![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Could I be Bradley Manning?
5 March 2011 04:27 amI am thinking if I would have done a similar thing as Bradley Manning and (possibly) release hundreds of thousands of secret files to the public through a Lady Gaga CD. I guess I wouldn't have used a Lady Gaga CD, but still. Whenever I stumble upon something that I find injust, I like to think that I would fight for it, that I would make sure that it would be known. But in a parallel universe, what would I do if I stumbled upon the video of a couple of US Soldier killing an Iraqi family and a number of reporters? I hope I would do the same, have the courage that someone like Bradley had and share it with the world.
From what I read, his own former colleagues, American soldiers, are basically torturing him (stripping him naked, refusing him a proper night's sleep - your basic Guantanamo regimen). This poor 23-year-old boy has been in solitary confinement for about the same amount of time that Belgium is without a government (which is INSANELY long). I have trouble with his situation, because he is just this incredibly kind-hearted boy who wanted to expose some horrible injustices.
I try to think what it would be like to be him just now.
Positive minded as I am, I guess I would tend to sing a lot. If someone violently strips me naked and forces me to stand like that in the middle of my cell, I guess I would say "Please sir, can I have some more?" (A Dickensian reference the warders wouldn't get)
I always believe we should think positive.
When there was a brief moment a couple of years back in which I faced 90 years in a Thai prison cell (or the death penalty, whichever's easier (luckily, a bribe was also good)), I also let my mind wander off and prepare me for what might be (or might have been). I like to believe I would always be Mr. Positive and just be friendly towards everyone and high-spirited (that is my nature in dire situations). The one night I actually spent in prison, way back in 2003, I employed the same tactics after waking up, singing sofly and happily to my cell door (instead of my neighbour's aggressive kicking at it).
I guess the most frustrating thing about the whole Manning being locked up part, is that the men who actually fired those helicopter guns and randomly killed 10+ innocent people got away with a medal, whereas the guy who only saw the footage and was shocked by it will end up facing the death penalty.
From what I read, his own former colleagues, American soldiers, are basically torturing him (stripping him naked, refusing him a proper night's sleep - your basic Guantanamo regimen). This poor 23-year-old boy has been in solitary confinement for about the same amount of time that Belgium is without a government (which is INSANELY long). I have trouble with his situation, because he is just this incredibly kind-hearted boy who wanted to expose some horrible injustices.
I try to think what it would be like to be him just now.
Positive minded as I am, I guess I would tend to sing a lot. If someone violently strips me naked and forces me to stand like that in the middle of my cell, I guess I would say "Please sir, can I have some more?" (A Dickensian reference the warders wouldn't get)
I always believe we should think positive.
When there was a brief moment a couple of years back in which I faced 90 years in a Thai prison cell (or the death penalty, whichever's easier (luckily, a bribe was also good)), I also let my mind wander off and prepare me for what might be (or might have been). I like to believe I would always be Mr. Positive and just be friendly towards everyone and high-spirited (that is my nature in dire situations). The one night I actually spent in prison, way back in 2003, I employed the same tactics after waking up, singing sofly and happily to my cell door (instead of my neighbour's aggressive kicking at it).
I guess the most frustrating thing about the whole Manning being locked up part, is that the men who actually fired those helicopter guns and randomly killed 10+ innocent people got away with a medal, whereas the guy who only saw the footage and was shocked by it will end up facing the death penalty.
