I knew if I waited long enough, Ypsi’s gay soldier statue would become relevant

It’s been several hours now since our military officially turned gay, and, as far as I can tell, we’ve yet to be invaded.

– Mark Maynard, about five minutes ago on Facebook

I didn’t know it until this very moment, but this statue, which stands in the shadow of Ypsilanti’s incredibly phallic water tower, isn’t unique to Ypsilanti. According to Wikipedia, the statue, entitled The Hiker, exists in about 20 other locations around the country. The sculpture, created by Allen George Newman, was, according to Wikipedia, “made to honor the American soldiers who took long hikes in steaming jungles during the Boxer Rebellion, the Spanish-American war and the Filipino-American War,” all of which took place at the turn of the last century. The first statue appeared in New York in 1904. Ypsilanti has the distinction of being the last city to commission one, getting its in 1940. (Detroit’s Belle Isle got one in 1932, which, I’m guessing, is where we got the idea.)

Anyway, when I drive by this statue, which I refer to as The Sashaying Soldier, I often think about what a drag it must be to fight and risk your life for a country that doesn’t acknowledge who you are. I’m happy that our country turned a corner today, and joined the rest of the civilized world in recognizing that gay men and women can serve their countries with just as much distinction as their straight counterparts. Despite all the bad shit going on these days, this is something to be happy for.

The military demands conformity. I appreciate that fact. It beats the individuality out of people. It has to. That’s what it takes to turn young people into reliable killing machines. And, like it or not, that’s what we need to do given the state of the world we live in. If you’ve never read War: The Lethal Custom by historian Gwynne Dyer, or watched the accompanying PBS series, I highly recommend them. At any rate, for reasons expressed by Dyer, I don’t anticipate the military to start welcoming individual expression in any significant way. Fortunately, though, I don’t think that’s what the gay men and women in the military were looking for. They weren’t fighting for the right to play show tunes during sniper practice. They just wanted to know that who they chose to love when not in active service couldn’t be used against them. And that’s what happened today… Congratulations to everyone who kept pushing this issue forward over the past 25 years, and to all of those before them who suffered the threat of dishonorable discharge in silence.

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17 Comments

  1. dragon
    Posted September 21, 2011 at 12:25 am | Permalink

    He’s bin lookin’ like a queen in a sailor’s dream
    And he don’t always say what he really means
    Sometimes I think it’s a shame
    When I get feelin’ better when I’m feelin’ no pain

  2. Edward
    Posted September 21, 2011 at 6:31 am | Permalink

    Maybe we could change the plaque. While the sacrifices of the men who died in Spanish American War certainly deserve to be remembered, they took place an awful long time ago. I like the idea of a statue commemorating the more recent sacrifices of our gay men and women in uniform.

  3. Kim
    Posted September 21, 2011 at 6:46 am | Permalink

    I can’t help but think the new rainbow uniforms are going to be a problem on the battlefield.

  4. Mr. X
    Posted September 21, 2011 at 8:05 am | Permalink

    No discussion of how gay men have served with distinction is complete without a mention of Alan Turning, who, by breaking Nazi codes, helped the Allied forces to win WWII. The way he was treated by the English government, due to his homosexuality, was disgraceful. There should be statues of him.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1212703/Gordon-Brown-apologises-gay-WW2-code-breaker-Alan-Turing-appalling-persecution.html

  5. Posted September 21, 2011 at 9:35 am | Permalink

    DADT from the start was disgraceful. Good riddance.

  6. Tony Buttons
    Posted September 21, 2011 at 9:40 am | Permalink

    Just wait till the Taliban gets a load of our lube gun.

    And the disco ray is going to be amazing.

    Before we’re done, the whole middle east will be on roller skates.

  7. West Cross
    Posted September 21, 2011 at 10:40 am | Permalink

    That statue is lieterally across the street from my house. I have looked at it nearly every day for 6 years, always wondering which obscure battle it commemorated but never bothering to walk across the street to read the plaque.

    Now I don’t have to. Mr. Maynard, I am in your debt.

  8. Eel
    Posted September 21, 2011 at 2:30 pm | Permalink

    REM was so angry about Don’s Ask Don’t Tell ending that they broke up last night.

  9. TeacherPatti
    Posted September 21, 2011 at 3:26 pm | Permalink

    Lookit that jaunty cap! I love this statue now.

