Assuming he's telling the truth though, the comments that seem to have upset the commander most were the one's where Rosenberg implied that he is gay. Now as another reporter pointed out it's hard to imagine that a sailor isn't used to well sailor talk; I'd add that it's hard to imagine that no one's ever implied he's gay before. I suppose it's possible he doesn't know much about Churchill and his wit and wisdom but it's harder to imagine that he missed out on this little disco gem or has never encountered a member of the army or marines (variations on the "all navy men are gay" is a favorite subject of fun in both those branches I'm told).
Anyway apparently the utter hypocrisy of his complaint has never dawned on Cmdr. Gordon. Remember that a big part of the fun and games that went on at Guantanamo and elsewhere under the name of "enhanced interrogation techniques" was routine sexual humiliation of the detainees. When we were kids I'd wager most of us were told after doing some nasty thing or other, "How would you like it if somebody did that to you?" Well Gordon got just a little taste of what the detainees have went through and he does not seem to like it very much at all. I suppose that one would not expect a flack like Gordon to have much of a sense for hypocrisy-- it's pretty much a disqualification for the job after all-- but I hope it doesn't escape the rest of us.
(He does whine that "He's been abused worse than any detainee," though I don't see any references to Rosenberg setting on him with dogs, waterboarding him, or actually sodomizing him in the complaint.)
Many of the complaints refer to "ass kissing", crawling up somebody's ass, etc. It just happens to be the case in English, as with many other languages, that profanity involves sexual, religious and excretory references. I'll grant that Rosenberg seems to have been mighty unprofessional, but there are only so many ways to imply sycophancy when you want to make a point. I can't think of any "above the equator" phrases to do it. Unprofessionalism isn't a crime, but given that she was being unprofessional to make a point, her options were limited, and he comes out indicting the language and centuries of time-tested artistry in dissing. Willing to die but not be jibed? How curious.
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