Being Gay at West Point.
http://www.vanityfair.com/...
I had to admit that when I saw the title of the article I was prepared for something totally different. As the bastion of mostly male testosterone as well as strict rules and regulations, I was prepared for a multitude of examples of closed mindedness and exclusion. What else would one expect from the institution that is the heart and soul of the values of an organization that has strictly prohibited and prosecuted LBG (no T yet) members for years.
How wrong I was. Read the article. I suppose I should have given the youth of today far more credit than I did. I should have also have given the leadership more credit. They decided to join the Army. More than that, they decided to go to West Point and endure 4 years of Spartan conditions and discipline while their peers were exploring their boundaries at normal colleges. Instead, the article exposes an organization where, as the subject of the article relays: “I couldn’t have been more wrong,” she said. “I received nothing but support or indifference.”
No one cared about her sexual orientation. They just expected her to do her duty, pull her own weight and be a good leader. A couple of years ago there was a picture in the news about West Point where a cadet was bringing his boyfriend to one of the dances. The vile, nasty comments came from some old graduates and other people not associated with the Academy. Not from the other cadets. In fact I asked a cadet who lives in our neighborhood about it and his comment was “No one cares, he does a really good job as the announcer for the military parades each week. He’s a good cadet.”
Change sometimes seems glacial in many areas of society. I think that the military and the Army don’t always get the credit they deserve. The racial integration of the Army happened long before the rest of society. Sure there were and maybe still are issues but they seem to salute and drive on. The integration of females is the same. This year West Point admitted 22% female in its class that started this week. That is a record high and exceeds the ratio of females even in the Army itself. The first females are in Army Ranger School right now. They are being held to the same standards as the men. I think that’s what we all want. To be judged by what we can do, not by the color of our skin, sex, sexual orientation, religion or anything else but our abilities.