My son marched in the SF Veteran's Day Parade

[Der Blaue Engel]

He's not a Veteran, he's in the JROTC at his high school. Or he was, until today.

He had finally found something he was really good at, and had been promoted to "best in platoon."

But last night, the San Francisco School Board saw fit to throw the JROTC out, because of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Before someone jumps down my throat, I am bisexual, and I abhor the homophobia in our military. But there was no such policy in place in JROTC. One of the schools even had a transgendered student as their "best in platoon." The JROTC program was offered as an alternative to traditional P.E., and there was no recruiting done in connection with it, because San Francisco voters had voted last year to ban recruiting.

Some of you may recall my post here a year ago, worried about my son's involvement in this program, worried that they'd turn him into some RW military asshole, and that the no-recruiting rule would be violated. Well none of that has happened. This has been one of the best experiences of his life, and I was never more proud of him than when he got to march in front of his platoon carrying the school flag in the parade.

I am heartbroken over this. :(

(Note to anyone else who'd like to jump down my throat based on my support on a recent thread for schools refusing to allow Scouting to meet on campus: the Scouts DO discriminate against students--both LGBT and non-Christian. The JROTC did not.)

Anyway, just needed to vent.

[MissMillie]

1. Yep, there's a thread over in LBN

You and I are on the same page with this. My son was JROTC, and it was a magnificent program. I feel terrible that those 1600 kids in SF will be without it.

I fully understand the frustration over discrimination in the military. Such discrimination does not exist at the JROTC level.

It's a crime to punish the kids for the sins of the military commanders.

[Der Blaue Engel]

2. Yeah, I just found the thread

My son brought home a CD with hundreds of pictures of the JROTC Competition that just happened over the weekend, and the parade, and I was tearing up looking at all of those kids standing tall. Many of them are "high risk," and it gave them something to feel proud of themselves about, someplace to feel part of a team instead of the local gang.

I'm generally pretty anti-military, but this is just wrong.

[MissMillie]

4. I'm going to a drill meet this weekend, even though my son graduated last year

lots of the kids in the program still call me "Momma"

This is/was my son's unit:

http://www.oxps.org/newnjrotc/index.htm

[democracyindanger]

3. You know the interesting thing about SF and the military?

SF became the gay mecca it is because of the military. San Francisco was a major point of return for vets after WWII, and gay veterans liked the tolerant city, so they stayed and called it home.