#lip (local indigenous personnel)

[remyfire]

Things I love here. A, Hawkeye making sure Trapper is paying attention when he tells his joke. B, Trapper as always being so unabashed in his laughter. C, Hawkeye continuing to gaze like a lovesick puppy for several seconds after Trap's looked away.

[mashpoll]

LIP (Local Indigenous Personnel) (s2 e7): Hawkeye facilitates a G.I.'s marriage to a Korean by blackmailing the army's bearer of red-tape.

Father's Day (s9 e4): Margaret's cold-hearted father visits, while the gang tries to hide a stolen side of beef that was given to them by an appreciative patient.

[aahsokaatano]

A Brief Examination of Margaret Houlihan and Gender

(aka I'm doing my rough draft of my essay on tumblr bc I can ramble here)

I spent 6 weeks watching all 251 episodes of M*A*S*H with the aim of critically analyzing Margaret Houlihan, and more specifically how she is referred to throughout the series. I was initially doing this with the idea of tracking the change from "Hot Lips" to Margaret, but I got more than I bargained for - I really forgot how often she's referred to as a man or in a gender neutral way, and it's super interesting, so under the cut is a list of quotes and some light analysis.

Season 1

"Oh, sorry baby." / "Major to you!" ("The Pilot" s1e1) Neutral

"You're dismissed!" / "Thanks, Mother." ("The Pilot" s1e1) Feminine

"One lady in our outfit..." ("Dear Dad" s1e12) Feminine

Season 2

"You are no gentleman!" / "Good thing you are." ("Divided We Stand" s2e1) Masculine

[Margaret speaking on behalf of Frank] "That's pretty strong stuff, Frank." / "It's true!" ("L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel)" s2e7) Masculine

"You've emasculated me for the last time!" ("Carry On Hawkeye" s2 e11) Masculine

"Margaret Houlihan; nurse, friend, and all around good egg." ("Carry On Hawkeye" s2e11) Neutral

[Radar calls Margaret "sir" - this is something that he ends up doing for several more seasons] "Men are sirs, women are ma'ams!" ("Hot Lips and Empty Arms" s2e14) Feminine (with Masculine connotations long-term)

Season 3

"You know, for once I agree with him?" / "I [Margaret] said that." / "I know." ("Rainbow Bridge" s3e2) Masculine

"Speaking man-to-man, Colonel," ("There is Nothing Like a Nurse" s3e10) Masculine

"He's a creep." / "She's a creepette." ("The Consultant" s3e17) Feminine

"I know you didn't volunteer because you're a married man [...] Well, I'm a married man, too, Frank. Married to the Army." ("Aid Station" s3e19) Masculine

"I'm not just Major Margaret Houlihan, army nurse. I'm also Margaret Houlihan - frail, vulnerable, sensitive female." ("Aid Station" s3e19) Feminine

"Don't think of me as a woman!" ("Aid Station" s3e19) Neutral/Masculine

Season 4

"When I was five, I had a crying fit because they wouldn't let me have a crew cut." ("Deluge" 4.23) Neutral/Masculine

Season 5

"He [Donald] calls me his little plebe." ("Margaret's Engagement" s5e2) Neutral

"I'm an engaged person!" ("Margaret's Engagement" s5e2) Neutral

[Speaking to a newborn baby] "Major Houlihan is here to help you." ("The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan" s5e6) Neutral

"Anybody can open with a pair of 10s if they're wearing civilian boxer shorts." / [...] / "I'll open for 25 cents." ("Dear Sigmund" s5e7) Neutral/Masculine

"Margaret, when you're sick, can't you call me Frank?" / "You know I'm an engaged person." ("The Colonel's Horse" s5e11) Neutral

"Margaret, I'm as taut as a watch spring." / "Your state of tautness s no longer a concern of mine, Major Burns. I happen to be an engaged person." ("Hawkeye's Nightmare" s5e13) Neutral

"Sure, nurse..." / "Nurse?! You're talking to a major!" / "Sorry. Would you help us move this guy into pre-op, Major?" ("Post-Op" s5e23) Feminine/Neutral

Season 6

"A head nurse who is part seductress, and part Attila the Hun" ("The Winchester Tapes" s6e4) Feminine/Masculine

[the nurses to Hawkeye] "Do you think you could talk to Hot Lips?" ("Images" s6e9) Feminine

"Hot Lips Houlihan: blonde landmine." ("Patent 4077" s6e16) Feminine

"Congratulations. You're still a major, Major." ("What's Up, Doc?" s6e19) Neutral

Season 7

[about her divorce] "Best thing that ever happened to me. The weight of the world is off my shoulders! I feel like a new woman!" ("Peace On Us" s7e2) Feminine

[BJ] "The king is dead." / [Hawk] "Long live the queen." / [Margaret] "You bet." ("Hot Lips is Back in Town" s7e20) Feminine

