I read the three responses to the letter by Peter Cortland regarding women in the military. My gut reaction to the New Haven Register’s decision to publish Mr. Cortland’s twisted letter was why? Of all the letters sent to the Register, why pick this one? Maybe they just wanted the public to know what’s out there in the way of outrageous opinion.
Or, and I sincerely hope that this is not true, they agree with the premise of that letter. This prompted me to see who exactly in the paper makes these decisions. Lo and behold, on the very same page, above the opinion piece, sat the names of the movers and shakers at the newspaper and they were all male. Yup, not one female name appeared there.
Then I noticed the cartoon chosen to exemplify the problem the military was facing. The cartoon was a terrible choice. The comment by the female soldier (“when they said hand-to-hand combat, I thought they were talking about the enemy”) reduced the problem of sexual assault to a "nuisance"-type issue. It showed a level of immaturity that does not belong in this newspaper.
In conclusion, I have to say that women in the military have rights. They have the right to do their job unimpeded. They have a right to mingle with, meet and date their fellow comrades with no obligation to give them their bodies. Men in the military have the same rights. What they don’t have is the right to the bodies of these women. This sense of male "ownership" has to end, in the military and outside the military. We are equals and we bring our talents to the military and the world, the same as men do, minus the muscle. Get used to it.
Jean Heagy
North Haven