Gay Cannon Fodder

In honor of the one-year anniversary of Modern School, I am reposting some of my favorite articles from the past year. The following was written when the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell seemed imminent. Now it has finally happened. My commentary is still relevant.

Gay Cannon Fodder

From WikiCommons

Congress’ repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is being celebrated by LGBT activists and liberals as a major civil rights victory. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) was clearly prejudicial and abusive and its repeal is certainly a triumph over discrimination. However, it is a twisted sort of victory that gives a new group of people the right to slaughter poor people throughout the world, have their own limbs blown off, suffer devastating cognitive and psychological trauma, and die, to protect the property and profits of the rich. (Transgender folks still won’t be able to sever, er, serve their country).

Victory for Imperialism—Victory for War Mongers

What the left has not acknowledged is the context, history and broader social implications of this “victory” for gay rights. The end of the ban on gays in the military comes at a time when the U.S. is actively engaged in two overt foreign wars (Iraq and AfPak), numerous covert wars (e.g., Yemen, Somalia), and posturing for potential new wars (Iran and Korea). Yet the military hasn’t been able to recruit enough new soldiers to maintain the existing wars and has resorted to “stop-lossing” battle weary soldiers, some of whom are already showing signs of PTSD. Therefore, the new policy can be seen as a move to recruit and retain more cannon fodder, lesbian and gay cannon fodder.

Poster by Mike Licht

The repeal of DADT is being spun as a victory for U.S. imperialism and nationalism. Obama said that the move will help make the U.S. military “the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known.” Joe Lieberman, one of the most hawkish members of congress, used the repeal to leverage his standing with democratic and liberal voters, who have mostly written him off as a right wing ninny.  “We’ve righted a wrong,” he said. “Today we’ve done justice.”

While the repeal of DADT will theoretically allow gays to serve openly in the military without threat of punishment by their superiors, discrimination and persecution will almost certainly continue, just as it does in mainstream society. In fact, in the intense social microcosm of the military, where aggression and violence are not only sanctioned, but encouraged, harassment and assaults on gay soldiers is virtually assured. Consider the case of women serving in the military, who experience high rates of rape and sexual assault.

Victory for Gay Bourgeoisie

Poster by Carlos Latuff

Middle glass LGBT folks have the luxury of partying and celebrating this “victory” since they won’t be going to Iraq or Afghanistan. For those in the privileged classes, the U.S. war machine is just an abstraction, something they can ignore or romanticize, like homelessness and hunger. For working class and poor LGBT folks, especially the unemployed and marginally employed, the situation is much more real. The job market is still awful and there really aren’t a lot of opportunities out there for making a living, except for the military, which will now accept almost anyone, regardless of education and experience.

“A lot of poor and working-class queers with no means to go to college will end up in America’s two endless wars,” says gay writer and activist, Tommi Avicolli Mecca. “As the saying goes, ‘Rich kids end up in college, poor ones in the military.’ Statistics seem to bear that out, with more than half to two-thirds (depending on which study you believe) of recruits coming from lower middle-class or poor households.”

Military Recruiters at Gay Straight Alliance Meetings?

Iraq War Victim (Image by Bird Eye)

Meanwhile, now that DADT has been repealed, those who oppose ROTC and Jr. ROTC programs have lost the one thin thread they had to justify banning ROTC at school. If the military no longer discriminates, then their campus propaganda arms, ROTC and Jr ROTC, can longer be seen as discriminatory, either, and should be allowed on campus, at least by this reasoning. Many believe that the end of DADT will usher in a new era of collaboration between university campuses and ROTC programs.

Now the anti-ROTC movement will have to focus on anti-imperialist, anti-militarist, and class-based arguments, as it should have all along. An organization like the military, that is dedicated to slaughter and plunder for the benefit of capital, does not become legitimate simply by opening its doors to a persecuted minority. The problem is that the public is much more sympathetic to discrimination arguments than anti-militarist and anti-imperialist ones, creating a hard row to hoe for the anti-ROTC movement.

On a recent radio interview, Mecca brought up the possibility that military recruiters might now start visiting high school gay-straight alliance meetings. Now that the military is open to lesbian and gay recruits, this is certainly a possibility. If so, this will probably occur more at working class and low income schools where the students have fewer and more tenuous opportunities after graduation.

