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Bradley Manning, the soldier who released classified documents to Wikileaks' trial is now in the sentencing phase. Apparently, he is using as part of his justification for acting as he did that he is transgender. The stories I've read on different sites and heard on the news seem to conflict in what he is asking for or saying. But basically, as I understand it, he is using his claim to be transgender to indicate some level of incapcity which should have a bearing on his sentence. (I am using he and not another pronoun since his claim is confusing).
I wonder what the take on that is from those her at BC/TS?
There are too many stories to post a link, especially since I did not find one I though authoratative.
Google search and you will get several.
RAMI
Comments
Keeping the Wolves at bay.
From personal experience, not giving space to her is what drove my eventual melt down. I do not know how effective a GID defense will be with the Military. They want to save face. Personally I think the kid is a hero.
G
I Agree !
I agree with you, Gwen. And even if (s)he is not, I think the sort of punishment they want to give her/him is inhuman, cruel and unjustified.
Exposing a tyranical regime for invading the privacy of citizens, should be rewarded with knighthoods and medals, not punished.
What went wrong in the "land of the free" ? It seems that the biggest power on earth has been beaten by a small gang of crazy religious nutcases flying a couple of hyjacked passenger jets into a tall building. If the result is the state gave up being a free one then they definitely won that war already.
Briar
Knighthoods and medals?
Number one, what country do you live in? The entire feudal system was one of the reasons for the founding of this country. That's where the whole concept of knighthood comes from.
Second, as a decorated veteran, I resent the implication that this kid should get any decoration for violating his oath and the sacred trust placed in him by his fellow soldiers and sailors.
Whether or not he felt that our government was justified in what it did is not the point. What he did was wrong in so many ways. If you disagree with our government, you use the system to correct it. You don't violate the oaths you swore, nor do you put your fellows in danger.
Dallas
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
i agree with Dallas
(S)he swore an oath, then broke it. (s)he had very little knowledge or experience to know what was ok to expose and what wasn't, and even if he did, there is a process to file complaints or worries. being a part of the military involves NOT acting as if you are a lone wolf, you have the right to refuse an order if you feel it is wrong, you do NOT have the right to expose things that you come across to just anyone. to a higher officer, or MAYBE a senator on the oversight committee, but even then you HAVE violated your oath. and that includes not telling your own FAMILY things, much less some attention seeking stranger.
if he had that much against what he discovered he also had the right to ask for a discharge as a conscientious objector (at least i think they still use that although it more for avoiding the draft when it was in affect or for those whose religion made them not able to do combat, etc). granted it might not be an HONORABLE discharge, and it could haunt him for the rest of his life, but at least he wouldn't be branded a traitor and looking at a possible firing squad.
unless there is some sign of this in her/his history, i think it is just a way for him to try and get out of the consequences for his actions, and puts a very bad light on those who ARE transgender and perform in life as needed (yes i know a lot dont, but they also would not have made it into the military screening)
Terri
Teresa L.
Doing Us No Favors
Such stories does those of us who are TG any favors. Once more being TG is being associated with being not quite competent or sane.
I served for seventeen years during which I was unabashedly TG, (I attended my first Texas Tea Party while I was assigned at Fort Hood), without ever feeling the need to betray my nation.
But that's just me. Maybe I am the odd duck. Does being TG really authorize a person to do stupid things?
Nancy Cole
"You may be what you resolve to be."
T.J. Jackson
Well said Nancy
Using one's gender dysphoria howsoever it might be manifesting itself, is hardly a justification for explaining away any behavioural aberrations that might be used legally (or even medically) to associate one's problems with incompetence or insanity.
Trans people are struggling endlessly to disassociate their gender dysphoria from equating to illegality, incompetence or insanity. This person's claims make we want to kick the wall in frustration. It's struggle enough educating others without him/her dragging the condition's reputation back to what was for us older Tee's, the dark ages.
Bev.
I'm pretty sure....
That stupidity has nothing to do with being transgendered. In fact, most of the stupid people that I know are not, lol!
