Obama and the Gay Military...

[Bill Thompson]

Originally Posted by Bill Thompson
Are hate crimes against lesbians more or less than hate crimes against gay men?

They are the same. Hate crimes are hate crimes, no matter who the target is.

That is not what I said, genius. I said, "Are hate crimes against lesbians more or less than hate crimes against gay men?" That means are they less in amount or occurance. I did not say they are more or less in importance.

 

[zooterkin]

THe fact that you cut my point in half and thus missed it is very telling.

Not to worry, you missed mine. You might possibly have heard a faint whooshing noise.

 

[zooterkin]

That is not what I said, genius.

Let's see what you did say:

I said, "Are hate crimes against lesbians more or less than hate crimes against gay men?"

More or less what? Perhaps you left out a word? Did you mean to say, "Are hate crimes against lesbians more or less frequent than hate crimes against gay men?"

Without that, it's just as valid to interpret it as, "Are hate crimes against lesbians more or less severe than hate crimes against gay men?" or "Are hate crimes against lesbians more or less important than hate crimes against gay men?"

That means are they less in amount or occurance.

No, it doesn't, even if we insert "frequent" in your original question.

I did not say they are more or less in importance.

Nor did you say what you think you said.

 

[Bill Thompson]

You Brits might think you have nothing to loose if I am wrong.

There is no way to know if it will work unless we give it a try.

But Americans have too much to loose if it is a catastrophic failure.

It is not like a bad business move and the worst that can happen is that the company sinks like the Titanic.

And, typically, people who make responses per sentence miss the point.

 

[zooterkin]

I never said i was ex-Army.

You didn't?

I am an american who was born here and served 3 years in the military and was in a combat situation during the Lebanese Peace Keeping effort and I served 3 more years in inactive reserved and for about 40 days in the Pentagon at the end of the career.

 

[Bill Thompson]

And, typically, people acting in such a condescending manner look very silly when they make childish spelling mistakes.

I KNOW. And so, thanks for that.

THe point is, people who are most critical of my views do not know what they are talking about. Speaking the Queen's English does not give you some insight in or about all English speaking cultures. And being from the UK does not give you authority to be critical of American Military culture.

You Brits might think you have nothing to loose if I am wrong.


You Brits might think you have nothing to loose if I am wrong.

The fact is, there is a lot to loose if I am right and it turns out to be a bad decision to change DADT.

It is not as if I am demanding change and you can say "if it isn't broke, we should not fix it". It is the other way around. You are arguing for a change which -- I think, if it was a good idea -- would have happened decades ago.

Why didn't it?

Do you know what organization conducts the most scientific and detailed investigations on Earth? Walter Cronkite once said it was the United States military. If it was beneficial to let openly gay men and women serve, the military would have seen it.

 

[MarkCorrigan]

I never said i was ex-Army.

You can't read.

I am serious.

And stick to the subject.

And by the way, find the post I made where I clamed to work for Microsoft. I wonder where I said that.

Another Brit. You guys seem to big on thinking the world should adopt your culture?

Who is the imbecile?

Forgive me, you said ex-military didn't you? Served in Lebanon right? Where, what unit and how long?

I am an american who was born here and served 3 years in the military and was in a combat situation during the Lebanese Peace Keeping effort and I served 3 more years in inactive reserved and for about 40 days in the Pentagon at the end of the career.

As for your working for Microsoft, I admit I may well be wrong. I've seen others talk about you working for Microsoft (in particular the WalMart thread where you kept talking about how they're an evil super-company, to which a number of people asked "but don't you work for Microsoft?" and you didn't correct them) so I assumed that this had come from you.

Who said anything about making you adopt our culture? I just think it's barbaric that if I were in the military, I could talk to my platoon about my girlfriend but my hypothetical friend Steve could be discharged for talking about HIS boyfriend. I don't understand why this double standard is acceptable.

 

[GreyICE]

I'm guessing he is ex-chAir force.

 

[Sledge]

It is reasonablly the same as the religious makeup of the United States and that can be found by just pulling up the CIA fact book online.

Ok, having a look at that page, I can't find the information you're referring to. Can you link to and quote it? I've got the religous breakdown of the US population as a whole but not one of the armed forces.

 

[funk de fino]

The UK military thought the same as Bill. Luckily they got their ass handed to them on a plate when they tried to fight the issue.

There are reasons some fight against it. Mostly intolerance in my experience.

 

[Bill Thompson]

Ok, having a look at that page, I can't find the information you're referring to. Can you link to and quote it? I've got the religous breakdown of the US population as a whole but not one of the armed forces.

They break each country down by religions and sects.

Common sense suggest that the same percentages would enlist.

Besides, I know and remember the attitudes people have in the military.

 

[Sledge]

They break each country down by religions and sects.

Common sense suggest that the same percentages would enlist.

No it wouldn't. I would expect that the Amish, for instance, have very little representation in the armed forces.

Besides, I know and remember the attitudes people have in the military.

No, you were never in the military. Remember?

 

[funk de fino]

They break each country down by religions and sects.

Common sense suggest that the same percentages would enlist.

Besides, I know and remember the attitudes people have in the military.

No way Bill. You need to do better than that.

Attitudes when you were in, and now, are slightly different.

 

[Bill Thompson]

The UK military thought the same as Bill. Luckily they got their ass handed to them on a plate when they tried to fight the issue.

There are reasons some fight against it. Mostly intolerance in my experience.

Pick on Saudi Arabia or Iran, please.

And explain why I you think I am intolerant, if that is what you are suggesting.

Better yet, explain what DADT means and why it exists.

 

[Bill Thompson]

It's "lose". I have served in the UK military, served alongside the US military and grew up next to a US military base. For longer than you.

What was your job?

Also, so what? We have established that cultures are different.

 

[funk de fino]

Pick on Saudi Arabia or Iran, please.

And explain why I you think I am intolerant, if that is what you are suggesting.

Better yet, explain what DADT means and why it exists.

What are you wittering about now? You are intolerant deal with it. Your use of that picture is offensive. It speaks volumes about you.

 

[MarkCorrigan]

Ok Bill, please answer my simple question:

What branch of the US Military did you serve in?

 

[Sledge]

Oh for crying out loud, Bill, if you're going to troll at least try not to be obvious about it. Let me spell this out for you: some religious groups will have differing attitudes to military service. It is therefore ridiculous to assume that the same percentages of religious people will exist in the armed forces as do in society at large.

 

[funk de fino]

What was your job?

None of your business but easy enough to find out. Suffice to say I served in 2 conflicts.

Also, so what? We have established that cultures are different.

I served with, and grew up with, those from your culture. That was my point. Have you been drinking?

 

[funk de fino]

Not religious, but an example of something similar.

The UK population has approx 10.6% who are seen as being ethnic. Despite a huge increase since 1997 to 2006 the UK forces had about a 5.5% ethnic make up.