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Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United
Today, advocates for repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy took sharp aim at the survey the Pentagon finally made available for the troops on Wednesday. Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United said:
“It is simply impossible to imagine a survey with such derogatory and insulting wording, assumptions, and insinuations going out about any other minority group in the military.”
Many more people took issue with a wide range of the questionnaire’s language and framing. A press conference convened on Friday to address those concerns. A round-up after the fold.From MetroWeekly, Nicholoson continues:
“This expensive survey stokes the fires of homophobia by its very design and will only make the Pentagon’s responsibility to subdue homophobia as part of this inevitable policy change even harder.”
Citing this question as an example of the inherent heterosexist bias that permeates this survey:
“If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed and you are assigned to share a room, berth, or field tent with someone you believe to be a gay or lesbian Service member, which are you most likely to do?” (plus three additional similar questions)
Nicholson responses:
The real atrocity in these questions, which are some of the worse in the entire survey, lies in the answer choices, especially “Discuss how we expect each other to behave and conduct ourselves while sharing a room, berth, or field tent.” The fact that this is even an answer choice legitimizes the completely irrational assumption or fear that gays and lesbians need to be “talked to” about their behavior and conduct, lest they misbehave by default. Also the suggestion that someone may need to “talk to a chaplain, mentor, or leader about how to handle the situation” is highly offensive. No survey would ever be allowed to get away with suggesting or implying such things about any other minority.
A press conference was held Friday afternoon, where Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell defended the study against the criticism saying, “This is the work of an incredibly respected, professional survey organization.” The organization in question being Westat Corporation which has been paid a reportedly $4.5 million dollars to conduct the survey on behalf of the Pentagon.
Morell singled out Salon for criticism, taking umbrage at the editorial choice of their headline:
Megan Carpenter writing for Talking Points Memo (Pentagon Survey On Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Now Available: Raises Questions About Pentagon Priorities) deftly points out that of the 103 question survey there are endless questions that work from the pretext of problems associated with repealing the policy, and assume resistance. There are, however, no questions that addressed the potential ill-effects of the policy itself. None explore what effect discrimination that targets troops for investigation and harassment might have on morale and unit cohesion.
Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morrell was confronted by Chris Geidner of MetroWeekly on that exact point:
His only response when asked by Metro Weekly why there appeared to be no questions regarding the current impact of DADT and DADT-related discharges on troops’ morale and unit cohesion was, “I don’t know. I’m sure there’s a good explanation. We’ll try to get it for you. I don’t know.”
Mike Riley writing in the Denver Post, reports active duty gay service members are skeptical about the true aim behind the survey:
“The survey is going to be turned into a weapon to show how it’s going to affect morale,” said an active-duty Air Force officer and a member of Citizens For Repeal, which represents several hundred gays and lesbians now in the ranks, many of them from the military’s elite service academies.
Riley does point out an optimistic note for LGB troops, which still underscores the folly of this $4.5 million dog and pony show:
The officer said he had already seen several chain e-mails mocking the survey’s language and questions. He also said several groups asked to provide input on the survey before it was released but were turned down.
“It’s being made fun of,” the officer said. “The reaction to the survey from the troop level is showing how out of touch leadership is from the subject.”
In a follow up report, Carpenter writes:
When quizzed about the development of the survey questions, Morrell admitted that they didn’t consult with advocacy groups about the design of the survey, leaving that to the professionals at Westat.
In truth Joint Chief Mike Mullen’s attention was drawn by Senator Claire McCaskill as far back as February about the problems incumbent on getting an LGBT perspective on this issue. From the DADT Senate hearings:
McCaskill: “Here’s my problem, we now have established we have gays and lesbian Americans serving in the military, that they are not broadly causing any broad disciplinary or moral problems, that we welcome their service.
The issue is not whether or not we have gays and lesbians serving in the military, it’s whether or not we talk about it. So, how are you going to get their input in this survey?”
Mullen: “Well, actually, I mean, my take on that is…, hang on a second… [long pause] um… It think we would have to look very carefully at how we would do that.”
