I just posted a comment on a Queerty article about Lt. Colonel Victor Fehrenbach. In response to the following comments:
“We can’t help but yearn for more stories like the one from Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach”
I know I sure yearn for them. Seems like the people who create the most noise about DADT are those who never even served.
Where’s the anti-DADT movement with the thousands of service men and women who’ve been discharged? Hundreds have purportedly been lost so far this year and we’ve heard from, what, four of them?
… do you think we could possibly hold as much weight in this debate as them? Do you know how many elements of the enemy’s arguments would be neutralized if they actually had to face more Victor Fehrenbachs who’ve been there and served their country proudly?
The fact that these men and women remain hidden away only helps those who want to sustain DADT. They’ll remain statistics, numbers on a sheet of paper rather than human beings with families and friends. We could really use their help.
I wrote:
If I had to simply hazard a guess, I would posit that many of them remain quiet about their discharges because of the shame it brings in their home communities.
A very high percentage of enlisted men and women are from so-called “Bible Belt” or other conservative states (the Southeastern Atlantic and Southwestern regions in particular). Heading back home to BFN, Tennessee after being discharged for “homosexual conduct” has to be one of the worst things that I can imagine (I lived in TN for several years).
I believe that we wrongly assume that all of the service members discharged under DADT are out, proud LGBT’s. I believe many of them are probably conflicted, scared possibly barely-twenty-years-old kids.
Yes, we need more men and women like Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, but we cannot demand them. Instead, we need to reach out to them, letting them know that they DO have support, and that we will be here for them if they need us. Maybe then more soldiers will speak up.
