My Weekend Crush

Well here’s a story that will make you feel patriotic and gay and patriotically gay. This month a 90-year-old Air Force veteran Helen Grace James finally got the honorable discharge she deserved. In 1955, while serving as an Airman Second Class, investigators hounded her to find out if she was gay – even following her into clubs. When they “caught” her they made her sign papers admitting to being homosexual, or they’d out her to her family. (Yet another reason to hate the military industrial complex.) They discharged her as “undesirable,” which meant she couldn’t get veterans benefits like health insurance and G.I. Bill eligibility. So, she fought them. And she fought them. And she won. Sure, it took 63 years. But she made the U.S. military recognize her exemplary service. This it is further proof that, however slow it may be, the arc of the moral universe indeed bends toward justice. A grateful nation (finally) thanks her for her service. Happy weekend, all.