LGBT History To Be Taught in CA Schools

J. Edgar Hoover and Supposed Lover Clyde Tolson

California schools will be required to teach about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans starting Jan. 1 as part of their social science curriculum thanks to SB48, a bill introduced by Mark Leno, San Francisco. Despite the fact that the budget crisis has delayed the purchasing of new books until 2015 or later, schools must still implement the new curriculum and the new books, when they are purchased, must include information on the role of LGBT Americans, as well as Americans with disabilities.

Stephen Hawking

Elanor Roosevelt

Supporters of the bill believe that the law will make public schools safer for LGBT and disabled students and help reduce bullying by showing that there are many important and well-respected LGBT and disabled historical figures. This may be true and it will certainly help reverse public ignorance about two large classes of people who have been systematically erased from history. It will no doubt help foster a sense of pride and self-confidence among students who might otherwise feel isolated and second class. Indeed, LGBT students and students with disabilities are among those most often bullied in school.

The law does nothing, however, to directly address bullying or homophobic behavior in schools. Homophobia and prejudice will continue to be promoted in society outside of school and many students will continue to resist the curriculum and act out against their peers. Our society will remain stratified and competitive, with bullying and ostracizing persevering as weapons for maintaining status or for climbing socially. Consider that social science curriculum already includes material on Islam, slavery and the Holocaust, yet racist bullying and prejudice continue to be a problem in many schools for students of these backgrounds.

James Baldwin

Truth in Advertising?

Virginia Woolf

The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Gov. Brown who said, "History should be honest. . . . This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books." 

Contrary to Brown’s quotation, the law does little to make history more honest, nor does he want it to be. History, perhaps more than any other subject, is designed as a means of social control. It is taught to help create a populace that buys into the American Dream mythology, accepts American democracy as the greatest and only acceptable political system, worships the free market, identifies with the interests of the rich and powerful, and fears and attacks anyone who disagrees. It is exactly this kind of population that creates and perpetuates the wealth and power of the ruling class, including Jerry Brown.

The last thing the ruling class wants is honesty in history curriculum, in which students learn how the ruling elite steals, plunders and kills in order to acquire wealth and control over resources. They do not want kids learning about the thousands of American workers slaughtered by federal troops, state militias and private thugs during the Great Upheaval of 1877, Homestead Strike, Matewan massacre, Ludlow massacre, coal mine wars of West Virginia, Centralia massacre (just to name a few), not to mention the tens of thousands who have died on the job because of dangerous working conditions and company greed. Nor do they want students to identify with the victories of radical groups like the Knights of Labor or the Wobblies or the anarchists and communists. Hence, they created labor day and erased International Workers Day from American history, despite the fact that it commemorates a U.S. historical event—the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago and was integral to the fight for the 8-hour day.

The Gay Agenda: Converting Children Into Homosexuals

Homophobes, particularly many religious people, have opposed the legislation, citing their religious beliefs as justification. Of course, this is like saying that because I’m a racist, slavery and the Holocaust should not be taught, or because I’m a fundamentalist, evolution should not be taught.

Sen. Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster (Los Angeles County), the vice chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Education, was quoted in the Chronicle worrying that "if children in other countries are learning math and science, and American children are learning about the private lives of historical figures, how will our students compete for jobs in the global economy?"

Pure homophobia, nothing more.

Children already learn about the private lives of historical figures. Who cares if Washington had wooden teeth. However, the fact that he had slaves, which is arguably about his private life, is certainly relevant to an understanding of history and, more importantly, economics. Likewise, Harvey Milk was not just a politician who happened to screw men. He was a gay politician and activist who fought for the rights of gay people. His sexual identity was not a private part of his personal life, but a major part of his politics, too. And, for that matter, if we consider the bulk of history, which is designed to promote the interests of the wealthy, one could argue that it’s all about their private lives (e.g., maintaining a system that allows them to own multiple homes, yachts and cars).

Alexander the Great

To Runner’s credit, she did not bring up paranoid fantasies about kindergartners being taugh about anal sex and strap-ons. However, many bigots are coming out of the woodwork with such fears. Obviously this is absurd and ignores the fact homosexuality, like heterosexuality, is about far more than what happens in bed (e.g., love, families and relationships). Leno’s legislation is not about sex education or even homosexual education. It is about a superficial mention of LGBT historical figures. For example, instead of saying that Alexander the Great created one of the largest empires in ancient history, the textbooks might also mention that he was homosexual. Of course, the books would still gloss over the fact that thousands of innocent people were slaughtered, cultures destroyed, and resources stolen in the process and the fact that in ancient Greek culture it was quite common for men to take on young male lovers, often children, while still having female wives.

