Institutions cowed and politicized

One of the most important things about a leader is knowing when to say, "No."

You can say it nicely ... you can say it respectfully - but you can say, "No."

There is a danger, especially at the Service Academies, that you can quickly become a tool of the culture wars. Mau-mau'd by those who scare warfighters (or at least those uniformed fonctionnaires appointed above the warfighters) because they might call you a nasty name.

When you allow a political point of view without an opposing point of view, you just endorsed it.

The first case makes me a bit well ... resigned to my fate.  Go ahead, beat me and tell me, "I told you so." 

I supported the repeal of DADT - years before it took place. Dare I say, I was one of the first milbloggers to "come out" in support of it. Good people can disagree, but those on the other side of the argument would often bring up something that I knew more likely than not, they were right on. "If you allow A, then B will follow ... " 

I knew others would come along to try to play the same, "Justify me too!" game, but I wouldn't hold back a good thing out of fear of a possible bad. A possible bad, BTW, that doesn't have to be bad with the right leadership.

As I never underestimate the spinelessness of uniformed fonctionnairs in the face of the Cultural Commissariate, I knew my opponents were more likely than not be right. I also knew that many of those who once enjoyed my support would turn on me. That's OK. It's expected. I knew that many of them were cultural fascists who at the first hint of not being lockstep with their agenda, they would turn on a dime calling names and throwing the "hate" word around. So, I guess it is my turn.  

I supported DADT, but I don't support homosexual marriage any more than I support flying starfish. I don't consider "transgendered" the same as homosexuality for the same reason I don't consider full-body tattoos the same as pierced ears. I have no problem drawing distinctions. Others, however, don't have that characteristic, and I think they do all a disservice.

Even if you do put transgendered in the same category as heterosexuality - there is also a question of context, venue, and approriateness.

Sorry folks - this at USNA is just out of bounds. Pathetic and fully in the "mind so open your brain fell out" category.

Colleagues-

Navy Spectrum invites you to join them to hear their special guest, Allyson Robinson, speak about the following topics:
What does it mean to be transgender?
Who makes up the transgender community?
What is life like for transgender people in America today?
Relating respectfully to transgender people, and resources for additional learning.

Allyson Robinson is a graduate from West Point (class of '94) and former Army Capt. She is a transgender woman and the Executive Director of Outserve-SLDN.

If interested, please join us in RI-103 at 1915 tomorrow night (Monday, 25FEB).

[redacted]

Mr. Robinson has been married for 18-years and is the father of four children. Graduated from West Point etc. The mechanics of the above is fuzzy, but really no ones business anyway.

The below intro video will give you some of the background. I'm sorry Mr. Robinson, but you are XY not XX. Whatever you and your doctor have done to your body does not change that. You can no more say you are a woman than I can say that I am Napoleon. I don't say that with any anger at you or your decisions - and you are free to do what you want with yourself - but don't ask everyone to join you in your delusion. 

That isn't respectful of actual women out there; straight, gay or otherwise. I think the homosexual rights community has made a mistake putting Mr. Robinson out front, but with the repeal of DADT, I guess some still need to justify their fundraisers or whatever reason they feel they need to use. It still makes a farce of it all.

I wish you and your family well - but sorry dude, I'm not impressed.

So Annapolis - when will you allow, oh I don't know, James Dobson to come to speak about sexuality, or has the Commissariat declared that hate speech yet? Westboro Baptist Church? They do so love their speech codes, so tell me - when does free conscience become hate? 

If military leaders need to understand people like Mr. Robinson, how about polygamy? Polyamory?



OK, enough of Annapolis, let's go to another demonstration of institutional cowardice. West Point - this too is just pathetic political pandering. I thought this was a DuffleBlog joke at first - but it isn't. From the West Point FB page - which I still had to triple check to see if it were real.

Cadets on the Brigade Energy and Environmental staff will introduce a new insignia to the Corps when they don their cadet uniforms this week. These cadet energy and environmental officers and noncommissioned officers, or E2Os, are tasked with leading the charge on initiatives related to recycling, energy and water conservation at the academy.

The insignia has the chevrons customary to cadet rank. The three rockers below are designed as waves to signify energy and water. It has been decades since the last insignia has been approved for a cadet staff position, and the process took nearly a year before the rank received approval from the Brigade Tactical Department and the Commandant of Cadets.

There you go Shipmates. Silence is approval. You can't complain that you've lost something you let drift away.

Oh, and don't even go there in comments; I still stand 100% by repeal of DADT; it was the right thing to do, but putting Robinson's face on that just makes it a cheap side-show that is no longer about letting good people serve their nation.