Korean Job Discussion Forums

[moosehead]

in today's K Times:

<<<< Gays in Military

By Lee Joon-jong

When I visited my cousin the other day, he told me about how he was sexually harassed by his superior while he was in the military.

At the end of my cousin�s military service, he filed a lawsuit against the superior. The superior was fined and put behind bars. However, my cousin has to live with the haunted memories.

My cousin�s story was enough to make me feel reluctant to enter the military. Also, it made me seriously think about banning gays in the military.

These days, people have become more tolerant about homosexuals and transsexuals as the media glamorizes them as something new, exotic, and even comical.

The movie ``Love & Trouble�� portrays a woman falling in love with someone she thought was gay while at the same time she also consults with her roommate, who is also a homosexual, about her love life.

Even in Korea, TV shows frequently cover the marriage of Ha Ri-su, a Korean entertainer who is a transsexual. Everyone praises her for her boldness and courage.

I am not bothered by the praises for gay rights in Korean society, but when it comes to the military and national security, this should not be tolerated.

First of all, gays in the military will lessen the effectiveness of the military. Although some gays may be very talented, the more people who demonstrate or engage in homosexual conduct, the more it will seriously impair the accomplishment of military missions.

Specifically, while there are gays in the military, it will harm the mutual trust and discipline that are one of the prerequisites of the military.

When heterosexuals learn the presence of homosexuals in the same military base, it will result in the increase of homophobia and mistrust among the comrades. And this lack of credibility and teamwork will surely be detrimental during times of war.

The military is a place where every soldier should be on alert at most times and must live in a restricted area with other people with minimum privacy. This includes training together but also eating, sleeping and even showering together.

Due to this, the military must try to exclude barriers such as sexual interests that might distract the comrades� concentration during their service. This is probably why men and women soldiers don�t share a room in the military.

With this in mind, it makes no sense to have homosexuals along with heterosexuals when homosexuals clearly have a sexual interest in the other.

Also, it would be more catastrophic if the superior was a homosexual where they can abuse their authority like in my cousin�s case.

For instance, it would be impossible for a surgeon to be at the operating table if they are afraid of blood. This is because the nature of the operating table does not go along with the nature of that person.

Similarly, homosexuals should not be allowed in the military because the nature of the military is against the nature of homosexuals.

Banning gays in the military should not be considered as discrimination or a prejudice against them, but a way for making the military as efficient as possible.

Once again, I have no personal prejudice to homosexuals revealing themselves in society but the military should be an exception. It is because the military deals with national security and safety that concerns everyone in the country including you and me.

I hope the issue about banning gays in the military will be dealt with seriously and precautions should be taken so that victims like my cousin will never come about again.

The writer is a student at Gwacheon Foreign Language High School. >>>>

[moosehead]

i think what bothers me the most about this is the fact the writer is a high school student and it's so apparent he's been brainwashed into believing such nonsense about people.

if it'd been from an adult, an older person, i think i'd have just blown it off and said, well, the next generation will know better.

this sort of makes me think about the young boys who were a kind of "ss for hitler" in germany during wwII

it's really scary stuff; the rest of the world is trying to make headway with human rights and this place seems to be going backwards sometimes.

moosehead

[Masta_Don]

Nope never heard of this in the US military. Not at all, not "Don't ask, don't tell" either.

[RACETRAITOR]

I bet the writer is afraid to go to the military, and he's strongly considering between acting gay or getting a full body tattoo.

[moosehead]

[Alyallen]

[swetepete]

Gay folks aren't good soldiers? Absurd.

Remember the Spartans?Those dudes were all manlove, all the time.

Remember the British Navy? They didn't just kick ass like crazy.

Remember 'Top Gun?' Three-dollar-bills, all, and a damn fine fighting force.

Remember Julius Caesar? His boys called him 'the Old Goat,' and it wasn't because he ate anything.

[gmat]

Servicing superiors is common in the Korean military, sexual orientation has little to do with that practice. The writer of the article is going to be in for an unpleasant surprise during his 2 years of "service".

[uberscheisse]

[hellofaniceguy]

Me to! I love my country, but it's the elected officials who are running the government that I have a problem with.
And no one is to blame except us...the voters.

[riley]

Did you guys see who wrote it? A high schooler. Oh my god, a homophobic high school student, wait, let me throw a rock at a crowd of boys and see if I can hit a homophobe. Yep, got one.

No matter what country, at that age, of course he's going to be a homophobe of some sort. I'm not approving of it but I'm not surprised by it as much.

When guys were spouting off in high school about how bad gays were, do you think I wanted to say, "hey guys, let's not say hate speech." Hell no, I wanted to not get my ass kicked and labeled as a coksucker.

I just hope that as he grows up, he starts meeting more people and learning about the world.

I don't know about you, but some of the crap I said at that age embarrasses the hell out of me, but it embarrasses me because I grew up and learned.

Hopefully he will too.

[swetepete]

[Gemfinder]

High schooler. Somebody is going to be cashing a really painful reality check in the next few years.

[Bramble]

[articulate_ink]