It seems clear as day, if any attempt was made to engage the LGB servicmember community perspective at all, they have failed.
In fact, there exists no evidence that LGBT servicemembers community was at all consulted. Despite requests to be forwarded an advance copy of the survey, Westat and the Pentagon declined to bring the leading DADT advocacy group Servicemembers Legal Defense Network into the fold. Likewise, Citizens for Repeal reports requests to review the questionnaire in advance of its release were refused by the Pentagon.
Servicemembers United also released a statement (PDF):
Servicemembers United received several confidential reports during the drafting and revision of this survey that the survey was potentially being skewed in an unfavorable direction through flawed design. Servicemembers United raised these concerns with the Comprehensive Review Working Group on multiple occasions and repeatedly asked to view and provide feedback on the survey while it was being drafted. The opportunity to lend our extensive experience and expertise in talking about this issue with conservative audiences, including active duty troops, was denied. A request to the Comprehensive Review Working Group to view a copy of the survey question after the survey had been released was also denied.
Even the usually upbeat Human Rights Campaign, who showed such enthusiasm for the compromise and repeal process just months ago, is described as having a “tepid support” for the survey in the Washington Post:
“While surveying the troops on an issue like this is problematic from the start and the questions exhibit clear bias, the fact remains that this study exists,” said HRC spokesman Michael Cole. “We urge the department to analyze the results with an understanding of the inherent bias in the questions and use it as a tool to implement open service quickly and smoothly.”
Good faith has been extended to the Pentagon by these groups, on behalf of all LGB servicemembers. It is a shame the Pentagon is not meeting good faith with good faith.
63 Comments
Morrell is the worm with Olympian skills at turning whatever way his Masters want….
I bet THAT got him sent to the woodshed even way back then given that an anonymous “senior officer” told the Boston Globe three months before:
“… the military has been assured it will have wide latitude to undertake a detailed study of how a change in the policy would affect the military.”
UnnecessaryThis fundamentally was not a survey. It is a push poll for future political talking points that will be used to delay implementation of repeal.
SC
the spokesperson is also a bit over-sensitiveHe singles out the Salon story even though it has drawn, as of this point in time, an earth-shaking 40 comments. Of course, if the banderilla hits just the right spot, the most sensitive spot, it will sting.
The Salon story is here, BTW. And I concur with its analysis.
http://www.salon.com/news/poli…
$4.5 million to conduct a survey of 4,000 people and crunch the numbers?I’m in the wrong business.
It’s 400,000 peoplebut it’s still a shameful waste of money
I’m just glad he mentioned it by nameso everyone at the press conference, and everyone who read about the press conference would seek it out.
lolThey sent the survey through e-mail which is free. Total cost of survey..about 10 cents.
profit = $4,499,990
Crap SurveyI hope that the incoming fire to the Pentagon might be coming from more than just the gay community. That could create some difficulties for the Pentagongalists.
Well, I’m encouraged that TPM, SalonDenver Post and WaPo, reported on the story. It might make it out of the gayblogosphere.
OMG! They don’t need a sample size of 400,000 to produce reliable results! It’s a push poll.This is a push poll, pure and simple. The Pentagon hired some hack contractor to do what they were told to do, which was to put together a bunch of bigoted questions playing up standard homophobic slurs (Showers! Think of the children at family events! Chaplain!) and then shove them out to a large number of service members, while making it clear that gay and lesbian service members are not allowed to respond.
I called it obscene yesterday and I’ll say it again. This is obscene.
oh, but they were paid to ask smart questionz!!Dear soldiers,
We are conducting this survey because we always ask your opinions before we send you into battle. Really! And these questions are designed to address your concerns!
