http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2001/10/12/1
by Randy
Dotinga
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
After complaints
from gay organizations, the Associated Press today withdrew a news photograph
that showed misspelled graffiti -- "high jack this fags" -- on an airborne bomb
bound for Afghanistan.
The photograph, taken on the USS Enterprise, shows a Navy officer scrawling a
message on a bomb attached to the wing of an attack plane. The AP, which
provides news content to nearly every daily newspaper in the United States,
distributed the photo on Thursday without a warning about its content.
It was not immediately clear if any newspapers chose to run the photograph,
but it did appear in Yahoo.com's news section.
Late Friday afternoon, however, the AP told its clients to remove the photo
from their files because it contained an "offensive slur." The AP didn't return
a message requesting more information.
The move came after complaints from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD), a media watchdog group, and Servicemembers Legal Defense
Network (SLDN), which represents gay members of the military.
Before the photo was withdrawn, GLAAD executive director Joan M. Garry said
the AP was "irresponsible" for sending out the photo without acknowledging its
offensive content.
At the SLDN, legal director Sharra E. Greer blasted the military. "The United
States Navy would never allow racial epithets or derogatory graffiti based on
gender or religion to be scrawled on American property," Greer said in a
statement. "Messages like the one presented in this photograph only reinforce
the ideas of hatred and division that our nation seeks to defend against. We
must not emulate the intolerance of our enemies."
After the photo was withdrawn, GLAAD spokeswoman Cathy Renna said the photo
should lead to a larger discussion. "Hiding the picture really does a disservice
to the issue. It's clear that a number of people in the Navy thinks it's OK to
write 'fag' on a piece of government property and drop it on a terrorist. That's
something we should be talking about."
Eric Hegedus, a photo editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, said the
photograph would indeed be appropriate to illustrate anti-gay bias in the
military.
"Many of us in the media aren't instinctively questioning the bigotry because
in so many peoples' eyes, using the word 'fag' or 'faggot' isn't a social
problem or something to be otherwise examined," said Hegedus, a board member of
the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.
The Inquirer didn't run the photo.
Return to TBC GLBT
News
http://tampabaycoalition.homestead.com/News.html
osted October 12, 2001
| Gay forces members 'disgusted by US military homophobia' |
Gay service members in the UK have objected to a homophobic message on a US bomb.
A photograph of the USS Enterprise shows a bomb with "Highjack This Fags" written on it.
The Armed Forces Lesbian and Gay Association says they are concerned about the insult.
The bomb is being prepared by an officer on board the aircraft carrier for the attacks in Afghanistan.
Simon Langley, of the Armed Forces Lesbian and Gay Association, says he is concerned about what the message implies about the US military's attitude towards homosexuality.
He told RainbowNetwork: "This message is typical of the homophobia that exists in the US military - the beating to death of gay soldier Barry Winchell by his colleagues in 1999 is another example of that mentality.
"Homophobia such as this is not helped by their army's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy.
"Whilst I doubt that it is officially condoned, the US military is fighting a war against
extremism and religious intolerance but at the same time they are promoting their own brand of prejudice."
He added: "The insult has an element of playground homophobia about it, 'gay' or 'fag' is the worst insult that one child can say against another."
Mr Langley added it was an empty gesture: "It's the least appropriate insult to use given the Taliban's treatment of homosexuals. The intended victims are very unlikely to be fags."
Story filed: 14:19 Friday 12th October 2001
The Rainbow Network
Gay Service Members Disgusted by US Military Homophobia
http://www.rainbownetwork.com/content/NewsLife.asp?newsid=2241
An image that hints at the US military’s
attitude towards homosexuality has sparked outrage among gay service members in
the UK.
The photograph, featured in London’s Metro newspaper, shows an
officer aboard the USS Enterprise preparing a bomb in the campaign against
terrorism in Afghanistan.
It is a military tradition to write messages
on bombs for the intended recipients. The message on this bomb reads, “HIGH
JACK(sic) THIS FAGS”.
Simon Langley of the Armed Forces Lesbian and Gay
Association told RainbowNetwork: “This message is typical of the homophobia that
exists in the US military, the beating to death of gay soldier Barry Winchell by
his colleagues in 1999 is another example of that mentality.”
He added:
“Homophobia such as this is not helped by their army’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
policy.”
Langley said that he was concerned about what the message
implied about the US military’s attitude towards homosexuality.
“Whilst I
doubt that it is officially condoned, the US military is fighting a war against
extremism and religious intolerance but at the same time they are promoting
their own brand of prejudice.”
Langley continued: “The insult has an
element of playground homophobia about it, ‘gay’ or ‘fag’ is the worst insult
that one child can say against another.”
He said that it was an empty
gesture: “It’s the least appropriate insult to use given the Taliban’s treatment
of homosexuals. The intended victims are very unlikely to be fags.”