Now that Congress has repealed the military's DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) policy of the Clinton era, I'm left wondering, who's left to "come out of the closet"? Emboldened by the change in policy, what other category of shadow people are ready to emerge?
Let's see, aliens? I'm not talking about your run-of-the-mill illegals, (so blasé). No, I'm talkin' about real-deal aliens, you know, extraterrestrials...Naah! OK, If not aliens, how about pedophiles? Ouch!... well, maybe. Note: in the interest of PC run amok, I am not equating homosexuality to pedophilia; I am merely posing a question, so relax.
I pondered my original question, and recalled hearing about the PBS Frontline documentary, The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan. After watching it, the answer came to me - the Taliban are next to be outed! But shh... DADT, Don't Ask Da Taliban, because they certainly won't tell you, and they're likely to kill someone for that insinuation. I just hope it's not me!
Do I really believe the Taliban are righteously immune to the "bacha bazi" practice due to their feigned religious zealotry? Well, maybe as much as I believe that all clergy are immune to extra-marital peccadilloes because they believe in god. Think about it, what are these guys doing for fun in their caves, between planning horrific attacks, hmm?
Looking back, I recall seeing the stream of local Afghan workers, men only, walking to and from their jobs at Bagram, as they entered/exited the base. Sometimes, they were holding hands, but I didn't think anything of it, and wrote it off as a cultural trait, kind of like teen girls strolling innocently along holding hands, as girlfriends do in the US. When I asked about it, an Afghan interpreter told me that sometimes men, in the absence of their wives or women, relieve their "loneliness" with other men, and it is an accepted practice.
So, what do the Taliban think of our change in DADT policy? Outwardly, they are probably disgusted, decrying the decadence of "western culture". But inwardly, I envision them being as "thrilled" as Chris Matthews was about candidate Obama, when he was running for the presidency. But be careful, DADT, Don't Ask Da Taliban, for fear of what you might discover!