I agree that your comment was well spoken. It's time that we stopped letting lawyers bring cases like this to court. Yes, there are truly people who are mentally incompetent and not capable of telling right from wrong, and yes, those people should be properly treated rather than simply locked away. However, it is all too common that that defense is simply the last refuge of a true criminal.
Dallas
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
My Thoughts
When HE starts to where female clothes & make up takes HRT and is seriuos about transitioning to female HE is a big fraud & trying to get a lighter sentence. HE is also sending the wrong message about transgender , there is nothing mental about a true transgender just a bad hormone day in the fetus stage of life causing an outhouse instead of indoor plumbing .
I hope he is turned down
Thanks Rami HUGS Richie2
How does GID justify treason?
And before you start, I'm a registered Democrat, and a believer in full gender rights. But honestly, what has gender got to do with crime? He just makes us all look demented.
Being Transgendered is NOT a mental illness, nor does it enfeeble us in any way. Many here have proudly and gallantly served in the military and other government service. This criminal using his gender issues, if any, as an excuse for his transgressions is a slap in the face to the whole LGBTQ community.
My choice: Hang him or shoot him!
Ole
We are each exactly as God made us. God does not make mistakes!
Gender rights are the new civil rights!
I agree - being trangendered is NOT a mental illness, however
that appears to be just the point here. The effort obviously is cause the rest of the country to think those who are TG are mentally ill. That gives them and the courts the ammuntion to put all of us away. I think it is too late to hang or shoot him the damage has been done (although for the crime of treason, shooting him is well deserved). I doubt he actually has any gender issues but sees this as an opportunity through psychobabblers to cause more trouble and muddy the waters concerning his trial.
I had twelve years of psycholbabblers and that's all they ever did - babble. They eventually lost interest in my case and one by one faded back into the woodwork. (Thank God)
A.
Completely Agree
I completely agree with everyone who has posted that this is an outrageous attempt by him and his defense team to muddy the waters and play on the "I'm not responsible defense."
You are completely correct in that this endangers all of us by implying that being transgendered is not only a mental abberation, but a potentially dangerous one at that. We should all keep in mind that it has not been that long since homosexuality was criminal activity and we would all have been labeled legally as sexual deviants. In some places we still are.
This is a slippery slope that his defense team is starting us all down. Hopefully, this defense will be laughed out of court as being ludicrous due to the fact that being transgendered is not a mental illness, but rather is simply a birth defect that can be corrected allowing those afflicted to live as they should have been born. There has been too much progress over the past several decades to allow this to result in backlash or backsliding.
I think that we all need to keep in mind that societies have a habit of throwing someone off the back of the sled to keep the wolves at bay for a while. I have no intention of being that person. We would all be much better off if he is simply found to be mentally competent, This defense to be the ruse that it is, and that he is required to serve out his sentence for the crimes he committed.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Hmm...
Like others who've posted before, this does seem rather suspicious, especially given he's just had the equivalent of a life sentence handed to him. Perhaps a lawer representing him has said it might help lessen his sentence. Surely if he genuinely had a medical issue (of any sort) which could have been used as evidence in his favour, it would have been logical to bring it up in the trial, rather than as a post-sentencing desperate attempt.
the TG community desperately needs more positive stories and less of people like Bradley or those who decide to detransition several decades after transitioning (together with the obligatory tabloid sob story blaming it on the doctors who made the original diagnosis)
As for what Bradley did when he had access to those diplomatic cables, while it could be argued some of them would probably have been in the public interest, he would probably have had a far stronger case if he'd taken time to analyse the cables (even by title only) and only publish those likely to be in the public interest (e.g. selected information on unorthodox activities civilian branches of government were engaged in, but nothing relating to military operations or overseas aspects of the "War on Terror"), rather than dumping the whole lot uncensored on Wikileaks. As with tabloid journalism, the public interest is completely different criterion to what the public are interested in.
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Jumping into the fray. Avoide the smoke screen
I do understand that war is messy and mistakes are made. I also understand that there is an incredable trust we place in those who handel secret information.
And the willful disclusor of that deserves the highest penalty the law can muster.
