- Fag bomb
:"This article is about the controversial Afghanistan War photograph. For the chemical weapon, see
gay bomb ."The "fag bomb" was an otherwise-typical U.S. military fighter-mounted bomb (a GBU-31 JDAM), photographed aboard the aircraft carrier USS "Enterprise" in October 2001 during the United States' invasion of Afghanistan. On October 11, while being readied to a fighter for deployment in an air mission above Afghanistan, the bomb was defaced with
graffiti (a "message" to the bomb's targets) by an unidentified U.S. Navysailor with the message "HIGH JACK THIS FAGS."The photograph sparked outrage from the
LGBT community, and theAssociated Press pulled it from wires the following day after pressure from theGay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).Both the Associated Press and the United States Navy have apologized for the incident. AP spokesman Jack Stokes described publishing the photograph as a "journalistic error," saying that the "fag bomb" picture "never should have gotten through, and nobody should have seen it." U.S. Navy
Rear Admiral Stephen Pietropaoli promised that the crew had been admonished over their "spontaneous acts of penmanship" calling the slur "not up to our standards."ee also
*
Homophobia
*Semantics
*Societal attitudes towards homosexuality References
*cite journal | last = Steuver | first = Hank | authorlink = Hank Stuever | date = 2001-10-27 | title = The Bomb with a Loaded Message | journal = The Washington Post | pages = C1 | accessdate =
*cite journal | last = Mulvany | first = Katherine | authorlink = | date = 2001-11-16 | title = 'Fag bomb' should be viewed as a reflection of war, not language | journal = The Daily University Star | pages = | accessdate =
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