tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post8656681861634326048..comments2024-03-23T19:16:01.555-07:00Comments on Can it happen here?: Gays gone to soldierjaninsanfranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-15036571877264599742007-03-04T12:16:00.000-08:002007-03-04T12:16:00.000-08:00Enjoyed how you weave several things here - I like...Enjoyed how you weave several things here - I like 'messy' stories myself.<BR/><BR/><I>60 years ago when the GI bill meant something</I><BR/><BR/>which also accounted for other good stuff unrelated to upward mobility, like the influx of students at the SF Art Institute after the war . . .<BR/><BR/>unfortunately, mikeis probably right that mercenary work is the only upwardly mobile option left for them nowArcturushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07060173224625105511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-4776585951927439162007-03-01T18:50:00.000-08:002007-03-01T18:50:00.000-08:00I didn't care for Randy, partly because of his pub...I didn't care for Randy, partly because of his public sanctimoniousness about gay male promiscuity while privately he was indulging in same.<BR/><BR/>And as far as upward mobility, who knows? Maybe the new career path paradigm is lowly-paid soldier-for-hire for the United States graduating to highly-paid soldier-for-hire by Halliburton et al. Depressing but possibly true.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-54776778917013112952007-03-01T15:31:00.000-08:002007-03-01T15:31:00.000-08:00I was rather fond of Randy, but in this he was cri...I was rather fond of Randy, but in this he was cribbing from a not-very bright lesbian journalist and so the story started. The book however documents a lot of stuff we aren't supposed to know or remember so I'm sorry it seems to be out of print.<BR/><BR/>Yes -- the military has been an escape hatch for lots of gay kids who figured out the awful truth later -- sort of like some religious vocations. :-) Wish it did as good a job today of creating upper mobility opportunities as it did 60 years ago when the GI bill meant something.janinsanfranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-55557623768416354492007-03-01T09:22:00.000-08:002007-03-01T09:22:00.000-08:00You certainly do get around. I love the bumper-sti...You certainly do get around. I love the bumper-sticker phrase "Homosexual not Homicidal." And Randy Shilts never did get anything right, from his stupid Patient Zero fantasy to the story about you. Oh, well.<BR/><BR/>I also share your ambivalence about military inclusion being a "first tier" gay issue, but it is important, just on a class basis. The military is still the only way some poor young people can get out of their small towns, and enlisting in what amounts to a single-sex institution tends to attract quite a few "questioning" young characters. When they do figure it out, they shouldn't be penalized in their careers.<BR/><BR/>Having said that, I personally have always felt happy that I didn't have to get married or join the military because there was a readymade excuse. I'm a homo.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.com