Republican Geese and Liberal Ganders

Image from HuntFishGuide

In a typical moralistic pissing match, University of Iowa Republican students (and their supporters) have gotten their collective panties in a bunch after a professor told them to fuck off (see the Atlantic Wire). The Republican students started the pissing match with a provocative global email to the entire college community promoting their "Conservative Coming Out Week," with events like an "Animal Rights BBQ" and "Doctors' Notices to miss class, just like the Wisconsin public employees during the union protests."

Ellen Lewin, a professor of Anthropology and Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies, took the bait and wrote back: "FUCK YOU, REPUBLICANS."

The Republicans, who apparently are able to dish it out, but not take it, contacted her supervisor and attempted to get her in trouble over her remark. Sadly, Lewin responded by admitting that the language was inappropriate, and apologized for any hurt feelings.

As I read it, her response was reasonable, justifiable and, if anything, far less offensive than their original email. Lewin pointed out in a later “apology” that their message was offensive to the LGBT community by appropriating the term “coming out.” It was offensive to public sector workers by trivializing their struggle in Wisconsin. And it was offensive to animal rights activists and vegetarians.

However, it is irrelevant whose message was more offensive. Free speech is free speech. The Republican students utilized a typical anti-liberal sense of humor that was meant to be provocative and offensive. Being offensive does not take away their right to express it. “Fuck You,” is no different, except that it refers to sex, which for some reason is particularly offensive to Puritanical Americans. The fact that it was expressed by a professor or an employee of the university shouldn't matter.

The Atlantic asserted that it is “unacceptable for a professor to curse out students via mass email.” However, would it be okay in the student newspaper? In person? At a rally on campus? According to this logic it is quite alright for conservatives to make inflammatory remarks in a mass email, but not liberals. It is okay for students to offend teachers, but not for teachers to defend themselves. Or, if they are allowed to defend themselves, they must only do so using rational arguments, pleasant language, and certainly no sarcasm or insults.

While the right to say “fuck you” should be seen as just as legitimate as the right to advertise an “animal rights BBQ,” the curse doesn’t really express anything except anger so, in some ways, it was a wasted opportunity. “Fuck you” is easy to say, doesn’t take much thought and is virtually guaranteed to piss people off, especially uptight, moralistic morons. If the only goal is to offend, then perhaps a better approach would be to sponsor an alternative event, say a Liberal Prayer Meeting, featuring a “Family Values Love-In.” Afterward, there could be “Tea Party Target Practice,” a “Republican Chili Cook Off” and a “Fetus on a Stick Jousting Match.”

Fundamentalist Nut Tries To Enforce Ignorance in California

Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons

Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, Republican, Costa Mesa, is introducing Assembly Bill 1348 to the California State Legislature. The Parental Oversight and Involvement Act would require schools to “receive affirmative permission from a child’s parents before providing classroom education related to sex, family life, morality, religion, gender, or sexual orientation,” the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday.

The Times did not go into much detail, devoting only a paragraph to the story. Considering that state social studies content standards include world religions, the bill could have far reaching implications that go far beyond health and sex education courses. Biology courses, likewise, routinely cover sexual reproduction and human physiology and anatomy. However, the bill seems most targeted at health education courses that cover human sexuality, reproduction and STDs, as well as tolerance curriculum that is common throughout California. In fact, the bill may have been drafted in retaliation to Mark Leno’s senate bill, SB 48, which would require teachers to discuss the contributions of LGBT historical figures in their curriculum.

While it is not surprising that some parents and fundamentalist residents would be upset over the teaching of tolerance for gays and lesbians, or the discussion of safer sex, there is a far more important public good to be gained by these practices. Ignorance about safer sex practices and pregnancy prevention increase the frequency and the costs of STDs and unwanted pregnancies, costs that all Californians must bear. Ignorance about other religions, cultures, sexual orientations, lifestyles and family structures contribute to fear, misunderstanding, prejudice and abuse.

