"Betrayal": Transgender Troops React to Trump's Ban
Writing "Betrayal": Transgender Troops React to Trump's Ban for Vanity Fair was the most satisfying thing I've done in quite awhile. It was a thrill and an honor to get to know these patriots, and to share their stories.
Seventeen years into working on this gay soldiers book (half of that writing Columbine as my primary), I thought I knew this world, and understood their challenges. I didn't. It was eye-opening.
Much is similar to the gay struggle, but so many of the transgender challenges are unique, and even more complex than I imagined. Not to mention how outlandish it is to toss out the discredited "unit cohesion" arguments from Don't Ask, Don't Tell again.
This is also really inspiring me to get this gay soldiers book done!
BTW, here was the night I met Allyson Robinson, with Eric Fanning at the West Point Spectrum gala in 2015. Eric was about to become the first out gay Secretary of the Army (or any branch), and they were both receiving awards. I believe Allyson, herself a West Point Academy grad, was given the Courage Award. (And I wore a tie. haha. (But I might have been shoeless at that moment.)
Update, Aug 23: Bad news. The WSJ is reporting that Trump is going ahead with the ban in some form. Unbelievable.
Thank you for writing this piece with such care and respect for the people at its center. The firsthand accounts from Sergeant Logan Ireland, Allyson Robinson, and Staff Sergeant Patricia King make the human cost of the ban impossible to ignore, and the detail about service members like Logan, who had already served openly and honorably, shows just how much was at stake for careers built over years of dedication. I was struck by the way you connect their personal stories to the wider fight for dignity, and by the contrast between the uncertainty coming out of Washington and the calm resolve of the troops themselves. The Vanity Fair reporting you describe clearly meant so much to you, and reading…
Thank you for sharing this Vanity Fair piece and the personal perspectives behind it. Hearing directly from transgender service members, including Allyson Robinson and others who served with distinction, brings home how deeply policy decisions affect real careers, families and lives, rather than remaining abstract debates. Your account of meeting Allyson and Eric Fanning at the West Point Spectrum gala in 2015 is a powerful reminder of the respect and service at the heart of this story, and the #ProtectTransTroops update makes the stakes even clearer. For clear, practical reporting on current affairs, community and everyday life that helps put stories like this in context, I also follow:
corporatewirepress.com
It is a thoughtful piece, and I hope the book you…
Thank you for sharing this article. It presents personal perspectives on a significant and emotional issue, highlighting how policy decisions can deeply affect the lives and careers of the people involved. Reading firsthand experiences helps encourage thoughtful discussion and a better understanding of different viewpoints. On a different note, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners looking for durable, high-performance training gear often consider an rvca bjj gi for comfort and reliability during regular practice.
I came across this thread while looking through related discussions and ended up spending quite a bit of time reading the replies. There was a good balance of questions, answers, and personal opinions, which kept the conversation interesting. During the discussion, 91 club game login was mentioned by several members and quickly became one of the more active topics on the page. What I liked was that people weren't simply repeating information. Instead, they were building on previous comments and contributing something new. That made the discussion feel much more genuine and informative overall.
Another advantage of Drift Boss is the smooth performance on most devices. The lightweight design allows the game to run without major lag or crashes.