Christcorp
15-Year Member
- Joined
- May 21, 2008
- Messages
- 5,382
However, to deem her actions objectionable, one must examine her motives.
No I don't. 2 wrongs don't make a right. If you walk up to another person in public and punch them in the face, you are wrong. I don't care if that person had an affair with your wife or cheated you out of a thousand dollars. The motives mean nothing to me when your actions are premeditated and wrong. The way she left the academy, became a media cause, and expressed herself recently is all I care about. I could care less about her motives. Again, 2 wrongs don't make a right.
Of course, she has the right to do these things. She can express herself any way she wants to. She had the right to leave the academy prior to her 3rd year, in any vocal fashion that she wanted to. She had every right in the world to go to the media and become their poster child against the military. She had every right to be a puppet and stand on a stage and be paraded in front of the audience. "I'll stay away from the uniform legal issues for now". But even though she had the right to do all these things, doesn't mean I have to respect her. When a person burns a flag in public, condemns our military actions vocally, etc... they have the right of free speech to do these things. But I don't have to respect her. And I don't care one bit what her motives are. She handled herself and her concerns improperly. She did so with contempt to the other cadets and to the military. And again, I don't care at all about her motives. There are numerous ways that she could have left the military; had she realized she made a mistake and can no longer live by a current policy. But she chose the "I'm the victim" method instead of the "I tried, but I can't live up to the current military standards and policies". She could have waited until she got out of the academy before going to the media and starting her crusade. She could have be a "guest" at a concert without wearing a military uniform. However, she chose to punch in the face. He motives are irrelevant.
You can rationalize her actions all you want; that doesn't justify them. She does not deserve any respect from military members. There is no difference between the DADT policy and any other policy in the military. While in force, you live by them. If you don't agree with them, you make efforts to get them changed. And there are plenty of ways to properly and respectfully go about getting policies, rules, laws, etc... changed. And this whole crap about she was FORCED to lie and break the honor code is also pure crap. I was still on active duty when the whole DADT policy originated and became mainstream. And it truly did become a DADT non-issue. If you, the individual, didn't bring it up, or flaunt your sexual preferences publicly, nobody asked you about it. Now I know you want to talk about all the "Unofficial" investigations by the other cadets and such. e.g. "How come you don't have a boy friend?" ; "Why didn't you bring a boy friend to the picnic?" etc... Yes, those types of inquires do exist. But there is no lying in saying: "I haven't found the right person" or something similar. It's also not lying or wrong if a fellow cadet/service member comes out directly and asks if you are gay and you simply say: "Dude, (Dudette), we can't talk about those kind of things.
Point is: I don't care about her motives. Her motives do not matter. She has contempt for the military and the academies, and I have absolutely no respect for her. I respect her right to express herself anyway she wants to, and that includes leaving the academy, the press, and public appearances. Just like I respect a person's right to burn the flag. That doesn't mean I have to respect the person or their actions. Just their right to do such things.