Thanks, Andy!

Andrew Sullivan encounters hatred on a military related on-line bulletin board.

I'm inclined to agree with this missive from a former Special Forces major:

"...what you saw on socnet is by no means a representation of the Special Operations community. It is, nevertheless, an embarrassment.

By and large, the individuals who post to boards like that are the most juvenile examples of our breed, if they are even in the community. Most real special operators are far too busy at the moment to waste time posting hateful nonsense on a bulletin board for all to see.

<...>

The overwhelming majority of my comrades in Special Operations were, and are, far more tolerant than most people you are likely to meet in middle America. And they are not so uncertain about their sexuality that they need to attack others for theirs. Not exactly the sort of clown who posts homophobic messages to a site like that."

Amen.

And you can replace "Special Operations" with "military" and it's still a valid point. For those few folks out there who still believe all military folks are mindless automatons who all think alike about all issues, run one lap around the MilBlogs ring and report back here.

The community in and around any US military installation is the best example of a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-generational, multi-belief community you will ever see anywhere. An example: I usually can't tell with any degree of certainty the race/ ethnicity of any of my kids' friends, should I ever even ponder such an issue, as very few have both parents from the same continent! I've worked for (and currently have working for me) representatives of many races and have never noted any disparity of performance or ability (which is my sole basis of prejudice against anyone) among them.

Given that environment one would be correct to anticipate a wide variety of political, religious, and social views. That exists! I've seen lively debate on such issues in offices and off duty among peers (between different ranks would be wrong) - usually respectfully and followed by lunch or drinks after work. The US military, more then any other example anywhere in the world, is the definitive example of folks from different backgrounds working together successfully to common goals. (In that regards I suppose "Star Trek" actually depicts an existing aspect of military lifestyle; perhaps explaining the shows popularity with many of the troops.)

MilBlogs was created with that in mind, to show the diversity and humanity of the folks who make up the greatest military in the history of the world.

And I, for one, am proud to have Andrew Sullivan on our side.