1. If a gay homosexual lesbian is in the open-bay shower with you and is examining your M1A1 shortarm, you should
- say no
- consult a chaplain
- tell that chaplain, no, you were not now, and never were an altar boy
- do Donald Duck impressions
2. If you’re marching in platoon formation and your drill sergeant tells your platoon, some of whom are or may be homosexual lesbian gay Transylvanians, you should all sing
- Who Put The Bop in the Bop She Bop She Bop
- Who Wrote the Book of Love
- Clang, Clang, Clang Went the Trolley
- From the Halls of Montezuma
3. If you’re lying wounded on the Afghanistan plain, and the women of the village come out to cut up what remains, you should
- quote Rudyard Kipling
- tell the gay homosexual mincing medic who is trying to stop your bleeding to bugger off
- say three Hail Marys and a oh damn
- call in an airstrike and level the province
I expect $4.5 million by return of post, Pentagon. I don’t provide surveys for free.
I know!!!!I didn’t say that in this post, but I thought someone should look at their methodology. The same thing struck me. They don’t poll 400K people in national Presidential elections. What’s up with that?!?
Oddly, it appears Westat are not hacks. Or at least, they are a major, major firm that has done many big jobs. This is clearly very, very shoddy work from A-Z. But they seem too big and serious to not have known better.
To be fairWestat did write 100 more questions than you. The first 50 nonsense are easy. You run out of absurdities after awhile.
preciselyI would have had problems generating that many absurdities, so maybe they earned the taxpayers’ money. It’s hard work, and that’s why Mr. Morrell is the spokesmonster for the Pentagon and I’m not.
It takes a lot of creativityto make up that much nonsense.
RidiculousImagine this question appearing on the questionnaire -
If you were forced to bunk with a Jewish soldier, you would:
a. Hide your wallet
b. Sleep with a crucifix
c. Tell him to stop whining
d. Silently suffer his dirty underhanded Jew ways
This questionnaire is no different. Sharing a tent? A shower? Giving gays a “talking to”?
Lets reverse the questions. Do gays feel comfortable with heterosexuals sharing on base housing? Will gays be disgusted by the blatant display of heterosexual sexuality? Will hetro’s need a “talking to” so they keep their revolting breeder habits behind closed doors?
Enough of this crap. Repeal DADT.
you really have to dividetheir questions up by three though. Because, they asked the same questions three ways. Once for your peer, your underling and your commander.
you really have to dividetheir questions up by three though. Because, they asked the same questions three ways. Once for your peer, your underling and your commander.
that kind of dependson just what the Pentagon asked them to do and what they wanted to be able to do with the results…. Westat may have given them EXACTLY what they wanted.
that can be solved in one question …… which they already sort of asked in this survey.
226. Would you be uncomfortable if:
- your superior, who might send you to death and glory, is a fairy?
- you had a lot of fairies under you and you were superior?
- you had peers who were gay, lesbian, homosexual, or Transylvanian who were showering in the next open bay?
- if you had to define “underling” in a Freudian way?
Blame ObamaYou’re right.
And let us not be naive here. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT RAHM EMANUEL, DAVID AXELROD, AND BARACK OBAMA WANT. They want DADT repeal killed before the 2012 re-election, but they want to make it look like they weren’t responsible.
The time is rapidly approaching for us as a community to decide that, even at the risk of a GOP president for a term, WE WILL NOT BE TREATED LIKE A PILE OF SHIT BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ANYMORE!
No money, no support, no work, and no votes. And if that causes straight Dems to suffer, TOO DAMN BAD. We do not exist to ensure that their de-gayed agenda gets enacted.
This Craphas BARACK OBAMA’S face on it. Never forget that. Don’t be misled by claims that the Commander in Chief’s subordinates are out of control. They are doing exactly what he has directed them to do: sabotage DADT repeal.
And what their Commander in Chief wantedThis White House is eaten up with political homophobia. Don’t assume the Pentagon has gone rogue. This is exactly what Obama’s political team wants.
Yes!And besides, one term of tea-baggers in charge would forever kill any broad support for a biblical Amerika forever
Semper FiThis shared with Westat
You are complicit in the creation of a poll that may very well result in the undermining of the selfless service of tens of thousands of American citizens. It’s at this point that a few questions occur to me . . .
