Dan Choi & Repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

A Letter from Dan Choi distributed by The Courage Campaign, sent to my email inbox two days ago:

Dear Jennifer,

In March, I went on Rachel Maddow's show and spoke three truthful words: "I am gay."

As an infantry officer, an Iraq combat veteran and a West Point graduate with a degree in Arabic, I refuse to lie to my commanders. I refuse to lie to my peers. I refuse to lie to my subordinates.

As a result, the Army sent a letter discharging me on April 23. The letter is a slap in the face. It is a slap in the face to me and it is a slap in the face to the soldiers who I have commanded and served with over the last decade.

I have served for a decade under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- an immoral policy that forces American soldiers to lie about their sexual orientation. Worse, it forces others to tolerate deception. As I learned at West Point, deception and lies poison a unit and cripple a fighting force.

That's why the Courage Campaign and CREDO Mobile are getting behind me today. And I'm getting behind them along with Knights Out -- an organization I founded to bring attention to the ways "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" undermines our national security.

I need your support. Please ask President Obama not to fire me. Click here to watch my recent interview on Rachel Maddow's show and sign the Courage Campaign's petition asking the President to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/DontFireDan

In the ten years since I first raised my right hand at the United States Military Academy at West Point and committed to fighting for my country, I have learned many lessons. Courage, integrity, honesty and selfless service are some of the most important.

That's why my discharge from the Army is so painful. I am not accustomed to begging, but I am begging President Obama today: Do not fire me.

My subordinates know I'm gay. They don't care. They are professionals. My soldiers are more than a unit or a fighting force -- we are a family and we support each other.

Will you support me as well? Please ask President Obama to keep his promise and tell Congress to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law and support equality in the military. Click here to watch the Rachel Maddow interview and sign this petition to the President ASAP:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/DontFireDan

Very Respectfully,

Daniel W. Choi
1LT, IN
New York Army National Guard


Dan Choi's March interview with Rachel Maddow:




Rachel Maddoew's piece about Dan Choi's letter to President Obama:

Knee jerk reactions

So I have to confess something that isn't very nice about myself. Which is the knee-jerk reaction I have when I hear a male Southern voice.

And that knee-jerk reaction is that with the voice comes an assumption I have that the person speaking holds conservative, possibly racist, potentially homophobic viewpoints.

It is something I began to notice about myself when I moved "South" a few years ago. You can imagine my surprise and chagrin upon realizing that almost EVERY man I encountered at Southern U. and in my nice college town had a Southern accent and thus was causing me to have this knee jerk reaction that forced me to deal with the fact that I was probably WRONG at least half the time.

In other words, it's almost as if there was a higher power at work that was forcing me to deal with a secret prejudice I had against white Southern men (because, lets face it, that's really the demographic I'm talking about--black Southern men I don't assume to be racist, and while they could be and might be homophobic, it's really the white Southern men who trigger my racial paranoia).

I've been dealing with my knee jerk reactions--forced to really because I can't live hear for over five years and NOT realize that there are many white Southern men who are not racist and homophobic, even when I do encounter examples who live up to my sense of racial hypochondria.

But I am reminded of my knee jerk reaction because in the car listening to NPR's "Talk of the Nation" I heard the dulcet tones of a male Southern accent beginning to speak about the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy and I ASSUMED that the person belonging to the voice was advocating on behalf of this policy that forces queer military men and women to stay in the closet.

But lo and behold--I WAS WRONG. Because the voice belonged to retired Rear Admiral James Barnett, and he spoke in powerful and eloquent terms about the dehumanizing effects of this policy on gay and lesbian soldiers--and had some very strong arguments for why the military needs to abolish "Don't ask, don't tell" -- and he, along with 103 other retired military leaders, recently signed an open letter to President-elect Barack Obama asking him to get rid of this intolerant policy:

We – the undersigned -- respectfully call for the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Those of us endorsing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish. Scholarly data shows there are approximately one million gay and lesbian veterans in the United States today as well as 65,000 gays and lesbians currently serving in our armed forces. They have served our nation honorably. We support the recent comments of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General John Shalikashvili, who has concluded that repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy would not harm and would indeed help our armed forces. As is the case with Great Britain, Israel, and other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion, and sexuality. Such collaboration reflects the strength and the best traditions of our democracy.

For the think tank that helped produce this letter and a list of the 104 signatories, click here.

For the "Talk of the Nation" interview with retired Rear Admiral James Barnett, click here.

Once again, my knee jerk reaction is proven wrong. Once again, I try to be the change that I want to see in the world by recognizing and owning my own internalized prejudice.