Our Year in Review – April ‘11-‘12
The loathsome “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy was finally abolished in September, nine months after President Obama signed legislation that would allow openly gay personnel to serve in the armed forces. Some gay and lesbian service members couldn’t wait to say ‘sayonara’ to DADT’s draconian restrictions. In December, Fire Controlman 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta was the first to kiss her fiancée, Fire Controlman 3rd Class Citlalic Snell, in a U.S. Navy homecoming ceremony in Virginia Beach, VA. In Navy tradition, one sailor is chosen by raffle to be the first off the ship to kiss a loved one—and Gaeta’s and Snell’s was the first same-sex smooch in military history.
A kiss is still a kiss—but what a kiss it was! When a female naval officer smooched her fiancee during a military homecoming ritual, it indelibly marked the true and final end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The victories of the past year seemed to come fast and furious: New York finally legalizing same-sex marriage along with Maryland and Washington State; Chaz Bono busting a move as Dancing with the Stars’ first transgender contestant; the snowballing Occupy Wall Street movement demanding justice for the hardworking 99 percent. Even great tragedy, and the still-raw memories of America’s worst terrorist attack, failed to slow the rekindling of our optimism. (And if you want more proof, see GO’s landmark Tenth Anniversary issue this September!)
THE BEST KEPT GETTING BETTER
Visionary entrepreneur Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple, Inc., passed away on October 5 due to complications from pancreatic cancer. Jobs had his fingerprints on an astounding range of consumer products so ingrained in our daily lives it is difficult to imagine life without them— Mac computers, iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, apps and many more. The catchy advertising slogans—” Think different;” “The best keeps getting better;””This changes everything. Again”—were emblematic of Apple’s optimism toward the future. Fans gathered at spontaneous shrines at Apple retail stores from Moscow to the Philippines to New York, sticking Post-It notes with their remembrances on the stores’ glass walls.