I am very hawkish concerning this topic, but I include all people from the top down including, not just the lower ranks of our milatary but our leaders and population in general. How many Germans, during ww2 refused to see what was hapening to them. Even Charles Limburg thought that Hitler was the cats pjs. But the scary thing is Hitler was not alone, he performed his horific actions with the help of world banking and people in every country of the world,!!!!!
Not to open this can of worms any farther than this I am also aware due to the loss of several people I held dear who became collateral damage due to the criminal activities of the hierarchy controlling the USA's actions over a considerable legnth of time. These people have used America to
commit crimes aganst humanity on a scale that stagers the the imagination.
To white wash the criminal activity of our military and political system by imprisoning and tourching people who brings this to our attention is beyond the pale.
My observations over my considerable lifetime and experience showes that the world needs these people to step up or our life will be forfit at the whim of some faceless criminal wearing a sute. The world must discard our willful ignorance of what there Governments are doing to create A New World Order by assinating the inocent.
This young man is being lynched in public for speaking truths to power. This war aganst inocents violates every moral and civic ethic that exists. Please understand I am not directing this comment at any one person but making a passionate plea to open our eyes to see that no one is safe from a mistake by a drone operator or a politically paranoidely insane individual who could on a wim strike your life.
This is not a war in a far off land but one being fought out in our state houses and federal governments that could return the world back to the uncivilized murderous past. If so no prayer will help, only acting on the overwhelming evidences we have been presented can prevent globalization of Nazi ideals
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
Misha
i understand your viewpoint, but the way he did it WAS WRONG!! there are ways for "whistleblowers" to bring these things to the attention of those who can fix it, without giving away information that would put our people in danger, or embarrass our allies because we cant control our own people. that is what oversight committee's are for. am i proud of everything the US has done? no, but i am Proud of every soldier, sailor (was one, inactive reserves AND swore the oath), marine, airman and agents of any particular flavor that did their duty, despite it not always being "nice" or "clean", i see how veterans are being treated to day and i want to hit some people, kick some politicians for violating THEIR oath to take care of those who fought and worked for our protection, and the protection of others. I know some will disagree with that, but that is how i feel. not everything we have done was sanctioned by the government or was not approved by those "in charge" but someone at a lower level with little or no oversight(key word here) and we do sometimes need those kinds of actions to save a lot more lives. think if Hitler could have been assassinated before he got close to war, the people, culture, etc saved would have been worth it. but back then we were under "isolationist" policies, and had little to do with the rest of the world, also why we took so long to enter WW2, except through the donation of equipment and some "volunteers" who joined foreign militaries to help them as much as we could.
both to these "leakers" are traitors, they violated their oaths. both deserve to be punished to the full extent of the law. its bad enough a lot of politicians get away with it, if our armed forces or security agencies cant be trusted, then where are we?
Terri
Teresa L.
As one who served.....
I find his actions despicable. When one enters the armed services of the United States of America, you swear an oath to defend the Constituion of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Using either that oath, or the excuse that he is transgendered, in order to justify what he did is reprehensible. The old saying is, "My country right or wrong. When right to keep right, when wrong to put right." you do not do this by putting your fellow soldiers in harms way. I have in the past, and will continue for as long as I breathe, to defend any citizens right to disagree with the current administration. When I served, I quite often did not agree with the administration that was in office., but I never committed treason because of it.
My choice was to serve as best I could, and then once out to work with the system to fix what was wrong.
There always has been, and always will be a need for certain facts to be kept secret. This helps to ensure the safety of our citizens and our country. When Roosevelt (not one of my heroes) chose to not defend certain areas of the Pacific so as not to reveal the fact that we had broken the Japanese codes during WWII, he did what he saw to be right. When Churchill chose to not alert the citizens of specific English towns that they were about to be subjected to German bombing in WWII, he did it. Yet we remember both men as heroes.
I too am transgendered, and I have served in combat - I have had men under my command wounded and die. I have myself been wounded, and had to help hold one of my teams intestines in until he could be medivac'd - all while suffering from my own wounds. Yet I did not debate whether or not it was right - I did it for the men I had sworn to protect and bring home. I did it because I gave my solemn oath to do so.
