When Lieutenant Dan Choi was in Baghdad, he used his knowledge of Arabic to relate to the people on the ground, even visiting mosques and learning the work of Iraqi poet al-Mutanabbi.
“The horses, and the night, and the desert, they know who I am,” Choi recited in Arabic and English to students gathered in Tischler Hall in Excley. “We were there as American soldiers to help them build a government, one that’s a little more pluralistic, a little more democratic, a little more open. At the same time I had to hide a very important part of my own identity.”
Despite being one of only eight members from his West Point graduating class who majored in Arabic, Choi was discharged from the army in March 2009 after he revealed his own identity as a gay man serving in the military while appearing on the Rachel Maddow Show.
Since this public announcement, Choi has become an advocate for reforming the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and his message drew over 200 students to his lecture on Wednesday night. Before the talk—organized by the Asian American Association (AAA)—began, Choi walked around the lecture hall to meet and talk with the students who had filled the space.
“This is crazy—amazing,” said Chris Russell ‘12, AAA House Manager and organizer of the turnout. “When I first pitched the idea, so many groups contacted me, and as I saw how others were so passionate about bringing [Choi] to campus, I knew we could really make it something special.”
AAA House planned the event along with Malcolm X House, Turath House, and Open House, which Russell said demonstrated the universality of Choi’s message. Choi, who is the son of a South Korean Southern Baptist minister, spoke about sexual orientation, race, and religion.
Choi served in the military for 10 years before coming out publicly, an act that he said was motivated by love. Although he was later asked to return, he still felt excluded by the policy.
“What if I get injured in any part of Iraq or Afghanistan?” Choi said. “Because of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, my partner—the one I love, the one who completes me—will not be notified, because that person is not allowed to exist.”
Choi also said that his announcement made clear the extent to which Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell constrains all members of the military, gay or straight.
“People came up to me after to tell me their brother is gay, their cousin is gay, or they’re gay,” he said. “I realized that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell didn’t just have a prison affect on me, but it imprisoned [them] because they weren’t able to talk. It even imprisoned straight people, who thanked me for showing people that the army is not all homophobes.”
According to Russell, Choi’s visit was extremely timely. After Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was declared unconstitutional by federal judges in California, military recruiters were told to accept gay applicants just last month. President Obama’s administration has since slowed the legislation process; however, while the district court’s decision is being appealed.
“When we got him, it was right when all this legislation was going through, so it was the perfect time to have him speak on the issue,” Russell said. “ We had a list of performers we were thinking about bringing this year, and he really stood out to me. We really wanted someone who represented what Wesleyan’s all about, and someone who can teach us something.”
Choi went beyond a discussion of policy, however, and addressed the difficulties faced by the gay community at large. This topic, too, proved timely, as Choi rattled off a list of names of young people who have recently killed themselves because of their sexual orientation.
“Our courage doesn’t cause [these deaths]—our courage is the only thing that can prevent that,” Choi said. “You never know if someone right next to you is struggling, and don’t you just wish you could tell all the people who have succumbed to the hopelessness that it gets better? Our courage didn’t start any of this conflict. The conflict exists between the American promise, equal justice under the law, and the American reality.”
Choi, who had another lecture planned at Brown University this week, said events with young people are important.
“Students are pure in ideologies and philosophies,” Choi said. “I like to remind them that every revolution was led by people under 30. I’m not just talking about canvassing or phone banking, but led. The philosophies that encouraged revolutions came from younger people, and no revolutions for justice ever went backwards.”
After the lecture, several students lined up to speak with Choi. Citing the discouraging nature of the recent affirmative action bake sale organized by the Cardinal Conservatives, some thanked Choi for inspiring them as minorities.
“I was surprised that it was a very packed house,” Choi said. “It left me with the impression that Wesleyan folks are very involved and intelligent—much more than some of the schools I’ve been to—and leaders. It takes sacrifice to come out to things like this, there’s a lack of that in the gay rights lobby movement right now.”