Air Force perpetuates stereotypes

| August 10, 2013

Fox News reports that, for some reason, the command at Los Angeles Air Force Base thought that a “drag queen” show was a good idea;

Jewels and the Brunchettes performed to a small crowd at the Los Angeles Air Force Base on Aug. 8, the military confirmed.

The Air Force said in a statement to Fox News that “Diversity Day” featured eight cultural groups and was meant to “foster equality and diversity in the workplace.”

[…]

“Drag acts to this day represent the struggle for freedom and equality of the LGBT community, while at the same time providing a deep-rooted historical form of entertainment for the LGBT culture,” said Peggy Hodge, a spokesperson for the Office of Public Affairs.

The military said the drag queen group did not include any members of the Air Force.

“Drag queen acts are historically one of the main forms of entertainment in the LGBT culture, having its roots in the earliest of days of the gay rights movement,” Hodge said in a written statement.

Aside from the stereotype that the other military services in the good-nature ribbing of members of the Air Force, I’d have to say that the Air Force claiming that drag queen shows are a “main form of entertainment in the Gay culture” is like saying that black-face minstrel shows are the main form of entertainment in black communities. I think the Air Force is trying too hard to tell us that they have a gay friend and know what they like.

Anyway, it seems that not everyone was amused;

One airman, who asked not to be identified, told Fox News he was offended by the performance and said it had no place on a military base.

“I am really surprised that this happened on a military installation,” the airman told Fox News. “I get that people want to be able to have committed relationships with members of the same sex, but this crossed the line.”

The airman said it was ironic that the Air Force is cracking down on Christians being able to openly share their faith but they would allow individuals to dress in drag.

“We can’t even have Bibles on our desks,” he said. “This base is not a platform for political agendas. It is a military installation. The display was totally inappropriate and offensive.”

Thanks to Preston for the link.

Category: Air Force

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Sparks

Dear Lord! This is not the Air Force I served in…thankfully. Talk about trying too hard to be politically correct. This goes way over the line. Then why not black-face minstrel shows? They out date drag queen shows if I am correct. (Except maybe in France but who cares about the French!) Why not just out and out, thong wearing gay pride parades down to the base flag for retreat? I will never understand this. An Airman can’t have a Bible on his work station but is offered this for “entertainment and awareness value”. I bet if he wanted the Koran on his desk, not a word would be said.

Eggs

All I can do is shake my head.

And buy the unidentified airman a beer.

CC Senor

“The military said the drag queen group did not include any members of the Air Force.”

Well, thank goodness, it appears the AF drew the line somewhere.

Combat Historian

Glad I finally retired from the military last year; I’m not sure I could stay even semi-sane in the wackball p.c. circus they call the U.S. Armed Forces these days…

2/17 Air Cav

It’s time to sing my song again. It has no music, just words. It goes like this: The ONLY way to fundamentally transform America without wholesale violence is by drastically and dramatically altering her traditions and institutions. This is a wonderful example of just that. I was born about 100 years too late.

James Pritchett

This ain’t the US military I served in. Crapo

OWB

Evidently it is having the desired effect because I really do want to hurl. I know that I spent most of my final two years in dealing with crap that no military member should ever need to face, but it was nothing compared with this sort of thing.

We thought having Joey Heatherton entertain at our base was great, but that was an entirely different era.

Just An Old Dog

Not quite the same but in 93′ when I was stationed in San Diego we an an All Services Accolades Ball in Downtown.
The next floor down they had some sort of drag queen convention.
It was a night of very awkward elevator rides.

UpNorth

“Drag queen acts are historically one of the main forms of entertainment in the LGBT culture, having its roots in the earliest of days of the gay rights movement,” Wait, now you tell us? I thought that Liberace and Elton John were the main entertainers for the gays and the rest of the LuGButTs.

Smitty

none of the drag queens were Air Force, they are were shipped in from the Navy.

seriously, what has happened to our military?

John

Not allowed to have a religious book on your desk? That’s not policy, so if this has happened then someone is exaggerating or the person giving the order was overstepping. There is no wholesale policy like that in any branch.

Anonymous

Ive been in the AF for 19.5 years…I’m not surprised at all, i would be surprised if it wasn’t a mandatory rent a crowd type of function.

Andy

I thought that service wide health and welfare the Air Farce did recently was supposed to solve all of their problems?

2/17 Air Cav

It’s as if the leadership of each branch istrying to out-gay one another. I’m telling you, the day is coming when the composition of each unit, right down to the squad or flight crew, will require the inclusion of at least one female, one racial or ethnic minority, and one gay, lesbian or transgender type. Those who fall short will have to come up with a three page explanation and remedial recommendations. This is institutionalized insanity and it’s being fast tracked.