  10. Meta
    Posted September 21, 2011 at 3:48 pm | Permalink

    From FOX News:

    Other groups remained opposed to the repeal. The Center for Military Readiness issued a statement saying the repeal was “not a legitimate victory for anyone.”

    “It is being imposed on the armed forces to deliver on President Barack Obama’s political promises to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) activist groups,” the statement said.

    Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/20/advocates-dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal-push-next-to-correct-record-on-discharges/#ixzz1YcdObl6n

  11. Redleg
    Posted September 21, 2011 at 8:14 pm | Permalink

    I first learned that our statue wasn’t unique when I saw his “brother” standing guard over Forsythe park in Savannah, GA….

  12. Edward
    Posted September 23, 2011 at 9:04 am | Permalink

    Did you hear the booing at the Republican debate last night after the gay soldier in Iraq asked his question?

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/22/republican-debate-dadt-repeal-rick-santorum_n_977105.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

  13. TaterSalad
    Posted September 24, 2011 at 10:59 am | Permalink

    Next time some leftist *ssh*le starts telling you about how ‘gay’ the queer lifestyle is, tell them this (from below)…” 43% admit to 500 or more partners in a lifetime, 28% admit to 1000 or more in a lifetime, and of these people, 79% say that half of those partners are total strangers, and 70% of those sexual contacts are one night stands (or, as one homosexual admits in the film “The Castro”, one minute stands). Can you spell DEPRAVITY?

    Everyone Should Know
    These Statistics on Homosexuals
    http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/a02rStatistcs.html
    Frank Joseph, M.D.

    What is being pawned off on our children and grandchildren in public schools is the story that to be homosexual or lesbian is just another normal alternative lifestyle.

    Any of you, who have children in public schools, it would behoove you to print out the following and mail it to the principal of your child’s school, with a little note stating:

    I don’t know if the students at (name of school) are being indoctrinated that homosexuality is just another normal alternative lifestyle. If you have been, then you should print out the following and have it passed out to your students, as the truth must be told in order to preserve their health and avoid cutting off about 15-20 years of their life span.

    If the authorities give you a hard time, I would take my child out of that school and put him/her in a private school, and if you cannot afford it, I would homeschool him/her. And you can tell that to the principal.

    Or, you can wait until one day, your child comes home and says, “Mom, I think I’m homosexual.”

    I just heard that in the Los Angeles school district that the enrollments are considerably down (20-30,000) and has caused much grief to the school hierarchy, as the amount of money received is based on the number of students. Probably because more parents are homeschooling.

    The statistics on homosexuality and its effects
    Some statistics about the homosexual lifestyle:
    One study reports 70% of homosexuals admitting to having sex only one time with over 50% of their partners (3).
    One study reports that the average homosexual has between 20 and 106 partners per year (6). The average heterosexual has 8 partners in a lifetime.
    Many homosexual sexual encounters occur while drunk, high on drugs, or in an orgy setting (7).
    Many homosexuals don’t pay heed to warnings of their lifestyles: “Knowledge of health guidelines was quite high, but this knowledge had no relation to sexual behavior” (16).
    Homosexuals got homosexuality removed from the list of mental illnesses in the early 70s by storming the annual American Psychiatric Association (APA) conference on successive years. “Guerrilla theater tactics and more straight-forward shouting matches characterized their presence” (2). Since homosexuality has been removed from the APA list of mental illnesses, so has pedophilia (except when the adult feels “subjective distress”) (27).
    Homosexuals account for 3-4% of all gonorrhea cases, 60% of all syphilis cases, and 17% of all hospital admissions (other than for STDs) in the United States (5). They make up only 1-2% of the population.
    Homosexuals live unhealthy lifestyles, and have historically accounted for the bulk of syphilis, gonorrhea, Hepatitis B, the “gay bowel syndrome” (which attacks the intestinal tract), tuberculosis and cytomegalovirus (27).
    73% of psychiatrists say homosexuals are less happy than the average person, and of those psychiatrists, 70% say that the unhappiness is NOT due to social stigmatization (13).
    25-33% of homosexuals and lesbians are alcoholics (11).
    Of homosexuals questioned in one study reports that 43% admit to 500 or more partners in a lifetime, 28% admit to 1000 or more in a lifetime, and of these people, 79% say that half of those partners are total strangers, and 70% of those sexual contacts are one night stands (or, as one homosexual admits in the film “The Castro”, one minute stands) (3). Also, it is a favorite past-time of many homosexuals to go to “cruisy areas” and have anonymous sex.
    78% of homosexuals are affected by STDs (20).
    Judge John Martaugh, chief magistrate of the New York City Criminal Court has said, “Homosexuals account for half the murders in large cities” (10).
    Captain William Riddle of the Los Angeles Police says, “30,000 sexually abused children in Los Angeles were victims of homosexuals” (10).
    50% of suicides can be attributed to homosexuals (10).
    Dr. Daniel Capron, a practicing psychiatrist, says, “Homosexuality by definition is not healthy and wholesome. The homosexual person, at best, will be unhappier and more unfulfilled than the sexually normal person” (10). For other psychiatrists who believe that homosexuality is wrong, please see National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality.
    It takes approximately $300,000 to take care of each AIDS victim, so thanks to the promiscuous lifestyle of homosexuals, medical insurance rates have been skyrocketing for all of us(10).

