In light of today’s news, I find it important to talk about the trans military ban.
First of all, the world we live in is insane. Our president made a huge announcement using Twitter. He did not call for an official press release, he did not go on live television and announce it in person, he hid behind a keyboard and announced this devastating news using a few 140-character tweets. It’s astonishing to me how Twitter has become an acceptable place to announce important policy in today’s day and age.
Secondly, if you’re unaware of what I’m referring to, today Trump wrote, “After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.” However, after some fifteen minute research of my own, I quickly discovered that this fact is simply not true. According to a study done by the RAND Corporation, there are about 1.3 million active service members in the military, and trans people make up anywhere from 1,320 to 6,630 of those active members. Also, not all of them will seek transition-related treatment, actually only about 29 to 129 of them will. With those numbers in mind, the costs of including trans people in the military is very low, only about 2.4 to 8.4 million dollars. This may sound like quite a bit of money, but the Pentagon receives nearly 700 billion dollars in funding from Congress, making transition-related expenses between 0.04 to 0.13 percent of the Pentagon’s overall expenses. The Washington Post cites a Military Times article from 2015 in which it states the Pentagon spends 84 million dollars on Viagra and other erectile dysfunction prescriptions, ten times the estimated cost of transition-related medical care. The Pentagon receives hundreds of billions of dollars in funding from Congress, and trans people serving in the military aren’t even entitled to their little fraction of a percentage?
Regardless of the facts and statistics, even if you wanted to cast aside those numbers, trans people are humans deserving of rights and respect. They do not “burden” the military as Mr. Trump seems to think. They are people who are valued and have worth, and we should treat them as such.
Isabelle Goodwin
New York Times article:
RAND Corporation study:
The Washington Post article:
Military Times article:
http://www.militarytimes.com/pay-benefits/military-benefits/health-care/2015/02/13/dod-spends-84m-a-year-on-viagra-similar-meds/
I find it extremely unacceptable for President Trump to make these rash decisions, especially when it was announced via Twitter. One joins the armed forces to serve the country they love, how can Trump deny that? This decision was a mistake and not only does it offend the transgender people that served in the armed forces, such as Kristen Beck, it will start to discourage those who are deciding to join in the future. Kristen Beck is a transgender retired Navy Seal who is a hero, more than Trump will ever be. Beck served 20 years, was deployed 13 times and is also decorated with multiple awards. I don't see how Kristen Beck was a "burden" in the time she served, she was a hero. Donald Trump cannot deny that. Despite being transgender or not, it is a shame to see that the budget is being spent on weapons of mass destruction rather than simply supporting their own troops who risk their lives daily.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you have blogged about this because it is matter that has to be discussed. As the President of the United States, Donald Trump has the responsibility of making decisions that better the country. With the numbers and stats that you provided, Isabelle, we can clearly see that transgender people do not even make a dent in the medical costs of the military. With this ban, it is proven that once again Trump is using his power to pass laws based on his personal beliefs. To add to that, transgender people ARE people. It shouldn't matter what someone's background is, if they are protecting our country, Trump should be grateful and respectful of them. Last but not least, Trump didn't even have the dignity to announce his ban in public. Instead, he hid behind a screen, this is sybolic to our society currently because behind a screen we act different than how we would in he flesh.
ReplyDeleteI hate it when political representatives announce decisions or opinions on social media instead of showing their faces in front of everyone. What Trump is doing is showing that he is afraid of what people are going to say, since he doesn't want to announce it verbally in front of everyone. It shows that he isn't taking his decisions seriously, therefore not being responsible in doing his role of being president. I find it disrespectful that Trump is making this decision since these people want to serve for our country, which is something that should make them be honored, not excluded. After the statistics that you have shown, I see no reason why Trump has to ban transgender people from joining the military. I thought all different types of backgrounds were treated equally in this country, but Trump is breaking this oath and is making this country less liberal. Hopefully, people protest against this to the point that Trump changes his decision, especially since he announced in a way that doesn't show seriousness.
ReplyDeleteTrump's main saying throughout his campaign was to "Make America great again", but excluding people (Americans) from risking their lives and giving up their priviledges as a civilian to serve is just wrong. America once had to hold a draft in 1940 to just get people in the service. I don't think making America great again should include discriminating people for who they want to be and risk having people get drafted again. Especially since there are willing and able people who want to serve there country.
ReplyDeleteI am appalled by today's news regarding the ban. I can not believe that we have Trump presenting the decisions for the United States. Not only to announce this, but to go and announce it on social media through a screen is definitely shocking. I agree with Ayah on the irony through technology with this one. To hear that our own nation won't accept them to be in the Military just because of money issues. They’re sworn to lay down their lives to serve and protect our country, but how can that be when Trump won't allow them to be involved. Trump’s choice to focus more on the military's budget than on supporting those who protect the rights of our people just shows his priorities. The rights that Trump took away from those in this policy.
ReplyDeleteYour posts and your comments are one reason I do not despair as I watch the Big Orange One in the White House trample on our democratic institutions and our rights. Stay focused and engaged; take to the streets when necessary, and vote! Let your voices be heard.
