Military has no place at universities (Unleash H--- Please)

The Daily Northwestern ^ | January 24, 2006 | Henry Bowles III

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

Military has no place at universities

by Henry M. Bowles III

January 24, 2006

It was a relief to hear that the normally sedated campus Left bothered to protest the creepy presence of military recruiters at the Martin Luther King Jr. job fair. The recruiters’ presence most certainly was, as the NOWAR activists observed, out of line with King’s pacifism. That the protests were reserved for one particularly distasteful instance of military recruiting highlights just how far apart Northwestern stands from its peer universities on the issue. Most elite universities have significant movements, with both students and faculty involvement, to ban military recruiting from campus altogether, mostly due to the military’s ban on open gays from serving.

The irony is that Northwestern is home to Charles Moskos, chief architect of the 1993 law “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Despite his status as a renowned military sociologist and campus celebrity, Moskos has no qualifications for making policy on sexuality. As a result, his major policy achievement has been a disaster. “Don’t Ask” made the absurd promise to rid the military of the sexuality issue, and though it’s mostly stopped inquiries into service members’ sex lives, it has doubled dismissals for people who dare to be honest about their sexuality.

Moskos himself predicts the policy will be gone within the decade, and dismissed its apparent rationale when he told Lingua Franca in 2000: “Fuck unit cohesion. I don’t care about that.” But he does care about “modesty rights for straights.” He said, “I should not be forced to shower with a woman. I should not be forced to shower with a gay.” Moskos’ one-dimensional understanding of human sexuality assumes stable categories of sexual attraction — as if only a man who identifies as “gay” would lust after another man in the shower. He also assumes such lusting would be a problem, an ahistorical idea indeed, given that the military practically invented gay sex. The Moskos standard would have been grounds for dismissal of the entire Spartan army, and if reports are to be believed, much of the Allied forces during World War II.

Protesting military recruiters on campus, so long as they ban open gays from joining, is admirable. But there’s a more permanent reason to keep the military away from our brightest students. Young males are easily manipulated during the period of their lives when they exist outside the female domain, after the mother and before the wife. They are above all eager to demonstrate masculinity. With its promises of order, fraternity and cohesion, the military taps into this angst. A real tragedy occurs when a young man, susceptible to the military’s appeal and nonetheless intelligent and creative, signs up to become cannon fodder. He’ll probably leave the military alive, but he’ll have been irreversibly molded, less inclined to dissent. Less intelligent people are better equipped for most military positions, and have far less to lose.

Henry M. Bowles III is a Medill senior. He can be reached at

h-bowles@northwestern.edu.

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

Flame Away my friends, I wrote a response which I won't post here.

[goodnesswins]

"He also assumes such lusting would be a problem, an ahistorical idea indeed, given that the military practically invented gay sex."

Some people are too stupid to be protected by the Military. This is a perfect example of one.

[RobbyS]

I suppose junior is against police and firefight recruiters also.

[digger48]

So, it's ok for the Liberal Elite to have a crack at the young, impressionable male mind, but no one else. They only seek to emasculate them.

[darkwing104]

Flame Away my friends, I wrote a response which I won't post here.

You wouldn't want to see my response either.

[RobbyS]

Maybe he should spend some time in prison if he wants to know about gay sex.

[facedown]

Young males are easily manipulated during the period of their lives when they exist outside the female domain, after the mother and before the wife.

Speak for yourself, girlyman.

[Kimmers]

OK, so they do not want the Military than I would say they do not want any federal funds either....

[jazusamo]

I'd like to know why these pimp writers use the military policy on gays as their excuse for banning recruiters on campuses, it seems like a back-door approach. I'm sure that suits them.

[El Gato]

Less intelligent people are better equipped for most military positions, and have far less to lose.

I guess it take a "Less intelligent" person to make a statement like that. At least an ignorant and hateful one, probably all three, stupid, hateful and ignorant. What a combination. WHAT A MAROON!

Captain, USAFR(ret)
National Merit Scholar (a loooong time ago)
99th %tile on Iowa Test of Educational Developement (even longer ago!! :) )
BSEE, MSEE, Sr. Research Engineer.

[popdonnelly]

No, some universities have no place in this great country. Overpriced holes of leftist indoctrination.

[mc6809e]

And big money football doesn't belong there either, but I don't hear them complaining about that!

[mc6809e]

And big money football doesn't belong there either, but I don't hear them complaining about that!

[baseballmom]

They are above all eager to demonstrate masculinity. With its promises of order, fraternity and cohesion, the military taps into this angst. A real tragedy occurs when a young man, susceptible to the military’s appeal and nonetheless intelligent and creative, signs up to become cannon fodder. He’ll probably leave the military alive, but he’ll have been irreversibly molded, less inclined to dissent. Less intelligent people are better equipped for most military positions, and have far less to lose.

This has got to be satire. Henry is obviously afraid that if too many "bright" men join the military, they'll probably learn that most of what they learned in college is BS. They'll be less inclined to dissent, because they'll see the liberal agenda for what it is - lies. Oh my, then what will Henry do to puff himself up?

Henry is the perfect specimen of the emasculated man, courtesy of the radical feminist agenda. He's in between Mama and wifey, and can't quite figure out what he's supposed to do. For God's sake Henry, be a MAN.

[RightOnline]

"...— as if only a man who identifies as “gay” would lust after another man in the shower..."

Ummmmmmmmmm..........ok, y'all help me out here. I realize this young man must be bright 'cuz he's in a good college 'n' all, and my college degree is nearly 30 years old and such, but...............

.......am I missing something?

[Mordacious]

Moskos’ one-dimensional understanding of human sexuality assumes stable categories of sexual attraction

Categories of sexual attraction aren't stable? Maybe this explains why I turn into a lesbian every time I see that photo of Teddy K in his bathing suit.*

*I always change back, though, when I see how blah I look in work boots and a flannel shirt.

[Ptarmigan]

They are breaking the law themselves. Of course lefties hate the law.

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

He is the definition of the elite aristocratic metrosexual. Satire used to be his thing, but this guy has gone from firebreathing conservative to the aforementioned bisexual metrosexual elitist liberal.