Also, if parents do not want their children to be taught about their bodies and sexuality at school or to learn about other religions or famous homosexuals in their history classes, parents have the right and the responsibility to remove their children from public schools and either place them in a parochial school or home school them. They should not be allowed to burden schools and society simply to satisfy their fears and prejudices, particularly considering that society will end up bearing much of the future costs caused by the additional unwanted pregnancies, STDs and hate crimes resulting from their ignorance.

Gay Cannon Fodder

Image from Wiki Commons

Congress’ repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is being celebrated by LGBT activists and liberals as a major civil rights victory. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) was clearly prejudicial and abusive and its repeal is certainly a triumph over discrimination. However, it is a twisted sort of victory that gives a new group of people the right to slaughter poor people throughout the world, have their own limbs blown off, suffer devastating cognitive and psychological trauma, and die, to protect the property and profits of the rich. (Transgender folks still won’t be able to sever, er, serve their country).

Victory for Imperialism—Victory for War Mongers

What the left has not acknowledged is the context, history and broader social implications of this “victory” for gay rights. The end of the ban on gays in the military comes at a time when the U.S. is actively engaged in two overt foreign wars (Iraq and AfPak), numerous covert wars (e.g., Yemen, Somalia), and posturing for potential new wars (Iran and Korea). Yet the military hasn’t been able to recruit enough new soldiers to maintain the existing wars and has resorted to “stop-lossing” battle weary soldiers, some of whom are already showing signs of PTSD. Therefore, the new policy can be seen as a move to recruit and retain more cannon fodder, lesbian and gay cannon fodder.

Poster by Mike Licht

The repeal of DADT is being spun as a victory for U.S. imperialism and nationalism. Obama said that the move will help make the U.S. military “the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known.” Joe Lieberman, one of the most hawkish members of congress, used the repeal to leverage his standing with democratic and liberal voters, who have mostly written him off as a right wing ninny.  “We’ve righted a wrong,” he said. “Today we’ve done justice.”

While the repeal of DADT will theoretically allow gays to serve openly in the military without threat of punishment by their superiors, discrimination and persecution will almost certainly continue, just as it does in mainstream society. In fact, in the intense social microcosm of the military, where aggression and violence are not only sanctioned, but encouraged, harassment and assaults on gay soldiers is virtually assured. Consider the case of women serving in the military, who experience high rates of rape and sexual assault.

Victory for Gay Bourgeoisie

Poster by Carlos Latuff

Middle glass LGBT folks have the luxury of partying and celebrating this “victory” since they won’t be going to Iraq or Afghanistan. For those in the privileged classes, the U.S. war machine is just an abstraction, something they can ignore or romanticize, like homelessness and hunger. For working class and poor LGBT folks, especially the unemployed and marginally employed, the situation is much more real. The job market is still awful and there really aren’t a lot of opportunities out there for making a living, except for the military, which will now accept almost anyone, regardless of education and experience.

“A lot of poor and working-class queers with no means to go to college will end up in America’s two endless wars,” says gay writer and activist, Tommi Avicolli Mecca. “As the saying goes, ‘Rich kids end up in college, poor ones in the military.’ Statistics seem to bear that out, with more than half to two-thirds (depending on which study you believe) of recruits coming from lower middle-class or poor households.”

Military Recruiters at Gay Straight Alliance Meetings?

Iraq War Victim by Bird Eye

Meanwhile, now that DADT has been repealed, those who oppose ROTC and Jr. ROTC programs have lost the one thin thread they had to justify banning ROTC at school. If the military no longer discriminates, then their campus propaganda arms, ROTC and Jr ROTC, can longer be seen as discriminatory, either, and should be allowed on campus, at least by this reasoning. Many believe that the end of DADT will usher in a new era of collaboration between university campuses and ROTC programs.

Now the anti-ROTC movement will have to focus on anti-imperialist, anti-militarist, and class-based arguments, as it should have all along. An organization like the military, that is dedicated to slaughter and plunder for the benefit of capital, does not become legitimate simply by opening its doors to a persecuted minority. The problem is that the public is much more sympathetic to discrimination arguments than anti-militarist and anti-imperialist ones, creating a hard row to hoe for the anti-ROTC movement.

On a recent radio interview, Mecca brought up the possibility that military recruiters might now start visiting high school gay-straight alliance meetings. Now that the military is open to lesbian and gay recruits, this is certainly a possibility. If so, this will probably occur more at working class and low income schools where the students have fewer and more tenuous opportunities after graduation.