Do you people have any fucking clue what it is like to risk your life in the defense of this nation? Do you have any concept of what it means to sacrifice and risk it all for a country that despises who and what you are? They who serve, love this nation so much that they are willing to risk everything silently and alone to participate in defending it. They are the best and the brightest and you are working dilligently to dishonor their service and for some . . . you are dishonoring their memories – you should be goddamned ashamed of yourselves. You are doing exactly what those miserable bigoted bastards want you to do . . . what they paid you to do.
What courage do you display? What valor are you called upon for? What sacrifice are you prepared to make?
Yeah, that’s what I thought . . .
Force FactorHey it’s really very sad, but thanks for sharing this info, and i always got some spacial and hot news in this site, that’s why i like this site so much.
Force Factor
Morrell doesn’t knowSo the guy who speaks for the Pentagon doesn’t know why no questions on the adverse effects of DADT itself were included in the survey. Gee, if you were spokesperson for an institution that is allegedly committed to repealing DADT, wouldn’t you maybe want to gather some evidence about how the policy isn’t such a good idea? At the very least, couldn’t you at least have foreseen that if you didn’t include any such questions in your survey, some reporter might ask you why you hadn’t? Could you really be that unprepared?
I guess you might be if your intent was really just to build a case for why we can’t repeal DADT right now. You might just ask completely one-sided questions in your survey and then act all tongue-tied when someone called you on it. But of course, I’m just being cynical.
BTW, this is totally improper and OT, but I think Alexander Nicholson is a total babe. (Yeah, yeah. I know it’s a shallow comment. So sue me.)
A reason we’re not seeing?There’s always the possibility that there’s an underlying and unspoken reason for how the survey’s worded.
We all know that the word ‘homosexual’ polls lower than either ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’ — but the people in the Pentagon don’t. They’d have no reason to. So let’s say DADT is repealed and they put out a handbook on how the military should work and play nice with ‘homosexuals’ instead of with ‘gays and lesbians’. In coming up with their implementation policy they need to see first hand how they’d be undermining their own intentions simply by using the wrong word.
By asking the questions in the way they are, it seems to me that they’re trying to figure out what areas they need to work on to dispel stereotypes and how to handle those idiots who think it’s truly alright to have a discussion about etiquette in the shower.
I think the purpose of the study remains as it was originally stated: To determine how best to implement the repeal of DADT and how not to do it.
And I’m truly a Pollyanna.
“How’s it gonna make you feel if you have to be in a foxhole with a nigger?” was a question once asked of service members by Army Commanders; a fact conveyed to me by my grandfather.
There was no survey of White personnel in reference to allowing Blacks into the military.
So based upon that fact, and the Federal Court ruling on Thursday determining once again that Gays are indeed a Suspect Class, one would have to conclude that the very act of conducting a “Gay Survey” by the Federal Government is in violation of the equal protection principles in the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Judge Tauro wrote “[T]he Constitution ‘neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.’”83
It behooves me that this survey collects data, or rather opinion based upon emotion and individual values, as to the inclusion of a particular Class of people, instead of gathering real data respective to the Actual Performance of that said Class (which currently serves in the Military).
Is this a rational approach to the defense of our nation?
We are a Class of People being treated by the Federal Government distinctly differently and because of the irrational ideologies held within the very Department of Government in question. Why not let the Banks conduct their own surveys? etc, etc…
Just a point – he didn’t say we were a suspect classJudge Tauro kind of went out of his way to avoid declaring us a suspect class. He brought up the point only to set it aside as unnecessary because a lower level of scrutiny applied.
To my knowledge, we have yet to see any federal judge declare us a suspect class, thought Judge Walker’s Prop 8 ruling might. Again, though, he seemed to be working hard to find a reason to shoot down Prop 8 on rational basis.
The Heart of The Matter
I’ve been trying to find outbut have yet to get an answer to this….
Didn’t congress make us a suspect class by adding us to Hate Crimes legislation?
Lymis, Correct. He did not make that specific Declaration. He did however findin favor of the Plaintiff(s) whose contention (one of three) was that:
“The law should consider homosexuals, the class of persons targeted by DOMA, to be a suspect class.”
I think that he did make that determination though in an indirect manner.
It will be interesting to see which judge will finally have the courage and integrity to find, and write, that specific judgement, and when. Might it be Judge Walker?
