In Their Own Words - Crossing the Line
Harm Mac AJ Bud Harriet Skates Captain Boone
Lieutenant (j.g.) Elizabeth "Skates" Hawkes
By Jen Turner (jugrox@prodigy.net)
At least the only person she got killed was herself. God that sounds terrible, doesn't it? But I swear she was on a mission or something.
Marilyn Isaaks gives, or should I say, gave, women in combat a bad name. She thought because she was a woman that she deserved special favors. The CAG may be an ass, but he was right, she didn't belong in the air. And it wasn't fair of Congresswoman DeLong to put her in the air. I hope she understands what she did. Isaaks was grounded for a reason. The sexual harassment charges didn't have a base, either. I meant what I told Major MacKenzie, any woman who can't handle a man playing a little grab ass...
But that's not really fair, is it? We have to give up a little of ourselves to fit in, to be one of the boys. We shouldn't have to 'handle a man,' we should still be able to count on someone to stand up for us. There should still be men in the world willing to protect a woman, willing to help a stranger.
The Crossing the Line ceremony may be degrading, but from where I stood it was way more degrading to the men. Besides, they do tell you about these things in flight school.
I mean it's not like they teach a class on Crossing the Line ceremonies and Code Reds, excuse me Blanket Parties, but you hear enough from instructors and fellow classmates. If she didn't know what was coming, she had blinders on.
I wish I would have had more of a chance to talk to Major MacKenzie. As women trying to make it in a man's world, we need to stick together. She seems to really love the corps and didn't just join to become a cause. She seemed to have it all together, protecting herself and being 'one of the men' without giving up more of herself than she was willing. I hope I get to see her again in the future.
I know she thought Commander Rabb wasn't being fair. She may not have expressed it, but you hear enough. I know that the CAG and Skipper both flew with the Commander's father, so I'm sure he was a little biased. I know he wasn't supposed to have been, but hell, it would be hard not to be biased.
Well, diary, that's enough for this exciting day. I'm going to turn in and hopefully dream of tall, dark, handsome strangers who pull me out of the ocean. Yeah, he outranks me, a girl can dream, can't she?
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Disclaimer: While based on the JAG episode, this is for entertainment purposes only and no profit is being made.