The modern day warrior princess
It was a war that began long ago, but the first and most famous battle was that of TSgt Leonard Matlovich against the Air Force. He was discharged in 1975 for being homosexual. In spite of the fact that he was a recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam. He sued and the military ultimately paid him off to go away. But not quietly. He spent the rest of his life fighting for equal rights for homosexuals on every level. His headstone reads "They gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."
Now a new chapter in the struggle for LGBT rights in the military is being written. "Warrior Princess" is the story of Chris Beck, who became Kristin Beck. Beck served in the Navy for 20 years before retiring and spent most of those years as a Navy SEAL. Men only. The sailors whose swagger put the capital M in Macho. The entire time, Beck felt that he was a woman trapped in a man's body and once he had retired, he began the process of becoming she.
There was no formal decision to merge the transgendered into the homosexual/bisexual struggle for equality. No one held a vote. There was no "LGBT charter" written. There is an argument to be made that they are not the same. One is a question of sexual preference while the other is a question of gender identity. A man who believes he should have been born a woman is not the same as a man who is sexually attracted to only other men. If you encounter a homosexual in a same-sex relationship, unless you see them interacting with their partner, or the subject of their romantic involvement comes up, you can't tell by looking that they are not the same as a heterosexual person who does not have questions about their gender identity. But when a transgendered person begins the process of righting what they believe is 'wrong' about their physical body, it is highly visible. That argument can be made.
And it should be ignored. In both instances, sexual preference and gender identity, it is a question of nature, not nurture. Any heterosexuals who want to argue this point with me need to answer some simple questions. Were you born with the attraction to only the opposite gender, or did you learn this as you grew up? If you learned it, could you have learned to be homosexual? When did you first realize you were attracted only to girls (or boys, as the case may be)?
I have absolutely no problem with the powers that be making changes to the military that would allow the transgendered to serve as the gender they identify with, with a few caveats.
The process of sexual reassignment should be funded for the military as it is for the civilian populace. If Medicaid, the VA, the health plan for federal civilian employees will pay for whatever is required for civilians, then military personnel should be treated the same with their military medical benefits. If those government health plans do not provide benefits for the process of a sex change to civilians, military personnel shouldn't get those benefits either.
And as long as there are jobs in the military that are closed to women, those prohibitions need to be observed with the transgendered. If a Navy SEAL on active duty decides to transition, then she needs to be reassigned to another unit with different duties. When and if all military billets are open to women, this will no longer be a concern. Until that happens, it is a problem.
Lastly, and this one is going to raise eyebrows, the fitness and weight standards that military personnel are subject to are gender specific. A man who is transitioning to be a woman must at some point be subject to the more restrictive height/weight limits, while a woman transitioning to be a man must at some point be subject to the more difficult standard of fitness men must meet.
Oh, one more thing. If we are going to be truly equal in this nation when it comes to the military, the time has come to either eliminate the Selective Service Act, or stop exempting women from it. Fair is fair. If all combat jobs are open to women, women are truly equal, then they need to step up and take up their responsibility to defend our nation.
* * *
This Date in History:
On this date in 1783, the Montgolfier Brothers demonstrate their hot-air balloon in public.
On this date in 1794, British troops capture Port-au-Prince in Haiti.
On this date in 1812, after Louisiana is admitted as a state, the Louisiana Territory is renamed as the Missouri Territory.
On this date in 1896, Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gas-powered automobile.
On this date in 1912, Massachusetts establishes the first minimum wage set by a state.
On this date in 1919, Congress approves the 19th Amendment.
On this date in 1939, the MS St Louis, carrying 963 Jewish refugees is refused permission to land in Florida. Forced to return to Europe, more than 1/5th of the passengers will eventually die in the concentration camps.
On this date in 1944, the Allies capture Rome, first of the Axis capital cities to fall.
On this date in 1974, fans drunk on ten cent beer night at a Cleveland Indians home game riot, causing the game to be forfeited to the Texas Rangers.
On this date in 1986, Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to spying for Israel.
Famous Folk Born on This Date:
Rosalind Russell
Don Diamond
Dennis Weaver
Robert Earl Hughes (his headstone confirms he weighed 1,041 pounds)
Ruth Westheimer
John Drew Barrymore
Freddy Fender
Gorilla Monsoon
Michelle Phillips
Parker Stevenson (well, he was kinda famous, once)
Keith David
El Debarge
Andrea Jaeger
Xavier McDaniel
Michael Doohan
Al B Sure
Izabella Scorupco
Noah Wyle
Russell Brand
Evan Lysacek
Bar Rafaeli (how did she avoid compulsory military service in Israel again??? :) )
Angelina Jolie
Christopher Dorner (rot in hell)
Movie Quote of the Day comes from "There's Something About Mary" (in honor of it being Keith David's birthday):
[after Mary addresses Ted by name]
Ted: I couldn't believe that she knew my name. Some of my best friends didn't know my name.
#2
Mary's Step-Father: Boy, don't make me open up a can of whoop-ass!
#3
[after telling Mary that he's an architect]
Pat Healy: Really, it's only a side thing for my true passion.
Mary: And what's that?
Pat Healy: I work with retards.
Mary: Isn't that a little politically incorrect?
