From the "tax dollars at work" files:
Corey Andrew of New Jersey posted his resume at CareerBuilder.com, like many of us have done from time to time. One of the responses he received was from a U.S. Army recruiter.
Andrew wasn't interested in joining the Army. But, instead of ignoring the overture, he responded by asking the recruiter, Sgt. Marcia Ramode, if he was eligible to serve, since he was a gay man.
I'm glad that he decided to go there, because the ensuing exchange sheds some light on a serious problem. (And this comes so soon after General Peter Pace's homophobic comments. Coincidence?)
In any case, click here for a very good blog post that goes into some granular detail about this. And be outraged. Sgt. Ramode wrote and sent these e-mails using her official Army e-mail address.
According to an article about the case in The Jersey Journal, "If an applicant makes a statement that he or she is homosexual, the recruiter must inform the applicant in a professional manner that they are not eligible for enlistment."
Key words: "in a professional manner". Does anyone believe that Ramode's tirades were communicated "in a professional manner"? (If so, click here and then guess again.)
And, since one of my best friends is married to a Native American, one thing in particular struck me upon reading Ramode's e-mails: She identifies herself as a Native American even as she insults Andrew for being gay. Actually (as I understand it), in Native American culture gays and lesbians are held in high esteem. It is believed that they embody both male and female spirits, and that's a really cool and venerable thing in their culture (and understandably so).
Sgt. Ramone appears to have some very deep and very serious issues to deal with. I hope she will get some help and eventually find peace.
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