Alex is a babe
And he has the prettiest blue eyes. And the sweetest southern boy manner. Oh, and a boyfriend too, too bad for us.
“a rational approach to the defense of our nation”Our military is run by fundamentalist Christians who think inscribing Bible verses on bullets will accomplish something. What do you expect? ”Rational” isn’t in their vocabulary. We’ve been making pointless, unjust war on third world nations for the last sixty years–and haven’t been able to defeat even one of them. Imagine how useless our Christian soldiers would be if we were actually invaded by a country with a real army. The question is: what national defense?
DADT SurveyI posted this at the Huffington Post just because I can:
General George Washington’s chief training officer, Baron Van Stuben was a flaming Gay Man at Valley Forge. If Gays were good enough for our Founding Fathers who are these pentagon pigeons trying to fool?
The Founding Fathers were terrorists to the Crown.
Hard drinking, pot smoking rebels who built a nation that’s worked until the Bush/Cheney Wrecking Crew and the Holy Republican Cults of Jesus treason…
My GayTM is closed and staying that way unless I know the politician face to face.
Thanks for all the great support Pam.
Happy anniversary here too.
There’s an article on Politicoabout how the Obama admin is going to take a hit politically because of this “survey.” http://www.politico.com/news/s… Everyone in DC (and I’d know because I live there half the year) reads Politico, so suffice it to say it’s not just the gays who are reading about this.
i, for one, would like to see these e-mails…
…leaked to the media, especially if they were e-mail threads between open-minded hetero service members.
i was appalled (but not surprised) at the framing of the questions. every single question dealt with the poor little homophobic service member’s fears. not one question about the impact of the repeal on glb service members…”do you worry about an increase upon service members who are perceived to be glb after the repeal of dadt is implemented?”
finally, the framing was all wrong from the get-go. everyone involved in the legislative process has emphatically stated that it’s about WHEN, not IF, dadt is repealed. why didn’t the survey’s questions follow that presumption?
same here, clark!……in fact, i have it opened in a new browser tab to read after reading comments here!
as always, GR8 JOB!!! been a little out of the reading loop lately and it’s awesome to see that you’re still ridin’ this pony!!!
borrowing this as my new facebook avatar……hope you don’t mind.
I just wanted to saythat’s an awesome moniker!
These emails…were sent by GLBTs who will be soon facing a court martial for outing themselves by responding to the “survey”.
I just cross posted this to Daily Kosand it’s on the rec list, so if any of you have a login and want to contribute a rec and a comment, come on over.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/…
Glad to see it getting attention and support over there.
You may. I have a requestto a few sources to get them forwarded. I think they’ll be very helpful if they got wide attention. Stay tuned.
Poor wittle soldier boy can withstand bullets and the Afghan heat, but a Gay??? No waaay!
Just how many Gays were involved in creating this survey anyway???I suspect zeeero! It was all put together by heteros.
the better questionmight be how many far right Christian groups were involved. Because, I think that the far right Christian groups have a seat at the table of the review panel and the gay advocacy groups do not!!!!
TWO even BETTER questions…
1. Why did Gay, Inc., not raise hell about the very idea of the poll when it was announced in February and they might have had a chance to stop it before the government signed a $4.4M contract to do it? The proverbial horse has left the barn and NOW they’re complaining it has rabies when it was OBVIOUS it would from Gates saying they needed would be asking NONgay troops AND their families how ending the ban would “impact” them.
2. Why did supposedly NOT “far-right” Christian Commander-in-Chief Obama not stop the study idea himself?
My thoughts exactly. Their reputation should take a hit for this.If Westat is respected for their work, then what possessed them to agree to do this kind of unprofessional contract?
It’s like medical professionals and psychologists violating their vows in return for money to help the CIA and Pentagon torture prisoners.
It’s a shame when professionals prostitute themselves.
Everybody already knows that some people are bigots. How will this help address that?
I thinkthat Gay Inc (other than HRC) did complain about the supposed need for this survey back in Feb. And, many gay advocacy groups requested that they be involved in the creation of the survey if it was going to be done, but they were told NO!!!
