Don't Ask, Don't Tell; Don't Sass, Don't Spell

Jersey City resident Corey Andrew recently posted his profile on Careerbuilder.com, hoping to nab some work as a copywriter. But the response he received was anything but typical.

His resume brought several potential suitors, including an Army recruiter named Marcia Ramode. Andrew had no interest in joining the Army, but asked whether he would be able to serve in the Army as a gay man. The question sparked a bizarre three-day exchange, escalating into a bigoted tirade from the recruiter and an official military investigation.

Using a military email address, U.S. Army recruiter Sgt. Marcia Ramode fired off a series of emails making such statements as " "take your gay ass off someplace", "you as an African have no place to say your roots are deeply rooted here. My roots are much stronger than yours you were brought here being your willpower" and "your freedom of speech was given to you by the military." Andrew responded by criticizing her vocabulary and poor spelling and, after finding out she was a Native American wrote, "So take that to your next rain dance."

The recruiter polished off the exchange with this humdinger:

YOU GO BACK TO AFRICA AND DO YOUR GAY VOODOO LIMBO TANGO AND WANGO DANCE AND JUMP AROUND AND PRANCE AND RUN ALL OVER THE PLACE HALF NAKED THERE AND PRACTICE YOUR GAY MORALS OVER THERE THAT'S WHERE YOU BELONG. I AM REPORTING YOU AS SPAM AND ADDING YOU TO MY BLOCK SENDER LIST SO I DO NOT HAVE TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN.

YOU NEED TO CHECK YOUR SPELLING SO ARE THE ONE WHO SO ILLITERATE. OBVIOUSLY YOU DO NO UNDERSTAND IF YOU ARE GAY YOU ARE OUT OF THE MILITARY YOU ARE DISQUALIFIED. SO WHAT'S THE BIG ISSUE HERE. YOU ARE UPSET YOU DO NOT QUALIFY. I BET THAT'S TRUE. YOUR INNER SPIRITS ARE NOT TRUE TO YOU SINCE YOU DO NOT KNOW IF YOU ARE MALE OR FEMALE. YOU MUST BE A TOTAL IDIOT AND SO STUPID TO PRESUME THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT GENDER YOU ARE. ANYWAYS I WONT HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN SINCE YOU ARE BLOCKED. SO BYE ADOIS. GOODBYE

The Army appears to be taking the email exchange seriously, releasing a statement that said, "The command expects its recruiters to conduct themselves in a professional manner in all dealings with potential applicants and members of the public."