"I'm going as far in this man's army as any woman can go. Maybe even general!" ("Hot Lips is Back in Town" s7e20) Feminine

Season 8

"I'm a woman, and I can tell you what it's like for a woman to be away from the man she loves." ("Too Many Cooks" s8e1) Feminine

"To be a woman, with the rank of major..." ("Are You Now, Margaret?" s8e2) Feminine

"Hot Lips?" / "Yeah, that's a nickname she picked up." ("Are You Now, Margaret?" s8e2) Feminine

"Hot Streak Houlihan strikes again!" ("Life Time" s8e11) Neutral

"I'm just as much a major as any other major. You'll notice these leaves come in gold, not pink for girls and blue for boys." ("Stars and Stripes" s8e14) Feminine/Neutral

"What do you suppose I am deep down?" / "Deep, deep down? A woman." / "Go a little deeper." / "A major." / "I'm me. Sometimes a nurse, sometimes a major, sometimes a woman in love... sometimes all three at once." ("Stars and Stripes" s8e14) Feminine/Neutral

[speaking to an infant] "Hello there, sweetheart. I'm your Auntie Margaret." ("Yessir, That's Our Baby" s8e15) Feminine

Season 9

"What's the matter? She isn't man enough to bring it in [to the men's showers] herself?" ("Bless You, Hawkeye" s9e17) Masculine

[speaking to Margaret] "You know, you don't get to be a high-ranking officer, to run an O.R., to command respect, unless you've earned it." ("The Foresight Saga" s9e19) Neutral

Season 10

"I know everybody thinks I'm tough, demanding, insensitive, cold, callous, crabby - feel free to disagree at any time!" / "Think of it this way; maybe you are all that stuff, but deep down underneath, I think maybe there's some more stuff that's... pretty good stuff. You know?" ("The Birthday Girls" s10e11) Neutral

Season 11

"I do not need the help of a nurse." / "It's a good thing I'm a lady or you'd need a nurse, buster!" ("Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" s11e16) Feminine

Total Counts:

Feminine: 19

Masculine: 12

Neutral: 17

These aren't all of the quotes I collected during my rewatch, or the only thing I was paying attention to, but it definitely caught my interest. And laying out like like this, by season, you can really see the trends ebb and flow. Margaret is portrayed pretty firmly as feminine/neutral through the first season, but season two introduces the running joke of other characters referring to her as "Frank" and using he/him due to how often she speaks on his behalf, as well as Radar calling her "sir" rather than "ma'am." She sticks even more firmly to referring to herself neutrally in season five, calling herself an "engaged person" rather than an "engaged woman" on three different occasions.

After her marriage and Frank's departure, Margaret is referred to more femininely again, but she doesn't refer to herself as a woman until season 7, after her divorce. I find it especially interesting to compare "The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan" in s5 and "Yessir, That's Our Baby" in s8; both deal with very young infants and show us Margaret's interactions with these babies. In s5, she refers to herself as "Major Houlihan" to the baby, but then in s8, she's "Auntie Margaret." Between these events were her marriage and divorce, and Margaret's self-confidence being boosted by her work on herself and her duties as head nurse.

BJ refers to Margaret loosely in masculine terms in s9, and it's the first time the joke has been really touched on since s6, when Charles compares her to Attila the Hun. This is the last time anyone refers to Margaret as masculine, with the final two seasons having her presented either neutrally (by rank) or femininely (as a "lady").

Margaret's character journey actually can be tracked through this list of quotes pretty well. She's more of an antagonist when she's referred to more often with masculine terms, and as she develops into a more traditional protagonist, the narrative refers to her with more feminine terms. The fact that Margaret herself is most likely to use feminine terms when she's at her most confident in herself is definitely interesting, and I think says a lot about how her confidence is tied into her self-image.

[osimint]

Doka La: The crisis blows over

THE tactical part of the Doklam crisis is over. The strategic part will unfold now. Three questions need to be mulled over: Why did Doklam happen? What are its likely consequences? And what lessons should India learn? The Doklam crisis demonstrated China’s aggressive foreign policy whose ultimate goal is to accomplish the China Dream through the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative with military power in the vanguard. Determined to create an alternative geo-strategic and security architecture in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean region to challenge the one created by the US after the Second World War, China, today, does not assess India as its rival in national power.

Just as China built its national power over decades under the US benediction in the region, it assiduously undermined India through a three-pronged approach. One, by building strategic relations with Pakistan — which have culminated in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor — China has ensured that India remains confined to South Asia. Two, by taking advantage of India’s appeasement policy since 1988, and crafting favourable agreements on the disputed border, which is neither agreed on the maps nor on the ground. And three, by strengthening its border management posture (BMP) through excellent infrastructure and use of technology — and building military power to back its outlandish claims. India, clearly, is on the back-foot on the disputed border.

