Hooray for my friend, Lt. Dan Choi. His charges have been dropped. Wednesday he was in court in Washington, D.C. on charges of disobeying a Park Police officer. You see Dan chained himself to the White House fence to protest the discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy of the U.S. military. Dan is a one of our military’s finest. A translator of Arabic. An Asian-American gay man who was dismissed by the military simply because he is gay. The Draconian Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy and the bumbling idiots at the Pentagon who can’t update their mindsets put our country at risk when they try to remove from the ranks someone like Dan. Read more about the charges being dropped here.
I had the privilege to get to know him at several of the protest rallies against Prop 8 in California. In fact one evening we rode the back of a truck through the streets of Hollywood and West Hollywood, sharing a bullhorn along the protest route-taking turn leading the chanting. As one of our voices needed a rest, the other took over.
Dan is a hero in every way. Serving our country, and shouting down injustice and discrimination. I am glad the federal prosecutors came to their senses. Civil disobedience in our country has a long tradition. And his act of civil disobedience was shining a light on unjust policies of our military and government.
Thanks Dan. Keep shining that light.
Walking Humbly. Seeking Justice. Living with Hope. 