Considering the recruitment policies lately……they are going to get a lot of neo-nazi, skinhead, and ex-cons (who were waivered in) giving their oh-so objective opinions on us. What a farce!
This is an action by the Government to incite homophobiain the responses and to kill an issue that they do not want to deal with.
Generating homophobia with these questions, homophobia that likely will spill onto at least a few serving LGBT’s, suggests and hilights the Administration’s complete contempt for us, for our liberty, and even our safety.
It is callous, calculated, malicious and Machiavellian.
And some still say that we need to support the Dems and start giving the DNC money again?
Westat has been doing research for the military for at least a quarter century….
If you go to their site, and click on “Military Human Resources,” the page that opens is filled with studies they’ve done probably representing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
http://www.westat.com/westat/r…
Googling, I found research done by them for the DOD going back to at least 1986, often connected in some way to loathsome Northwestern researcher Charles Moskos who went to his 2000 grave bragging that he was the architect of DADT.
Bottomline: such an embedded consultant only gets that way by doing the research exactly to the tune called by the paying piper.
“Complain[ing]” was MINIMAL and brief…not anything like what I consider “raising Hell”….
Gay, Inc., joined together to release a statement condemning MSM misreporting on the nature of DADT. They could have done the same re the “study,” calling BULLSHIT on Gates’s obviously diabolical plan from the start.
I know a long section of fence in front of the White House with enough room for all of them to have joined Dan Choi and Jim Pietrangelo both the first time, and the second, along with Autumn and others, when Gates was all but hiring a plane to sky write over Washington:
“DO NOT FUCK WITH ME! DON’T EVEN BREATHE ON REPEAL UNTIL MY STUDY IS DONE!”
As for asking to be included in its “creation,” AGAIN it was obvious to those not desperate to believe that Gates was not the smile fucking villain he obviously was….only pretending to have had a religious conversion about the ban…. what the poll’s narrative would be by the way he described it February 2nd. It should not matter a cold goddamn what straight Pvt. Tater, Mrs. Tater, and the Tater tots thought about letting the Fagroes out of their military closets!
I repeat:
Dang!First Dan Choi, and now Alex. I just can’t seem to catch a break. ;-)
Done. nt
this is an action by the Gov’t to manipulate our service members… and stiffen them and inflame them. If they do too much of this, our service members will rise up and shoot seamen.
It’s perturbing, perpetrative, and perverse.
I don’t think the Dems need any more stimulus money, not after they spend $4.5M to produce this mendacious mudslide of meretricious manure. At least the RNC patronizes topless lesbian bondage nightclubs (see Google, “RNC lesbian bondage,” passim) and gives the community something back.
I have one of those scopesthe ACOG, a gift from my son, as a paperweight
PUSH POLLYou are absolutely right. For a 99% confidence level and a margin of error of 2%, a poll of only a little more than 4,100 personnel would have to be polled.
Few days late, but wanted to share…
Very Very Het Hubby, Vietnam Vet and retired Fed Law Enforcement…has sent this off as his comment re the survey.
From the git-go, this “survey” demeans the purported professionalism of all U.S. Military personnel; it indicates that the brass are unsure of said professionalism.
If there are currently gays and lesbians in the military, why would you ask all if they have roomed, showered, etc. with one? What a stupid question.
If one is a professional person, whether in the military or in a civilian occupation, one should not be concerned about their fellow employees, whether gay, lesbian, or heterosexual. It is such a simple mindset.
As for the military, just remember, that their gay and lesbian soldiers’ blood runs red, just like the rest.
Thank you for that research. Explains everything.
I agree with your hubby completelyThe whole thing smacks of not having much confidence in the professionalism of the military members at all. When you consider that so many other militaries around the world have already implemented open service, the longest any one of them took to implement it was 4 months and NONE of them felt a need to implement segregated facilities… just why is it that our command and politicians put so little trust in the professionalism of our own military? Why do they feel that our military isn’t as competent as Canada, Israel, Australia, Great Britain, etc, etc, etc. ?