absolutely not cool

After everything we’ve been through this kind of thing cannot be allowed to happen. I’m glad it was resolved but seriously, this is a mess in more ways than one. Just gross. Yeah, I get that  the US Capitol has recently been attacked and there’s the upheaval of our first non-peaceful transfer of power. Nevertheless, this is actually something that makes me really upset. I’m sick of being upset.

What else is new? Very glad to see the trans ban has been lifted. I remember when DADT was passed and I remember thinking it seemed like a reasonable compromise at the time. It was the 90’s. To even have someone admit that LGBTQ folks existed felt like progress. Little did we know the policy would be used to harass and single out members of the military. I’m all for policies that have a basis in data, facts and analysis. Like the 2016 study from the RAND corporation that found NO significant effect on cohesion, operational effectiveness or readiness in the armies of Canada, Israel, Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand and several more after allowing transgender members to serve openly in the army. This was 4 years ago, I’m sure there’s better data, but this is the only peer reviewed study written by a well known and historically pro-military organization. Bottom line, the reason the military was integrated and then later opened to LGB soldiers and finally Trans soldiers is because military readiness and professionalism don’t hinge on an individual who feels “icky” about someone who is different.