Back in July, we learned about Bleu Copas, a decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist who was thrown out of the military under the Army’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Copas, who joined the Army after the 9/11 attacks out of a sense of duty, was responsible for helping translate intercepted messages from possible terrorists, but the military doesn’t make exceptions (well, it makes exceptions all the time actually, just not for gays).
I’ve often wondered what far-right activists would say about a case like Copas’. Now I know.
For those of you who can’t watch online video from your office computers, The Daily Show’s Jason Jones sat down with Paul Cameron, one of the nation’s leading anti-gay activists, who said, “I think the country, on the aggregate, is safer without Bleu in the military.”
Asked why, Cameron explained, “Guys don’t want to think about other guys, other fellas, ogling them in the shower or whatever.” Jones responded, “I know I’d rather die in a terrorist attack than suffer through an uncomfortable shower with a gay.” Cameron grudgingly responded, “Yes.”
It’s good to know, isn’t it? Confronted with an either/or scenario — get killed by terrorists or shower near a well-trained, dedicated Army specialist — Cameron seems to prefer the prior to the latter.
And our federal government appears to agree with him.