The Doklam crisis should be seen in this backdrop. On the face of it, Doklam was a tactical military manoeuvre where China, on June 16, started road construction on the plateau — claimed by China and Bhutan. India blocked the construction work on June 18 for two reasons: It was coming to Bhutan’s rescue with which it has a special relationship. And it believed that the Chinese road would improve its tactical military posture and threaten the narrow Chicken’s Neck area which connects Indian mainland to its north-eastern states. Consequently, the Indian Army, which has a favourable defensive posture in the area, was told to dig heels. This was not because India did not have any other option. It was because the ultra-nationalist Modi government wanted to be seen as a militarily strong nation.

Interestingly, China’s road construction work, though provocative, seemed to have a different purpose. Twice before its bulldozers got going, China claimed to have informed the local Indian military personnel about its intentions (India has not rebutted this claim), but India decided on a show of muscle rather than talks. This was a mistake. Negotiations — if indeed that was China’s real purpose — at that stage over issues troubling the bilateral ties should have been held.

Not doing so had consequences. Since China has excellent BMP, the Doklam crisis’ initiative passed into Chinese hand. In addition to the bluster of psychological warfare unleashed by its analysts and social media, repeated ultimatums were issued by senior Chinese officials. Indian policy-makers kept a consistently low profile, more out of necessity rather than choice. With each day, the mismatch of national power was getting obvious to the discerning observers.

Moreover, the Indian Army leadership was worried about Chinese border intrusions. The assessment was that the Chinese forces would brazenly exploit chinks in India’s under-developed BMP. While there were reports of Army units being moved close to the border to prevent Chinese intrusions, the Chinese forces were content with showing its military might through live exercises on the Tibet plateau. It was tactics versus technology. Amidst this, the Army Chief, Gen Bipin Rawat’s biggest worry was the sanctity of north Kashmir — the only place where China and Pakistan physically meet — called sub-sector north, which is mostly maintained by air.

Yet another consequence could well be Bhutan, which has recently been promised $10 billion development loan by China. Thimpu, which kept a low profile throughout the crisis, now faces a critical dilemma: live with India under existential threat of China or move away to a neutral position — like numerous small nations in the neighbourhood have done.

Moreover, as a result of Doklam, China could assess the depth of India’s so-called strategic relations with the US. Unlike Japan, which publicly supported India’s position on the crisis, the US maintained a hands-off approach by saying that the two sides should resolve issues by talks. China would have drawn two inferences from this. That for the Trump administration fixated on ‘America First’, China matters more than India. And, the US is unlikely to support India beyond lip-service in a crisis with China.

The consequences of the Doklam crisis, or who blinked first, will become clear once the terms of disengagement are known. This has been called the ‘Doklam Disengagement Understanding’ by the Indian spokesperson. What, however, is apparent is that it would have many surprises since the two sides have dissimilar narrative on the crisis resolution. It is not clear if China has given an assurance that it would not construct the road on the plateau. Moreover, while the Indian troops have pulled back, the Chinese side have resorted to ambiguity by saying that ‘China will continue to exercise its sovereignty and territorial integrity’.

Perhaps the April-May 2013 Depsang crisis, when the Chinese forces stayed 19 km inside Indian territory in north Ladakh for three weeks,  could provide a pointer to future. Even as India hailed the Chinese departure (of its own volition) as its diplomatic victory, the truth came out when the two sides signed the September 2013 Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA). The BDCA which prohibits tailing or following of each other’s patrols that sneak in across the 3,488-km-long border has downgraded the Indian Army’s border guarding role to mere border policing. Consequently, the Indian Army has been forced to cover all likely gaps with police-like barricades — a manpower heavy task — on the border.

While we wait for the details to come out, there are two apparent lessons from the crisis. Instead of bombast, the Modi government should concentrate on building military power. This essentially implies genuine military reforms to help synergise the numerous battlefields — land, air, space, sea, cyber, electromagnetic and psychological — of modern warfare. Equally importantly, India should focus on building an indigenous defence industry capable of supporting modern war in all battlefields.

The other lesson is to know that diplomacy is as good as national power — a mix of hard power comprising economic, political, technological, and military power. The world assesses these attributes in a nation and does not care much about the leadership’s rhetoric meant for domestic audience

The writer is the Editor, FORCE news magazine

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/the-crisis-blows-over/459137.html

Pravin Sawhney

30AUG17

[remyfire]

The fact that Trapper's only job at the wedding was to hold the baby and that he barely looks away from him while everyone else is celebrating? The fact that this is the episode immediately after "Kim"? Goddammit.

[remyfire]

Trapper and Hawkeye's telepathy will always make me sick. Look at them. Ugh.

[remyfire]

Feeling tender about Trapper, post-makeout, giving his date the sweetest little kiss on the cheek. Man who scores 11 out of 10 in every category on all of his dates tbh.