Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, July 30, 1993 Page: 30 of 44

                                
GOSSIP
They’re called
oxymorons — figures
of speech in which
contradictory terms
are combined. I don’t
know why, but the
first example that
comes to mind is
“happily married.” Of
course, another
popular oxymoron is
“military intelligence’’ Add to that the
wisdom of the federal government and
you can come up with some interesting
policies.
How does this sound — it’s okay if
you’re left-handed, as long as you don’t
tell anybody, and as long as you don’t
act like you’re left-handed. In fact, we
won’t even ask you if you’re left-handed,
and that should make you feel as
accepted and as equal as anyone else.
There you have the wisdom of the
Pentagon, the White House and the
Congress in a nut shell. They call it
Don’t Ask — Don’t Teli, and if you don’t
mind the door nailed shut on your\
barracks closet, then you can blissfully
pretend that progress has been made at
lifting the gay ban in the military. If,
however, you live on this side of the
First Amendment and see that Don’t Ask
— Don’t Tell means still living in silence,
denial, fear and isolation you will see
that your basic human rights are being
denied. Hey, if we don’t tell no one will
know whose checking out who! Sounds
as if the gay-fearing straight soldiers are
getting the shaft, so-to-speak, from Don’t
Heda Quote
Ask — Don’t Tell, as well.So sorry!
Of course we all know it’s absurd
for the military to pretend there are no
gays in the services. Gays have served
honorably and capably in many armies
throughout history. All Don’t Ask —
Don’t Tell is doing is coaxing the
general masses into thinking they’re
doing the right thing, so they can
pretend they don’t discriminate — but
without forcing them to actually accept
us. We know that the Don’t Ask —
Don’t Tell "closet” works against public
acceptance and self-acceptance as well.
Granted, I am not headed for the
Army recruiting office, but I can still fell
cheated by this watered-down approach
to lifting the ban on gays in the military.
Of course, gays that wish to enlist or
that are already serving must continue to
keep their dissatisfaction with this denial
of basic rights quiet. In fact, I can see
several things they might have to do to
protect their status in the military. “Don’t
Tell” may not cover all the bases. I guess
this means there’ll be no more blaring of
Judy Garland and show tune records in
the barracks. Gone are the fuzzy slippers
and the “Home Of The Patriot Missile”
boxer shorts. That Greg Louganis pin-up
Dallas' own Aaron Norris (center) won the title of Mr. Texas All-American last weekend at the Wave, and will now represent Texas
at the Mr. Gay All-American contest. Other top finishers included (from left) fourth runnerup Stuart Michaels, third runnerup B.J.
Williams, first runnerup Robert Garza and second runnerup David Ponton. Last year's winner David Pace (far right) was on hand
to congratulate the winners.
Rick Alford won first place in the White Rock Community Church's Gayla Follies last week, receiving a round-trip ticket to San Antonio and a night at the Saint Anthony Hotel.
Paul Williams as the Church Lady emceed the event.
DALLAS VOICE
JULY 30, 1993