NavCWORet

@10….what do you expect the Navy to do? The Marines won’t dance with us anymore.

Stacy0311

Good thing they stopped selling Playboy at the PX huh?

Devtun

About a month ago, the troops at Kandahar airfield observed 1st LGBT pride event in deployed environment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okpNrsBUHWI

LTC(ret.)Allen West’s response:
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/blog/allen-west-tears-dod-gay-pride-event-afghanistan

Airforcekj

Holy hell. If they wanted a Drag Queen show they could’ve just come to Korea and gone juicey watching one weekend.

Airforcekj

I can just imagine all this happening back in the day. Instead of the Memphis Belle we could have the Memphis Bill.

GiducksCertOfAppreciation

Next thing you know they’ll have Salsa Dancing Night in combat zones….oh, wait.

Club Manager

Where was this Public Affairs Officer when I was catching heat from the Officers’ Wives Club for having strippers in the stag bar. All I was doing was “providing a deep-rooted historical form of entertainment.”

Biermann

WTF?? That’s all I have to say about that.

USMCE8Ret

So now, MWR money is going to pay for fag shows on base and the advancement of the gay agenda within the U.S. military?

Great.

USAF_WX_E4

God dammit. I don’t know what else to say. The Force is shot to hell…

FlyBoy78

Who cares if they had a show. I’ve been to far worse down in Mexico, while stationed out that way many years ago. On another note, has anyone ever met a sane transexual person? I mean really, if I was gay, which unfortunately I’ve never had any interest in being, I would be offended that someone would want to lump me in with a bunch of nut jobs who want to have their gentials removed and switched over. That said, would they even be gay anymore? If I changed my sex, to female, I’d be a horrible lesbian…

Ex-PH2

FlyBoy78, don’t you mean ‘fortunately never had any interest’?

RedNeckerson

Sweet Jesus. I kept waiting for this to be a duffle blog story. Sadly, it is not. Please, my beloved Corps, I implore you not to attempt to out-gay the Air Force and the Army(Kandahar). I officially retired 01Apr this year. Thank God I slipped out before the bat-shit insanity broke completely loose.

Veritas Omnia Vincit

@17 I’m with West, what exactly is the mission under this administration? It sure doesn’t seem to have anything to do with implementing foreign policy or defending the nation…

USMCE8Ret

@28 – Its sorta hard to implement foreign policy or defending a nation when the president has already apologized on behalf of all Americans for simply being Americans, bowing to middle-eastern kings and pandering to the very enemy and the mind set that wants to destroy everything the Constitution stands for.

Veritas Omnia Vincit

@29 I never thought I would see a president so ineffectual he would make Carter look like a mover and shaker….

trackback

[…] “Drag queen acts are historically one of the main forms of entertainment in the LGBT culture, having its roots in the earliest of days of the gay rights movement,” Hodge said in a written statement.   [Fox News via This Ain't Hell] […]

Michael in MI

Late to this thread, but I was looking on the site for any reference to this related story I found at The GP: Airmen Relieved of His Duties for Objecting to Gay Marriage – See more at: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/08/airmen-relieved-of-his-duties-for-objecting-to-gay-marriage/#sthash.0aqIpCPI.dpuf

I notice that they address his supposed dismissal, but they do not address his statement that it is official Air Force policy to have to agree with homosexuality.

==========

A 19-year veteran of the Air Force said he was relieved of his duties after he disagreed with his openly gay commander when she wanted to severely punish an instructor who had expressed religious objections to homosexuality.

“I was relieved of my position because I don’t agree with my commander’s position on gay marriage,” Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk told Fox News. Z“We’ve been told that if you publicly say that homosexuality is wrong, you are in violation of Air Force policy.”

The Liberty Institute is representing the Christian airman in case the Pentagon decides to retaliate.

“Are we going to have a ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy for Christians so we don’t get harassed for our beliefs?” attorney Hiram Sasser asked Fox News. “Here’s a guy who wants to have his religious liberty and serve in the military. He shouldn’t have to believe in gay marriage in order to serve.”

A spokesperson for Lackland Air Force Base public affairs told Fox News Monk was not punished and that he was simply at the end of his assignment.

“They did have a disagreement, but supposedly, they agreed to disagree,” the spokesperson told Fox News. “But the wing commander said there was no punishment.

Monk has served as a first sergeant at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio since 2011. He recently returned from a deployment and discovered he had a new commander – an open lesbian.