ReplyDeleteDuring his campaign there was an organization called Gays For Trump. After all the horrible comments he as made, people from the LGBT community voted for him. As if he was ever on our side. All he wanted as bites. For example, Caitlyn Jenner was "outraged" about the decision he made, yet she had the audacity to vote for him. She voted for him so she can't be surprised by the outcome.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Trump continues to threaten the US constitution's promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Let alone, how upsetting it is that our president resorts to social media to announce such news. Trump's subversive acts as president have bothered many people's quality of life. From ignoring facts about climate change to discriminating against immigrants and people of the LGBTQ community. He has been lying through his teeth when he promises to "make America great again" because we should be moving forward into accepting and respecting people; yet, it seems that all Trump has done is pull us farther from where we were before his inauguration. He appointed Neil Gorsuch (who is against gay rights) to the supreme court. In addition, Trumps administration is against "don't, ask don't tell" and LGBT people in general. This ban on transgender people being in our military is insulting, disappointing, and another threat towards the civil rights of people who belong to the LGBT community.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, I can’t say that I was surprised when I saw what Donald Trump had tweeted. Trump fails to be a good President, as he lacks simple respect for the people (meaning everyone) in his country. As Julia put it, “Trump continues to threaten the US Constitution’s promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Saying that the “military...cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military” apparently cause, let’s focus on the fact that Donald Trump spends a total roughly of 3.6 million dollars on trips to Mar-A-Lago, Trump’s country club. Let’s also not forget that it’s 3.6 million dollars every time he visits. Since he’s been inaugurated, he’s gone to his country club four times. Added up, that’s almost double the amount the government spend on transgender medical procedures. Instead of worrying about how much of a “burden” transgender people are, maybe he should be focusing on what really matters: leading the country and fighting for all the people who live in it.
ReplyDeleteIt's honestly sad to me that Trump thinks it is acceptable to make such an announcement through Twitter. I am open to opinions, but I have a hard time respecting someone who doesn't respect anyone else. In my opinion, I see no valid argument for banning transgenders from the military. These are people who are willing to give their service to our country and risk their lives. It disgusts me that they are being denied to the military due to being transgender. Is having transgenders in the military really significantly affecting anyone? There are much bigger problems in the world for Trump to be focusing on rather than debating who should be allowed to serve their own country.
ReplyDeleteTrump's main goal is not to spend money on surgeries for transgenders, however banning all transgeners from the army is completely despicable, espescially if financial situations is not the reason why they joined. Most people do not have as much courage to join the army and service for their country, yet they are willing to ban people who just decided to change their personal life. Instead of Trump addressing the rumors made about him with his relationship with Russia he refers to waste his time banning transgenders from the military.
ReplyDeleteDonald Trump is not a wise man; however, he is a businessman and a man full of pride for his country. While in the armed forces, a soldier receives medical coverage. The hefty costs for the operations needed for transformation would be covered. Trump, due to his experience with business, must have thought he could save money if the military did not have to worry about covering the operation of transformation or erectile dysfunction medicine such as Viagra for trans soldiers. However, Trump could have saved more money if he cut back on other things. Also, trans citizens may start joining the armed forces to cover their transformation costs instead of joining for love of their country. Therefore, Trump may have been concerned about their devotion to fighting for the country. Overall, the decision to ban trans soldiers from the army did not have to be made; however, there were reasons for it.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct in saying Trump is not a wise man. The proposition that trans people would join the military to have their “transformation” costs covered is insulting to the transgender soldiers who love and are serving their country. If Trump thought this was a legitimate reason for prohibiting transgender people from joining the military, he would’ve stated it, so let’s not go there. As you can see in my original post, there are thousands of trans people serving, and only about 29 to 129 of those people will seek transition related procedures and medical treatment. That’s miniscule. The decision should not have been made, and the reasons “backing it up” are a weak attempt to mask Trump’s transphobia.
DeleteI'm really glad that you wrote about this because this topic is something that really needs to be discussed. In the Declaration of Independence it's been stated in the second paragraph it says " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." If they wish to pursue happiness by wanting to serve in the military they have the right to due so. The Declaration of Independence states it clearly. Transgenders are human yes? Then they should be treated as such, just because they are "different" it shouldn't even be considered an excuse to not give them this opportunity.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am responding to this article later than the fact, President Trump's ideals and thoughtless tweets are still prevalent in today's media. Even before his presidency, Trump was consistently tweeting his beliefs,disregarding their relevance or appropriateness. In spite of those being hurtful or racist, our citizens have always had the right to express your opinion. However, now that Trump is President, it seems like most of his political standpoints have been mostly because of his own emotional beliefs. I'm sorry, but when you’re of a higher authority representing a COUNTRY, you should take others into consideration and moreover establish how your voice will affect other people’s lives. The use of this ban, as Grace states, "doesn't surprise me", but as most of Trump's decisions, will have to be fixed in the near future for the transgender community in the military. All in all, these people voluntarily put their lives at risk to protect the future of our country, and Trump thanks the transgender community by saying that their help and overall use for this country is unless. We no longer have the draft, so those that have selflessly enlisted and have truly committed themselves to serving our country and the sacrifices, large and small, that that includes.By stating that transgender individuals will no longer be able to serve in the military, it regresses our progress back to the situation of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” As I stated, this is yet another ill gotten decision made by Trump, and it will not be the last.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this it has been hard for me to understand the fact that trump is willing to do anything to get rid of trans people in the US Military who are voluntarily joining to serve the country they love. I think that Trump has failed to notice the willingness of these human beings and is just doing it for the attention of social media I believe that such an unjustifiable decision should be reevaluated. At the same time so should Trump being president.
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