Now this is a very touchy subject and I have to applaud President Obama for going all the way on this issue. I have to admit that I grew up playing football in the midwest and in Texas. If a dude was even close to being thought of as gay, he was completely ostracized and sometimes actually physically hurt by people that I knew. Not a good thing but it’s the truth.
President Obama on Gays In the Military
I know many soldiers as I worked with a large Federal Government Prime Contractor that provides personnel to the United States Army bases across the world. I always dealt with soldiers and I’ve been on three army bases in and around Atlanta, GA. I have spoken at length with soldiers at lunch and at dinner. This issue is not an easy issue to support.
Yes, I know people will say times have changed and you should support everything and everybody in this world but that’s not always the truth. Being a mans man, having a gay soldier next to you would prove an issue when it comes to issues of war. Not from a fighting standpoint but from a lifestyle standpoint. When you are in a tent and sharing close quarters with people, it is tough for heterosexual men to easily feel at ease with gay men and probably vice versa.
I know gay soldiers can fight and do just as well as anyone else. I think the real issue lies in the normal lifestyle stuff. When you’re in a desert walking around tired, lonely, and dodging RPG’s (rocket propelled grenades), you don’t want to think that the dude next to you loves men. It’s been a camaraderie thing for years. Men just bond with men who exhibit manly characteristics especially in environments like football and war. Even if a dude is strong as an ox and tough as hell, if he claims he’s gay and loves men, he is immediately ostracized in an environment where everyone needs to stick together to stay alive. Tough issue.
Gerard Spinks is the CEO of Spinks Industries; a web content producer and online marketing agency based in Atlanta, GA USA.
