Manning, cowardice, and silence (Update)

This morning there was an interesting press release posted at truth-out.org, namely that a petition has been started, to be signed by those who would be willing to serve part of Manning's eventual sentence.

While I'm fundamentally not a petition fan, since they are simply too easy to ignore, I was taken by the fact that the purpose of the petition was not to defeat evil, rather

The goals of the petition are to let Bradley Manning know how much we appreciate his work as a whistleblower for human rights. The petitioners also want to let the sentencing judge, the convening authority and anyone else who reviews the case see that many Americans strongly support Manning to the point where they are willing to go to prison for him.

This caught my attention, of course, because it specifically addresses the complaint I raised in my recent post that there was too much silence surrounding the Manning case. This silence, as we know, is being enhanced by the mainstream media. As the propaganda organ of the powers-that-be (TPTB), it has little, if any, interest in justice. In fact, it's hard to speak of justice at all these days. But, be that as it may ...

The chances that anything will come of this may be small. As one commenter already noted, "talk is cheap", but talk still "costs" more than mere silence. I, for one, am happy to admit that I was at least partly wrong in my assessment, even if my overall point has not been thereby refuted: TPTB oppress (and torture) the little folks because they can, and they protect the real villians, because they are the villians themselves.

As of this writing, over 3,500 people have signed. If you are interested, you can find the petition here. Of course, more information can also be found on the I Am Bradley Manning website.

The Snowden snow-job

There was a very wise man once who remarked that "by their fruits you shall know them". He was, I'll admit, a bit of a rebel, perhaps a downright troublemaker, but I like to think of him as a courageous individual who was willing to not only call 'em as he saw 'em, but was right about most of what he saw.

Talk's cheap. We all know that, and some folks make a career out of cheap talk. Lawyers spring to mind, but, as is too often the case, politicians elbow their way to the front of the line. And while the vast majority of Americans, for example, have little, if any faith, in their elected officials, and even though an increasing number wail and moan about too much government, too many of these people are willing to accept the assertion that Edward Snowden is not only a criminal, he's a traitor. It's easy to say, but it's difficult to prove. Of course, a lot of us are wondering if it will ever come to that ... proving it, that is. After all, like with Bradley Manning, he was guilty upon arrest, the conviction was merely to legitimize it all after the fact.

Like Manning, Snowden, released classified information to the public. There's no question about that; like Manning, he's admitted to it. Like Manning, he believed that he could no longer be apart of that nefarious apparatus that was doing the collection. He felt "the people" had the right to know. Unlike Manning who exposed the war crimes of the American government, Snowden exposed the civilian crimes that same government was committing: the unwarranted, whole-scale collection of data and meta-data of communications by its enemies, sure, but also its friends and its own people.

What surprises me more than anything else, like in the Manning case, is the silence. There should be outrage. Snowden did us a favor, whether we like it or not. He confirmed the suspicion that so many of us have had for so long: our own government thinks no more of its own people, no more of its allies, no more of its supporters than it does of its enemies. That is paranoia writ large. That is possibly schizophrenia. It is a strong indication that America is sick. Very, very sick.

But, Americans take it. They've pulled in their heads into their little turtle shells and will continue to believe, to tell themselves, how great, noble, and honorable their country is, how proud they are to be Americans, lying to themselves and showing the world that what once may have been great is now decrepit, what once may have been noble is now deceiving, what once may have been honorable is now treacherous.

America no longer leads by example, unless hypocrisy is worth emulating. The self-proclaimed "land of the free and home of the brave" has become its own prison led by violently inclined cowards who know no more reason, only force (any country refusing to extradite Snowden will be punished). By what right? Since when does might make right?

It's a sad day, not only, but especially for America. By their fruits you shall know them.

Manning, cowardice, and silence

It's been about a week ... enough time to cool down and take a more reasonable look at recent events. As Dark Helmet said in "Spaceballs", "There's an upside, and a downside ...". The upside was that in the first round, Bradley Manning was found not guilty of "aiding the enemy". The downside is that there was this trial -- if one can even call it that -- at all.

When crimes become known, when suspects or perpetrators are identified, our sense of justice calls for a trial. When this happens so selectively, when suspects and perpetrators are treated so inhumanely, and when punishment is the sole aim, then it is difficult to speak of justice at all. And if there must be punishment at all, wouldn't it at least be some semblance of justice if it were to fit the crime? When none of this holds, which is the case with Bradley Manning, all you are left with is a travesty.

We know that leading and not-so-leading figures on Wall Street lied to, cheated and stole from the public and their investors causing the biggest financial meltdown in modern times. Innumerable laws were broken, and in the aftermath death and destruction followed. We know that lives were destroyed, suicides committed ... we know who the perpetrators are but they will never be brought to justice. They will never even be charged.

We know that Bush and Blair, but primarily Bush, lied, cheated and stole (in this case, trust) from the American public and plunged the country into unpayable debt and an unwinnable war. He is responsible for the deaths of upwards of a million people ... Lady Macbeth couldn't live with even one ... and he authorized the use of torture and terror, all in the name of Freedom, so he, too, will never face a day in court, even though what he did was both illegal and utterly immoral.

But, Bradley Manning, who, for whatever reasons, committed much lesser wrongs, who has not caused a single death, who has merely exposed the hypocrisy, two-facedness and immorality of the supposed "good guys", well, he's looking at up to 136 years in prison. And to top it off, he has been mistreated, tortured, abused, maligned, and set upon by a media thirsting for blood, and what do we hear? Silence.

Most people don't know what he did. Most people have not taken the time to consider what information he actually released. He never argued that he did and he even tried to give his side of the story ... not so that he would be exonerated -- he never expected that apparently -- but so that others would understand why. We know for a fact that at least once he took seriously his duty as an American soldier to report human rights violations to his superior officers. We also know for a fact that his superior officer not only failed to follow up on Manning's plea, he participated in its suppression (which is punishable by the same code of military justice that decided it needn't bring charges at all), and so it all falls upon the shoulders of one rather defenseless individual.

Those who have the most to say have the most to lose and they also have the means -- fair or foul, right or wrong -- to defend themselves. Those who are at the bottom of the food chain are expected to say thank you for being torn to shreds by the lions instead of the tigers, or something to that effect. These are clear signs of cowardice. Manning will be made an example of, for whatever petty crimes his oppressors deem fit. Those who committed the real crimes, the big crimes, will go free to be praised and applauded by the ignorant.

No, no one ever said that life is or would ever be fair. But we as humans know what justice is and we know how to achieve it, but we are choosing cowardice instead. The oppression of Bradley Manning is an act of sheer cowardice. And matching that is the silence of all those who know how he has been treated and what is to become of him is no way commensurate with whatever wrongs we believe he may have committed. And that silence is simply shameful.