A chilling thought: try lying about who (and what) you are

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” isn’t just a harmful policy because it leads to perfectly good and patriotic members of the U.S. Military being dishonored and thrown out like last week’s garbage on the mere basis of them being attracted to the same sex, as opposed to the opposite. It’s also equally pervasive because gay soldiers and officers who aren’t thrown out are forced to live a lie for years, a lie that is particularly difficult to keep up for long, and most of all, one that can cause a great deal of harm to a person over time. To prove this point, here’s what Andrew Sullivan over at The Daily Dish has to offer:

Rich [Lowry, pro-DADT] says that it's no big deal to live hiding one's sexual orientation. If you're straight, try it for one day.

Try never mentioning your spouse, your family, your home, your girlfriend or boyfriend to anyone you know or work with - just for one day. Take that photo off your desk at work, change the pronoun you use for your spouse to the opposite gender, guard everything you might say or do so that no one could know you're straight, shut the door in your office if you have a personal conversation if it might come up.

Try it. Now imagine doing it for a lifetime. It's crippling; it warps your mind; it destroys your self-esteem. These men and women are voluntarily risking their lives to defend us. And we are demanding they live lives like this in order to do so.

If that doesn’t make you think, I dunno what would. A clear, concise and chilling idea of what it’s like for gay soldiers and officers to pretend to be straight under penalty of being figuratively crucified if they’re found out.

Relatedly, Kid A over at Friendly Atheist had this for a comment:

Guess what these countries have in common?

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Uruguay.

And guess what these countries have in common?

Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, Russia, Cuba, North Korea, United States.

What a cryin’ shame.

Damn right. Gay discrimination in the military (along with anywhere else) can’t end soon enough.

(via Friendly Atheist)