. Eventually we ran out of dummies and the drills ceased.
just sharing.