posted by Sam Richards
Watch this video and read the text. And while you’re doing so, think about two things:
1. For those of you who think you “know” when someone is LGBT…would you ever think that Darren Manzella is gay?
2. A recent report from military officials investigating whether having LGBT soldiers on a unit “weakens morale” decidedly determined that it does not and that the DADT policy should be abandoned.
Making the decision to enlist in the army is a very difficult choice. Not only are you putting yourself in the line of fire, but also you are leaving behind family, friends, and every day comforts to support your country. Everyday can be scary and frightening and the people who make the decision to become apart of our nations fighting forces are extremely brave and heroic. Knowing that it takes a certain person to become apart of the army, one would be happy to have these men and women fighting for our country. I personally trust that those who are apart of army are protecting our country and I am thankful that they have made the choice to do so. But why would one care what these people do in their spare time? Why is the army so concerned about having straight members in the army instead of good soldiers?
The “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is extremely unsuitable for the army. We have these people putting their lives on the line for the United States of America and we are telling them they are not good enough because of their sexual preference. It is extremely wrong of the army to deny the LGTB community the right to support and protect the country especially because they want to. Being homosexual should not weaken the moral of the army. Just because a man or women likes someone of the same sex, doesn’t mean that they are a weak person. In fact, it takes a strong person to admit to being LGTB and standing up for what they want and believe in.
This article really made me realize how hard it must be for LGTB soldiers and the pressures that they have to face because of their sexual preference. Darren Manzella put his time into the army and deserves all the credit in the world. Knowing that he is gay should not make anyone think differently about this man. I do not understand why is has to be so secretive. You can’t tell by looking at anyone if they are homosexual and it shouldn’t bother anyone that a member of the army is apart of the LGTB community. Like stated before, these people have willingly put themselves in the army in order to protect the United States. It takes a certain person to do this and we shouldn’t judge them because they go home to someone of the same sex. Darren had all the rights of an American citizen and the military is stripping them all away.
All in all, the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is extremely discriminating to the LGTB community and the military needs to accept the fact that although these people engage in sexual activity with people of the same sex, these certain individuals care enough about the country to enlist.
I think that it is very ignorant for people to discriminate someone for their sexual tendencies. This is a country where freedom is taken so seriously and it is the number one reason why the United States is considered a strong country. Who are we to decide the fate of people who are not straight? How can having a gay soldier jeopardize any of the other soldiers? This man is very brave for standing up for what he believes in, even though he got discriminated for it. There are many people who fear this type of discrimination so they are not true to themselves. They do not feel free in a country where freedom is so important.
People who make the decision to enlist in the army are extremely honorable and brave. It is a very difficult choice to do so. They risk their lives every day to be in the heat of battle. They leave behind all of their loved ones to fight for their country. It sure does take a very special person to make the decision to fight for ones country. It is a very warm feeling to know that you can trust that those who are apart of army to protect our country and freedom. It does not make sense to care what someone prefers to do in their spare time. They army should not be so concerned with identifying whether someone is gay or straight and be more concerned with whether or not they are going to be fit for the job of being a soldier. These people are risking their lives to fight for our country and we are telling them that they cannot fulfill an army position because of their sexual preference. The “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is not a good one for the army. If these people are willing to fight just as hard as the next person and are willing to fight with bravery and honor, why should we deny them the right? It is very wrong of the army to not allow the LGTB community to help protect the country. Just because someone is gay or lesbian, it should not have any effect on the moral of the army. This should absolutely in no way, shape, or form dictate whether or not someone can or cannot fight. You can’t just stereotype the whole gay community and determine that they are all weaker or below straight people. It takes a strong person just to own up to being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. This article helped me to realize how it truly must be tough for LGTB soldiers. Darren Manzella really deserves a lot of credit for putting his time into the army. He had all the rights of an American citizen and the army is taking them all away and it just is not acceptable or fair.
This was a very interesting article for me to read. I’ve never really thought much about all the prisoners in jail. I’ve never really given the time of day to think about what is going on behind bars. I know it must be really hard for some of these guys and/or girls to be sitting behind bars for the rest of their lives. Some of them deserve to be there and are truly bad people. But what about the rest of the people who’ve realized that they’ve done something very wrong and truly are good people. Do they all really deserve to be rotting in jail for the rest of their lives. I am a strong believer that if you do a horrible act, then you should be punished for it. Some of these guys were raised without any sense of direction or guidance and you can’t really blame them for having ended up in jail. Some of them were raised without parents and had tough childhoods trying to fend for themselves. This is very prominent in low income areas. I was fortunate enough to have grown up with great parents to help guide me and teach me to always do the right thing. I especially felt bad for the guy who lost his child in a car accident and had no way of calling or getting in touch with any of his loved ones. I could not imagine what that feeling must be like. He’s just sitting in jail knowing that his kid is dead and he’s never going to get to see or talk to his son again. It is also very interesting to see that even though the two inmates hated each other, the one was showing compassion for the other. It’s a really nice thing to see or hear about something like that. It’s nice to know that some of the inmates still have a soul and can be emotional about different types of situations. It would be very interesting to be able to go to a jail and talk to an inmate or two about what’s going on with them and how they are doing. It would also be cool to watch a television show about inmates and how think and feel about being in prison.