I still wake up periodically in the middle of the night bathed in sweat. The sound of a helicopter still makes my blood pressure spike and when I have to travel on one, yes, I still see the tracers punching through the fuselage and hear the calls for fire coming in for my team as soon as we are on the ground.
But you know what? I live with it - and I would do it again tomorrow if called. Not for Obama or Bush or any other politician, but for my country and the people I swore to serve.
Dallas
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
swear an oath when joining the US military
Uh, huh... I DID NOT swear ANY oath although I know most did so when they were first brought into military service. I did, however, have an extremely high sense of duty to my country and my fellows. That is what guided me and caused me to defend my country's people despite whatever "war" in which we were engaged.
As far as I'm concerned the members of the military are there to support the people of the United States and each other - NOT some politician or politicians who think they should be in charge of the world. If the politicians stop upholding the Constitution or attempt to change it then they have ceased to be a part of the solution and have become a part of the problem. I have made choices which caused some to die and others to live and I still have my nightmares and doubts over my decisions. Helicopters flying overhead bother me also but I am getting better... I figure by the time I reach two hundred (age) I'll probably be over it.
I thank all the other veterans who have 'put in their time' and pray that their nightmares will fade. Mine are still around after nearly fifty years but they only occur occassionally now and I can recognize them as being nightmares - most of the time anyway.
A.
Defending one's country is always something to be admired.....
But being inducted without having to swear an oath? I find that to be extremely odd. It is a requirement of all of the Armed Forces of the United States.
What I have always found somewhat humorous about it was not the oath that I swore, or the fact that I was required to do so, but the fact that afterwards I was commissioned as "An Officer and a Gentleman by Act Of Congress" - yes, the US Navy still uses the phrase when officers are sworn in. Too bad they didn't know that deep down inside I wasn't really a man!
I swore my oath in 1978 and did so voluntarily. What branch of service were you inducted into, and we're you drafted or did you volunteer? That may be the difference.
Dallas
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
This defence stratagem has harmed us all.
Why should we not be surprised?
However the potential fallout from this defence is horrifying. Already there is a divide growing following the repeal of DADT in the US Military for the LGB community whilst TG personnel remain anathema. This defence will only provide ammunition to those who seek to discredit and demonise us (and what wonderful ammunition it is!).
Thank God I'm a British officer, serving openly and without fear of reprisal (although that's mainly because I'm grumpy, senior and can run, shoot, march and say 'Carry On Sergeant Major' better than most of the youngsters of either gender), yet even so I fear the impact of this. The April Ashley case set back the legal position of trans women in the UK for 34 years. Please God this doesn't do similar damage, although I am sceptical.
Persephone
Persephone
Non sum qualis eram
Like Rami said it's hard to
Like Rami said it's hard to get a clear picture of what this story is from reading articles but from what I have seen being TG is not his main defense. He claims, or at least his lawyers claim, that he was mentally disturbed. that he would go unresponsive during meetings, fly into rages and severe depressions, that he was once found naked in a fetal position with a knife at his feet in a catatonic state. The TG element comes in, at least from what I have read which could be wrong, in that he sent a picture of himself in a dress to his commanding officer and explained that in enlisted in order to 'overcome' his GID but it wasn't working. So it wasn't as much him saying he was TG and therefor mentally deranged but that his fighting who he was was causing him problems. (Of course I'm sure plenty of bigots will forget this distinction.)
If this is all true, or even part of it true, it means he was in a lot of mental distress, and should never have been allowed to have the clearance he had. He should have been given help. Does this excuse what he did? Hell no, but he's not using this in his defense, he is using this in his sentencing phase as a mitigating factor.
As for all the 'was he right to do what he did or not' I can't say if I agree or disagree. When it first come out about him doing this I thought he was a traitor but now? I don't know. I haven't done enough research on this particular subject to make an informed decision, but lately it seems that the government is getting out of control. For the first time in my life I have began to almost doubt that we are the land of the free. So much of what those in power seem to be doing now doesn't seem right and there doesn't seem to be anyway to stop them. And I'm not talking about any particular political party but rather all of them.
