Straight guy saying hello

[daitken]

I just thought I would say G'day. I joined this site because I am straight. WHY? I hear you say. I am straight and proud of it. You are Gay and Lesbian and proud of it. You don't need my approval. You don't need my support. But I do offer my friendship if you are willing to accept it and I do offer my support if you need a helping hand.

After spending 20 years in the Army and being told that being Gay was unnatural, evil and the lowest of low things that a person could be, I have now, after leaving the army finally worked out that they were always wrong. Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Black, White or Yellow. I don't give a damn anymore and the more people who had to strength to say it the better our world would be.

So please - I hope there are other straight members on this site and I sincerely hope you all are happy for me to be here.

If you have any problems with me being a member of your site then please share them with me. If too many people are offended then I will happily leave.

[blaah]

I just thought I would say G'day. I joined this site because I am straight. WHY? I hear you say. I am straight and proud of it. You are Gay and Lesbian and proud of it. You don't need my approval. You don't need my support. But I do offer my friendship if you are willing to accept it and I do offer my support if you need a helping hand.

After spending 20 years in the Army and being told that being Gay was unnatural, evil and the lowest of low things that a person could be, I have now, after leaving the army finally worked out that they were always wrong. Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Black, White or Yellow. I don't give a damn anymore and the more people who had to strength to say it the better our world would be.

So please - I hope there are other straight members on this site and I sincerely hope you all are happy for me to be here.

If you have any problems with me being a member of your site then please share them with me. If too many people are offended then I will happily leave.

Welcome!
I'm a bit stunned by what you said you were told in the army about Gay people. I thought the army accepted Gays and had anti-discrimination policies. What's going on here?

[daitken]

You are right, the "Army" as a whole does accept Gays and the "Army" does have a very strong anti-discrimination policy. But, unfortunately, there are still soldiers in the forces who are homophobic. Many many long time serving soldiers are still stuck in the old ways. When I first joined the Army in 83 it was illegal to be a soldier and also to be Gay. We were told all the time that, when the shit hit the fan, we could not trust the soldier next to us if he was checking out our arse instead of checking out the Enemy.

Yea, I know it is bullshit now but that was the way it used to be. Homophobia was massive in the Army and, to some extent, it still does exist. I don't think it will ever disappear, well at least not for a few years yet. I was trained by soldiers who served time in Vietnam so for them they had been living with this attitude for many years. They taught me to hate gays and, I am sorry to say, I passed it on to the guys I trained. I will admit, I was a homophobic and even now sometimes the little devil pops back into my brain. I don't like thinking about the way I was and I don't like the intolerant person that I became. I am only being honest and I am sorry if you are offended. However, unlike many other people, I am trying to change and am willing to learn. I now have quite a few aquaintances that are openly Gay and, finally, I have worked out that they are just like me and I had no reason to fear, despise and hate a person just because of their sexuality.

Thats a very long answer to your question but I have a lot of bad feelings about this subject that I am now trying to confront and work out. For a man who has been homophobic for most of his adult life it is very painful to suddenly realise that I was wrong.

[blaah]

You are right, the "Army" as a whole does accept Gays and the "Army" does have a very strong anti-discrimination policy. But, unfortunately, there are still soldiers in the forces who are homophobic. Many many long time serving soldiers are still stuck in the old ways. When I first joined the Army in 83 it was illegal to be a soldier and also to be Gay. We were told all the time that, when the shit hit the fan, we could not trust the soldier next to us if he was checking out our arse instead of checking out the Enemy.

Yea, I know it is bullshit now but that was the way it used to be. Homophobia was massive in the Army and, to some extent, it still does exist. I don't think it will ever disappear, well at least not for a few years yet. I was trained by soldiers who served time in Vietnam so for them they had been living with this attitude for many years. They taught me to hate gays and, I am sorry to say, I passed it on to the guys I trained. I will admit, I was a homophobic and even now sometimes the little devil pops back into my brain. I don't like thinking about the way I was and I don't like the intolerant person that I became. I am only being honest and I am sorry if you are offended. However, unlike many other people, I am trying to change and am willing to learn. I now have quite a few aquaintances that are openly Gay and, finally, I have worked out that they are just like me and I had no reason to fear, despise and hate a person just because of their sexuality.

Thats a very long answer to your question but I have a lot of bad feelings about this subject that I am now trying to confront and work out. For a man who has been homophobic for most of his adult life it is very painful to suddenly realise that I was wrong.

Far from being offended, I'm impressed that your've taken the trouble to evaluate your views later in life. Most people continue being what they were when they were younger, only more so.