When I first saw the video of Darren Manzella, I did not think there was any way that he was gay. I know what the stereotypical gay person looks and sounds like, as well as what they dress like. This man did two sessions in Iraq for Christ sake. This video clip does really help out the LGBT people. It shows that they can be just as capable as a normal straight person in fighting for ones’ country. I don’t understand why it is not a problem if this guy is shot up in Iraq or he steps on a landmine and blows his legs off, but it is a problem if he is part of the gay community and they have to discharge him from the service. It’s not acceptable to say that he is disrupting the morale of the army because a former study proved that to nto be true. He wasn’t hurting anyone by being gay. To his friends or other soldiers in the army he was just another normal soldier. There was absolutely no way that his soldiers we not going to trust him. When you’re in the heat of battle in a war, they have much more important things to worry about, rather than worrying about whether someone is gay or not. It should definitely not matter whether someone is gay, straight, lesbian, or bisexual. It should not matter about which gender a person has feelings towards. I know for sure that if I was gay, and they would not let me in the army, I’d be really pissed off. It’s pretty ridiculous how long the rule has been in effect. The whole Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy is bullshit. You’d never ask a straight person to talk about their wife or kids. It is kind of funny in that our country wants to pride itself of accepting people of all different races, sexual orientations, and religions, but doesn’t want a gay person to protect our country. This video really helped me to not be so stereotypical towards gay people. Times have changed, people have changed, and it’s time for our views towards gays in the military to change.
The LGBT community in the military has been a very controversial issue in America. There are many stigmas and stereotypes associated with this group, these stereotypes in most cases are false but the military uses them to discriminate gay and lesbian service members. If a service member is doing his or her job efficiently than it should not matter what their sexual preference is. The military uses many excuses to support the "don't ask don't tell" policy, an example is that a straight soldier would feel uncomfortable knowing that his fellow platoon member is gay. In the end of the day it comes down to discrimination, this would be no different than a racist soldier feeling uncomfortable fighting next to a black soldier. One of my closest friends who just finished his term in Iraq had a gay soldier in his platoon, he did not feel uncomfortable at all around him but he felt ashamed that his friend had to hide who he truly was. The "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy proves just how ignorant the military really is. If a group of soldiers are fighting in a life or death situation I am sure that the last thing that they care about is whether or not the person fighting next to them is gay. If a soldier is willing to die for another mans freedom than why would it matter if he was straight, gay, black, or brown? Darren Manzilla's story makes you wonder how "Don't Ask Don't Tell" is still in place, he is a gay soldier but still does his job and serves his country. Darren Manzilla represents a large group of gay service men that don't act feminine or what you would picture as the gay stereotype, you can't even really tell that he is gay from the CNN interview. If it is illegal to fire someone due to their sexual preference at most jobs than how does it make sense that the military has the right to do it. "Don't ask Don't Tell" is basically saying that discrimination is fine as long as the government does it.
This whole don’t ask don’t tell issue has had me outraged for a while now. Darren Manzella who was is a two time veteran of Iraq. They apparently did not have a problem with him before they found out he was gay from his first deployment. So how did he coming out affect any of his capabilities of being a soldier? I bet it did not. If it did why was he sent to Iraq, a second time? He has all ready proven that he is good enough. There is a reason that he had the rank on his hat in the video. You don’t become a NCO without knowing what you are doing.
13,000 soldiers discharged with the Don’t Ask Don’t tell regulation. It is discrimination. What happened to Equal Opportunity laws? These are United States soldiers who have defended our freedom; first and foremost they are human beings. They should have the same rights as any other human beings.
The thing is no soldier in uniform is allowed to fraternize with another soldier in uniform, so it should have never been a factor on the job. I know it happens, but so what. If it was a guy and girl doing these actions, would they throw them out? Hell no, they may only get counseled. You talk about a double standard. What is the government telling these soldiers who are fighting for our country, you go and fight in this war for our country but in return we will not fight for you because you are gay? In-justice!!!
I am in a unit in the Army and there are gays and in no way shape or form does them being gay affect the morale of our unit. The thing is we don’t really care. We respect and love them for who they are, not what they are. We fought in battle with these people, what makes the government think that them being gay is going to change our minds about them. The government needs to come out of the damn closet with their narrow minds and get with what is really going on. These officials sit in their comfortable, re-clinable office chairs and come up with these stupid policies with out talking to the real people that matter. You know the ones that are fighting in the war for this country so you are able to come up with those stupid policies.