The end of don’t ask don’t tell: remembering the silence

Introduction

At a press conference on Sept. 20, 2011 Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) displayed a postcard. It was signed only “An Army Soldier.” She read the postcard aloud. “I will still be deployed in Afghanistan on 20 Sept. when DADT is finally repealed,” it read. “It will take a huge burden off my shoulders – a combat zone is stressful enough on its own. Thank you for your courage to vote in favor of repeal as a Republican. I will repay your courage with my continued professionalism.”

The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT), the discriminatory policy that prevented lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) members from serving openly in the US military, had taken effect at 12:01am that morning. Collins was a leading advocate and one of only eight Republicans that had voted for the repeal. “This touches me so much,” Collins said. “It is so poignant that he could not sign his name. He had to write an army soldier and today he can sign his name and that makes all the difference.”


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On the Legitimating Effects of Brinksmanship