Though my family is full of Navy people, I was not aware of this tradition. It’s pretty awesome:
It’s been three months since the dock landing ship left home for Central America, and all of the usual fanfare is waiting to greet its crew: crowds of cheering families, toddlers dressed in sailor suits, and the lucky, excited woman who’s been chosen to take part in a time-honored Navy tradition, the first homecoming kiss.
In this case, that woman is 22-year-old Citlalic Snell. She’s a sailor herself, assigned to destroyer Bainbridge, but today she’s in civilian clothes – jeans, boots and a stylish leather jacket. Watching pierside as the Oak Hill pulls into port, she absent-mindedly twists the small diamond ring that’s on her left hand.
[...]
As it starts to drizzle, the gangplank is finally lowered. A handful of top officers are first off the ship, and then comes a young woman in dress blues, Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta.
Snell cracks a wide smile.
“That’s her,” she says.
When Gaeta spots her, she smiles too. They embrace. With all eyes watching, they keep the kiss short, and the crowd cheers.
And here’s the kiss:
At the sight of that picture, wingnut heads explode and normal people who know what it’s like to be away from a loved one for a long time feel a kinship with them.
And lest any of the wingnuts think this was done for “political purposes,” they weren’t chosen — they won a raffle!
[h/t Towleroad]
Oh, wingnuts will just say the raffle was rigged.
I’m glad to see that real Americans are being shown at last. We come in all flavors and sizes and we are not just cardboard cut-out, heterosexual, anti-gay activists! I hope these women have a wonderful Christmas, New Year and whatever other holiday they might celebrate!
AWWWWWW!!!! I saw the picture on Huffington Post earlier and thought, “How cute is that!”
Despicable.
Yes you are Anonymous.
I want a sailor too!
Yes, Anonymous, bigotry is always despicable.
@emma, I agree! They are so cute. Adorable.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the repeal of DADT was a disaster for the Christian Right. While the policy itself only impacted a small number of gays directly, those are the gays and lesbians that America most needed to see and that the Christian Right did not want America to see. In just the last few months, we have had the viral video of a soldier serving in Iraq coming out to his dad, the outcry over the booing of another gay serviceman in Iraq who asked a question at a GOP debate, and now this. This won’t stop and every time one of these events takes place, it destroys the Christian Right line that gays are parasitic libertines who undermine traditional values. And it impacts the moderate and conservative Americans who hold the armed forces in such high regard.
It may turn out that DADT repeal has a greater impact on American culture than anything else that has been accomplished in 40 years.
I wonder what the reaction would have been had this been two male sailors? I think the ick factor would have kicked in eliciting snickers and jeers. However, I congratulate the two brave women for being themselves. Well done!
To digress entirely, Wayne….you might want to check out pinknews.co.uk. Apparently, the Catholic church in Scotland is using Paul Cameron’s mythology about gays to discredit and thwart the Scottish government from introducing marriage equality. Proof that American fundamentalists are busy infiltrating the British political system.
The Catholic Church is still in Scotland? Scotland was excommunicated in the early 14th century for not taking part in the persecution of the Knights Templar at the behest of the French king and his puppet Pope. Scotland basically told them to go F-k themselves. I guess they’ve been re-communicated since 1309. ;)
It Wont work in Scotland…most Scots are Presbyterian (the official name there is The Church Of Scotland) and while a lot of those are conservative (the Free Church, also Presbyterian like the C of Scotland, is conservative) the Church of Scotland is in the process of ordaining gay clergy, and most Scots belong to it, NOT the Roman ‘church’.
Scotland will get gay marriage, despite the bigotry of the Catholics.
@emma and Emma – : )
i was shocked to find out that it was allowed to happen in the commonwealth, if these two ladies weren’t part of the military and women then they would have been arrested. I know cause i live here in VA can’t walk down the street holding hands if you’re two gay men God forbid literally. I am happy that this happened but they have a loooooooooong way to go in this state.