For those unfamiliar with the UK press there is no more venemous publication than the Daily Mail. Think Glen Beck. With added vitriol. If there's an immigrant doing something dodgy the Mail will bash him. Muslims? Suspect. Gays? Undermining traditional values. Women? Stay at home!
All of which makes this headline and the story that follows remarkable.
Gay soldier serving in Afghanistan reveals moment he 'came out' to his Army comrades
Some times we think that the law needs to change to reflect social attitudes. Just as often attitudes change because of the law. For just under a decade openly gay men and women have been allowed to serve in the UK's armed forces. The Generals and Admirals complained. The Daily Mail harrumphed. All sorts of bogey men were raised. Unit cohesion would be lost, the Army was different etc etc. The politicians changed the law anyway. Some things are just right. Sometimes you have to lead. Now meet Trooper Ben Rakestrow.
Fighting the Taliban on the dusty battlefields of Afghanistan is one of the toughest challenges a soldier can face. But heroic Trooper Ben Rakestrow had to summon up his courage for a different reason last year - to tell his comrades-in-arms that he was homosexual. Now the brave 21-year-old has spoken about the support and acceptance he has received from his squadron since coming out.
The story which follows is heart-warming and so human. It's about the way a young gay man trusted his comrades and how that trust was rewarded.
'He had been out at a local nightclub with a friend who was aware he is gay.The next morning I arrived for the exercise late, because we'd had a bit to drink,' he said. 'We were only supposed to go to the local pub for a couple pints.'The lads all asked if we'd had any luck, then at least our late arrival would have been worth it. 'I just said "His name was Ryan". Some of their faces dropped, and asked if I was serious. They couldn't believe it.'
Read the whole story. It's worth it. More importantly the story in an ultra-conservative tabloid includes this sentance.
Incredibly, only 10 years ago he would have been booted out of the British Army under rules banning gay personnel.
Incredibly. Stop a moment and think about that. A right wing, socially conservative newspaper thinks it "incredible" that an openly gay man could be banned from service.
Because politicians led.