At what point does supporting this country part from supporting those in power? And if those in power are the ones that make the rules does that mean you must break the rules? If they control all of the system can you even work within the system to change it? What does it say that I hesitate to post this part of the message for fear that they will read it? yes most likely that is just foolishness but doesn't the fact that an American would have such a foolish fear say something in and of itself? We can not see the future, and know if the people then will curse us as fools for not reacting the shifts that presaged a horrible change, or laugh at us as fool for being so paranoid.
Manning as defenseless, tormented goat
Lots of opinions, some backed up by recognized facts, a good many more not.
If you’ve been keeping abreast of this situation, you’re already aware that Pvt. Manning has been incarcerated some three years by now, much in solitary confinnement (various kinds), some intentionally naked for weeks at a time.
To the best of my knowledge, until this week he has never made any statement other than admitting the stark details of the charges against him (transmission of documents to Wikileaks). In fact, his captors have scarcely let him utter anything for public consumption nor has he had visitors more than a few times -- and that includes his defense attorneys. This week’s apology for harm he has done is the first time he has indicated either that his actions with Wikileaks did harm to the USA or that his sexual state of mind might lay in back of his work.
We all know that the judge found Manning ‘not guilty’ as to the charge of treason.
But we don’t know much else because the government is keeping the lid on this case as tight as it can. We have learned that among the material turned over to Wikileaks was videotape of an atrocity commited by certain US aircraft in killing a dozen or more people at a crossroads in Bhagdad (?). Two news personnel were killed as well as a family that stopped as ordered at the checkpoint to converse with US troops on duty there.
Manning may now believe that he harmed the US, but so far as I have been able to ascertain, only Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State has attempted to say that any of the information released has led to any harm.
When Daniel Ellsberg swiped “secret†material from his employer the Rand Corp., and was able to get it published, the government and the Pentagon were outraged. Ellsberg was about to be branded a traitor, but as events turned out, the government backed down. Millions of Americans read the four volumes of the “Pentagon Papers,†shrugged their shoulders, went to bed and got up the next morning knowing the whole thing was a tempest in a teapot.
Three tiny but important points: --Manning tried to talk to his commanding officers, but no one would give him the time of day. --Between Manning and Wikileaks I think the material in question was pretty thoroughly vetted, so the likelihood of danger is minimal. --Any system that the US gov’t has that allows employees to report significant problems without seriously letting the whistleblower be castigated within the system is seriously broken.
Leah
AJE: The Stream
Al Jazeera English's journalists have picked up on the online criticism of this release by Manning's lawyers...
AJE: The Stream: Bradley Manning's gender defence
Netizens question US army's release of photo showing leaker in wig and lipstick.
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Missing the Point
From what I read in the actual story, rather than editorial comments from various pundits and peanut galleries, is that she's coming out, not using this issue as part of any "insanity plea." Her lawyers did raise the issue during the trial, but only as an example of the sorts of confusion and anguish she was suffering at the time.
At no point was it suggested that TG people are "necessarily" leakers of information, whether justified or not.
I personally think that the American people have a right to know when American soldiers laugh and make jokes whilst slaughtering innocent civilians whilst safely flitting about high in the sky, but maybe that's just me.
I further think that the American people, perhaps the world, have a right to know that the USA is colluding with US "allies" in torturing and murdering political "dissidents" without trial.
I further think that the people of the world have a right to know that the USA was colluding with right-wing governments all around the world to suppress democracy everywhere it springs up and to oppress or murder those who advocate democracy, and in fact it was Manning's revelations that provided the impetus for the various "Arab Spring" freedom movements around the Middle East, although of course this general proclivity on the part of the USA comes as no surprise to those who remember how the USA propelled the Shah of Iran and his brutal regime into power after a pro-democracy landslide offended US oil interests.
I personally think that the words "Liberty and Justice for all" in the US pledge of allegiance just might have some sort of esoteric meaning beyond an empty platitude.
Of course, maybe that's just me...
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Regarding the US Military Oath of Office
We note that for officers at least, their primary responsibility is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to cover up crimes, however embarrassing, collude with others in covering up crimes or suppressing evidence thereof, nor to condone criminal activities of others on behalf of any political or career-enhancing agenda.
US political officials take very similar oaths.
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style