# Prince Harry protects infantry man from gay-bashing by fellow soldiers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 10, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619 "2013-06-10T13:27:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619/21 "2013-06-12T15:10:31Z")
There’s room for both sides to be wrong here. Obviously there is no excuse for one soldier beating another soldier, so if Harry stepped in to stop a beating that’s a good thing. Of course, it’s also not ok for a soldier to be a jerk to his comrades. None of us were there, so we can’t say whether or not the gay soldier was being a jerk and thus inviting the beating (for which I could understand disciplining them). Put it in simple terms: If, at the school playground, Tommy calls Billy a poopyhead and Billy punches Tommy in the face, they are both getting detention. If Billy punches Tommy in the face because Tommy is gay, Billy is getting detention and Tommy is not. Problem here is, we don’t know what Tommy said or if Billy is a homophobe; we’re assuming. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619/22 "2013-06-12T15:30:39Z")
It was a bad situation & some one who could stepped up & did what’s right. I’d like to think we all would, but FaceBook (the Last Refuge of Bigots) often shows me that this still is not so. > [@njtt](#): > > We Brits have low expectations of our Royal Family. As is your right, but I would hope that you’d remember that he’s not running for anything, not shilling for anyone, not trying to boost stock prices, nor trying to jump ticket sales. Who’d have thunk. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619/23 "2013-06-12T16:55:54Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > Having read a bigger extract, Wharton (who was openly gay, and there is no problem with that) is the one who comes off (to me) as a bit of a prat. > > The issue that prompted his near beating was that he bragged about bedding a fellow infantryman while on base and on exercises - the blokes (mates of the probably closeted other guy) who were about to administer the beating were in the wrong, but a bit of discretion on the part of Wharton would probably have avoided the problem altogether. > > And then he bragged about repeating the exercise a few days later, with another fellow soldier. > > As for Harry, the Windsor clan (apart from Edward) seem to be good military stock - Phillip, Charles, Andrew, William and Harry all have served and served well. I assume you’d feel the same about an officer bragging about banging some woman from the local town? ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619/24 "2013-06-12T19:01:32Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > I assume you’d feel the same about an officer bragging about banging some woman from the local town? If the woman was going to be identified to her peers and neighbours, absolutely - _Conduct Unbecoming An Officer_ is the phrase I’d use. I don’t mind what people do in their private lives, but being discrete about who they do it with is pretty high up there in my list of polite behaviours. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619/25 "2013-06-12T19:18:15Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > As for Harry, the Windsor clan (apart from Edward) seem to be good military stock - Phillip, Charles, Andrew, William and Harry all have served and served well. And Liz too (sort of). She joined a Women’s Auxiliary service toward the end of WWII and served as a mechanic. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619/26 "2013-06-12T20:08:47Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Did he not do no more than his duty. Which is to look out for those under his command. Why is this praiseworthy? Just because he is a royal? Is there a quota against how often things can be “praiseworthy”? Because I see that sentiment a lot and it always baffles me. Like if we give props for something that _really_ doesn’t deserve it all that much, we’ll all run out of compliments by the ends of the month. So we better save them for the extra, extra good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619/27 "2013-06-12T21:47:56Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > If he wants suggestions for more he can do for us gays, letting more naked pics be taken would go a long way… 😉 This is inappropriate for this discussion, so keep these type of comments out of it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619/28 "2013-06-13T01:06:08Z")
Wow…when did MPSIMS get so anal? Understood, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619/29 "2013-06-13T02:10:27Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Wow…when did MPSIMS get so anal? Understood, though. About a month ago? Two months? ---
**Author:** ![singlebsling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@singlebsling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singlebsling)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619/30 "2013-06-13T18:56:31Z")
Bravo Harry! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-protects-infantry-man-from-gay-bashing-by-fellow-soldiers/660619.md?page=1)