Pat Healy: Yeah, maybe, but hell, no one's gonna tell me who I can and can't work with.
And since you can't think of this movie without thinking of the closing credits....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-g7yosMKdw
Now a new chapter in the struggle for LGBT rights in the military is being written. "Warrior Princess" is the story of Chris Beck, who became Kristin Beck. Beck served in the Navy for 20 years before retiring and spent most of those years as a Navy SEAL. Men only. The sailors whose swagger put the capital M in Macho. The entire time, Beck felt that he was a woman trapped in a man's body and once he had retired, he began the process of becoming she.
There was no formal decision to merge the transgendered into the homosexual/bisexual struggle for equality. No one held a vote. There was no "LGBT charter" written. There is an argument to be made that they are not the same. One is a question of sexual preference while the other is a question of gender identity. A man who believes he should have been born a woman is not the same as a man who is sexually attracted to only other men. If you encounter a homosexual in a same-sex relationship, unless you see them interacting with their partner, or the subject of their romantic involvement comes up, you can't tell by looking that they are not the same as a heterosexual person who does not have questions about their gender identity. But when a transgendered person begins the process of righting what they believe is 'wrong' about their physical body, it is highly visible. That argument can be made.
And it should be ignored. In both instances, sexual preference and gender identity, it is a question of nature, not nurture. Any heterosexuals who want to argue this point with me need to answer some simple questions. Were you born with the attraction to only the opposite gender, or did you learn this as you grew up? If you learned it, could you have learned to be homosexual? When did you first realize you were attracted only to girls (or boys, as the case may be)?
I have absolutely no problem with the powers that be making changes to the military that would allow the transgendered to serve as the gender they identify with, with a few caveats.
The process of sexual reassignment should be funded for the military as it is for the civilian populace. If Medicaid, the VA, the health plan for federal civilian employees will pay for whatever is required for civilians, then military personnel should be treated the same with their military medical benefits. If those government health plans do not provide benefits for the process of a sex change to civilians, military personnel shouldn't get those benefits either.
And as long as there are jobs in the military that are closed to women, those prohibitions need to be observed with the transgendered. If a Navy SEAL on active duty decides to transition, then she needs to be reassigned to another unit with different duties. When and if all military billets are open to women, this will no longer be a concern. Until that happens, it is a problem.
Lastly, and this one is going to raise eyebrows, the fitness and weight standards that military personnel are subject to are gender specific. A man who is transitioning to be a woman must at some point be subject to the more restrictive height/weight limits, while a woman transitioning to be a man must at some point be subject to the more difficult standard of fitness men must meet.
Oh, one more thing. If we are going to be truly equal in this nation when it comes to the military, the time has come to either eliminate the Selective Service Act, or stop exempting women from it. Fair is fair. If all combat jobs are open to women, women are truly equal, then they need to step up and take up their responsibility to defend our nation.
* * *
This Date in History:
On this date in 1783, the Montgolfier Brothers demonstrate their hot-air balloon in public.
On this date in 1794, British troops capture Port-au-Prince in Haiti.
On this date in 1812, after Louisiana is admitted as a state, the Louisiana Territory is renamed as the Missouri Territory.
On this date in 1896, Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gas-powered automobile.
On this date in 1912, Massachusetts establishes the first minimum wage set by a state.
On this date in 1919, Congress approves the 19th Amendment.
On this date in 1939, the MS St Louis, carrying 963 Jewish refugees is refused permission to land in Florida. Forced to return to Europe, more than 1/5th of the passengers will eventually die in the concentration camps.
On this date in 1944, the Allies capture Rome, first of the Axis capital cities to fall.
On this date in 1974, fans drunk on ten cent beer night at a Cleveland Indians home game riot, causing the game to be forfeited to the Texas Rangers.
On this date in 1986, Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to spying for Israel.
Famous Folk Born on This Date:
Rosalind Russell
Don Diamond
Dennis Weaver
Robert Earl Hughes (his headstone confirms he weighed 1,041 pounds)
Ruth Westheimer
John Drew Barrymore
Freddy Fender
Gorilla Monsoon
Michelle Phillips
Parker Stevenson (well, he was kinda famous, once)
Keith David
El Debarge
Andrea Jaeger
Xavier McDaniel
Michael Doohan
Al B Sure
Izabella Scorupco
Noah Wyle
Russell Brand
Evan Lysacek
Bar Rafaeli (how did she avoid compulsory military service in Israel again??? :) )
Angelina Jolie
Christopher Dorner (rot in hell)
Movie Quote of the Day comes from "There's Something About Mary" (in honor of it being Keith David's birthday):
[after Mary addresses Ted by name]
Ted: I couldn't believe that she knew my name. Some of my best friends didn't know my name.
#2
Mary's Step-Father: Boy, don't make me open up a can of whoop-ass!
#3
[after telling Mary that he's an architect]
Pat Healy: Really, it's only a side thing for my true passion.
Mary: And what's that?
Pat Healy: I work with retards.
Mary: Isn't that a little politically incorrect?
Pat Healy: Yeah, maybe, but hell, no one's gonna tell me who I can and can't work with.
And since you can't think of this movie without thinking of the closing credits....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-g7yosMKdw
posted by me at 10:44 AM
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