Don't Ask Me...

Ok, I've given this a few days to settle down and yet more and more fuel is added to this hot furnace of a topic. The "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT) policy has been ended by a Federal Judge which effectively allows homosexuals to be open about who they are in the military. This sparked thousands of blog posts on the ethical repercussions of such an act. Word spread to the soldiers and their reaction was pretty much "Who the fuck cares." Well the big news is THEIR COMMANDER AND CHIEF cares. The Obama Administration has officially appealed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Ruling. While this presidential cockblock was not unexpected, it was against his campaign promise during the 2008 election to "work with congress" on repealing DADT.

So why all the hate on gays Mr. President? According to Fenuxe.com he only wanted to go through congress and other legal channels and not let the courts have the overriding say in matter. But why is that such a big issue for him?

While we think on that, let's go to the street and find out what they think about this:

POLL: What is your opinion on the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy that was until today enforced in the military? Should homosexuals hide who they are?

"No. No one should care about sexual orientation. We need to hold our armed forces to a higher standard. They have more important things to think about. If they can't handle fighting next to a homosexual, then I don't trust them with a gun, expensive equipment or my life."
- Kim V.

"No, why should our military care whether or not a person is homosexual, do they care if a person is black or white? No, they don't. If they are fit and can pass basic then they have every right to serve just like anyone else. If those around them can't handle that then it's their problem."
- Sharon V.

"I think this topic is a bit deeper than this. Should anyone be forced to hide anything about themselves? No. But we are still not in a time where homosexuals (especially men) can feel completely safe and open about that part of their lif...estyle. While I feel that recent "bullying" has been heralded in the wrong light. It does remind us that much of the nation has still not accepted the gay community. Do I think anyone should be forced to hide something about themself? No. But in a group of testosterone charged young men that may exhibit a certain level of intolerance. It might be wise to hide it. It is hard to say if the best plan of attack in this situation is facing it head on and accepting the backlash or hiding it and working more slowly toward acceptance of that lifestyle."
- Eric H.

Of course I also felt the need to chime in on this topic after the last poll response came in:

"Eric's stance is similar to my stance as well. While we like to think the nation has progressed, it really hasn't that much as shown by all these bannings of gay marriage and majority votes to keep it that way. You can't expect the military to handle it differently."
- Me

What I find most surprising is the President's move in the matter. If he was to keep his promise on the campaign trail, all he would have had to do is let the ruling be. Why did he do this?

When Fads Turn Violent

For some reason, bullying as become a main point of interest in America.  It has almost become a fad.   Has it all of the sudden become popular to kill yourself or others because of some one's opinion of you (either on the internet or in person)?  If that was the case there would be a lot of blood on my hands.  I normally don't pull punches when it comes to writing about how idiotic some people are and killing yourself is the ultimate form of idiocy. 

I do however feel the need to point the finger also at the parents of these kids.  Who else is going to tell them to turn the computer off and take a Xanax? 

The teachers?  Overworked and underpaid you think they give a damn?  One less student to mouth off during their 50 some odd student English class. 

The school staff?  All they are worried about is kids bringing guns to school.  I do believe however that if they put a more proactive program in place maybe these bullied kids wouldn't kill themselves (or maybe others?  Columbine anyone?). 

The parents need to monitor their children.  Don't give me that crap about "I WORK TWO JOBS AND YOU DON'T KNOW HOW HARD IT IS."  It's called common sense.  Pay attention to your kids and maybe, just maybe they could learn some ethics and know that is is NOT OK to bully and it is NOT OK to respond to bullies with violence upon themselves or others.

Seems this is also a hot button with normal everyday people as well.  We submitted a poll question yesterday to see how people sided:

POLL: What is your take on the bullying situation recently in the news? Should the government step in or is it the job of the person/family to make sure things are taken care of?

Here are some excerpts from the flood of responses:

"I think this is the best idea so far...  http://www.tmz.com/2010/10/08/mma-fighter-daniel-puder-gay-anti-bully/"

- Michael S.

"Should be the family/guardians' job to teach their kids about bullying and NOT do it...but we all know how fabulous (NOT) some parents are about teaching their kids right from wrong so then the government should step in to put something in place in schools to teach kids about bullying. However, they need to implement other staff in schools to cover this, it should NOT be the responsibility of "regular" teachers to cover all of their other curriculum and bullying too. Teachers have enough to teach and handle already."

- Jill S.

"The government has no place in this.  It starts in the home but I do think schools have an obligation to be aware of what's going on and enforce a very stringent anti-bullying rule."

- Rexanne M.

"The worst thing that happens is not the physical abuse, but when it is not addressed by those kids look up (teachers & administrators), the kid assumes that the point of the bullying must be true and therefore their self esteem is damaged, leading to many issues later in life."

- Randy H.

This all ties together.  Chicken and the egg.  Unfortuantely in this case, the chicken has a gun and the egg has a knife.

Related Stories:
Schools Battle Suicide Surge, Anti-Gay Bullying
Rutgers E-Mails Subpoenaed, Anti-Bullying Law Proposed