    Close-up of one of the New York “Gay Parades”
    Homosexuals were responsible for spreading AIDS in the United States, and then raised up violent groups like Act Up and Ground Zero to complain about it. Even today, homosexuals account for well over 50% of the AIDS cases in the United States, which is quite a large number considering that they account for only 1-2% of the population.
    Homosexuals account for a disproportionate number of hepatitis cases: 70-80% in San Francisco, 29% in Denver, 66% in New York City, 56% in Toronto, 42% in Montreal, and 26% in Melbourne (8).
    37% of homosexuals engage in sadomasochism, which accounts for many accidental deaths. In San Francisco, classes were held to teach homosexuals how to not kill their partners during sadomasochism (8).
    41% of homosexuals say they have had sex with strangers in public restrooms, 60% say they have had sex with strangers in bathhouses, and 64% of these encounters have involved the use of illegal drugs (8).
    Depending on the city, 39-59% of homosexuals are infected with intestinal parasites like worms, flukes and amoebae, which is common in filthy third world countries (8).
    The median age of death of homosexuals is 42 (only 9% live past age 65). This drops to 39 if the cause of death is AIDS. The median age of death of a married heterosexual man is 75 (8).
    The median age of death of lesbians is 45 (only 24% live past age 65). The median age of death of a married heterosexual woman is 79 (8).
    Homosexuals are 100 times more likely to be murdered (usually by another homosexual) than the average person, 25 times more likely to commit suicide, and 19 times more likely to die in a traffic accident (8).
    21% of lesbians die of murder, suicide or traffic accident, which is at a rate of 534 times higher than the number of white heterosexual females aged 25-44 who die of these things(8).
    50% of the calls to a hotline to report “queer bashing” involved domestic violence (i.e., homosexuals beating up other homosexuals) (18).
    About 50% of the women on death row are lesbians (12). Homosexuals prey on children.
    33% of homosexuals ADMIT to minor/adult sex (7).
    There is a notable homosexual group, consisting of thousands of members, known as the North American Man and Boy Love Association ( NAMBLA). This is a child molesting homosexual group whose cry is “SEX BEFORE 8 BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.” This group can be seen marching in most major homosexual parades across the United States.
    Homosexuals commit more than 33% of all reported child molestations in the United States, which, assuming homosexuals make up 2% of the population, means that 1 in 20 homosexuals is a child molestor, while 1 in 490 heterosexuals is a child molestor (19).
    73% of all homosexuals have had sex with boys under 19 years of age (9).
    Many homosexuals admit that they are pedophiles: “The love between men and boys is at the foundation of homosexuality” (22).
    Because homosexuals can’t reproduce naturally, they resort to recruiting children. Homosexuals can be heard chanting “TEN PERCENT IS NOT ENOUGH, RECRUIT, RECRUIT, RECRUIT” in their homosexual parades. A group called the “Lesbian Avengers” prides itself on trying to recruit young girls. They print “WE RECRUIT” on their literature. Some other homosexuals aren’t as overt about this, but rather try to infiltrate society and get into positions where they will have access to the malleable minds of young children (e.g., the clergy, teachers, Boy Scout leaders, etc.) (8). See the DC Lesbian Avengers web page, and DC Lesbian Avengers Press Release, where they threaten to recruit little boys and girls. Also, see AFA Action Alert.
    The homosexual agenda

    The homosexual agenda includes desensitizing the public: “The first order of business is desensitization of the American public concerning gays and gay rights…..To desensitize the public is to help it view homosexuality with indifference instead of with keen emotion. Ideally, we would have straights register differences in sexual preferences the way they register different tastes for ice cream or sports games….At least in the beginning, we are seeking public desensitization and nothing more. We do not need and cannot expect a full ‘appreciation’ or ‘understanding’ of homosexuality from the average American. You can forget about trying to persuade the masses that homosexuality is a good thing. But if only you can get them to think that it is just another thing…then your battle for legal and social rights is virtually won” (25).
    Part of the homosexual agenda is to get the public to affirm their filthy lifestyle, as one homosexual admitted in the October 1987 homosexual rally on Washington: “We are no longer seeking just a right to privacy and a protection from wrong. We also have a right — as heterosexual Americans already have — to see government and society affirm our lives” (27).
    Part of the homosexual agenda is to turn people from Christianity: “The teaching that only male-female sexual activity within the bounds and constraints of marriage is the only acceptable form should be reason enough for any homosexual to denounce the Christian religion” (1).
    Homosexuals knowingly lied (and still lie) about the 10% figure (i.e., homosexuals make up 10% of the population). As Tom Stoddard (formerly of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund) said, “We used that figure when most gay people were entirely hidden to try to create an impression of our numerousness” (17).
    The true number of homosexuals

    The Kinsey study of 1948, which homosexuals often cite to say that 10% of the population is homosexual, actually says that only 4% of the population isexclusively homosexual. This study involved a disproportionate number of people who had been in jail for sex crimes (hardly a random sample of the population). Kinsey also did perverse studies involving young boys and pedophiles.

    “Gays” at a public manifestation in New York
    Current research shows that the true percentage of homosexuals is in the 1-2% range. Consider how small this number is when compared to most of the numbers above.
    Homosexuals aren’t discriminated against in employment, so why should they be a protected class?
    The average yearly income of a homosexual is $55,430.00 (most of which is disposable because no children to take care of!). The average of the general population is $32,144.00. The average of blacks is $12,166.00 (24).
    59.6% of homosexuals are college graduates. 18.0% of the general population are college graduates (24). Too bad they aren’t smart enough to listen to God. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22).
    49.0% of homosexuals hold professional/managerial positions. 15.9% of the general population hold such positions (24).
    Where’s the job discrimination?

  14. James Joseph Smith
    Posted September 24, 2011 at 6:10 pm | Permalink

    I know a lot of gay people. They may or may not have a lot of sex, but I bet they weren’t as hard as you were when you were watching the brains of Vietnamese people splatter in the air.

  15. Posted September 24, 2011 at 8:19 pm | Permalink

    I’m really starting to tire of your presence here, Taters.

    And, for those of you who don’t get Joseph Smith’s reference, it came out a few days ago that Taters was a machine gunner in Vietnam.

    Personally, knowing people that served in Vietnam, and in other wars, I don’t feel comfortable making comments like those made by Joseph Smith above. I do, however, find it odd that Taters, having witnessed the cruelty of war first hand could suggest that two men loving one another is the height of depravity. I’d think that he’d know better.

    But, with that said, I’d appreciate it if everyone would leave his service in Vietnam out of this. I think we’ve got plenty to criticize with his comments here without having to fall back on the “baby killer” stuff.

  16. Posted September 25, 2011 at 8:15 am | Permalink

    Given the last set of statistics in Tatarsalads homophobic tirade it is clear that homosexuals are the preferred sexual orientation for success in our “free market capitalist” society. Tatarsalads is a Great Defender of a system that systematically rewards those he most despises. His internal mental contradictions will one day cause his brain to implode. Given that medical science is not yet advanced enough to cure hatred and self=loathing, all we can do is pity Tatarsalad and offer him help when he hits bottom

  17. Lee
    Posted April 27, 2016 at 10:30 pm | Permalink

    Mark,
    If you’d ever been in the military, serving your country you wouldn’t be talking like that. Some homosexuals don’t define themselves as queer every minute of the waking day. Some of us identify ourselves as men first, what our responsibilities are etc., and lastly our sexual preference.

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