To the Gay Community: Now That You Can Join the Military, Please Don't!
by Medea Benjamin
CommonDreams.org: December 21, 2010
The peace group I cofounded, CODEPINK, has not only been protesting the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the drone attacks in Pakistan, but we have been
going to military recruiting stations, high schools and career fairs
throughout the country encouraging our youth not to join the military. We
talk to young people about the illegality of the wars under international
law since we were not attacked by either Iraq or Afghanistan. We talk about
how killing and maiming innocent civilians is morally wrong and creates new
enemies, perpetuating the cycle of violence. We explain that the majority of
Afghans and Iraqis want us out of their country and that these wars are not
making us safer. We insist that our military should be used to defend us at
home, not to invade other people's lands.
We know that the military is one of the only ways many young people can
afford a college education these days and that the financial crisis severely
limits this generation's career options. But we still encourage young men
and women to look for other opportunities that don't involved killing or
being killed in wars we shouldn't be fighting.
It might seem contradictory, then, that CODEPINK was an enthusiastic
supporter of the rights for gays and lesbians to join and serve openly in
the military. But within our organization, it was never even
controversial--we stand up for the rights of all human beings. The decision
to join the military or not should be determined by individual choice, not
institutional discrimination.
We pressured our Congressional reps and attended every hearing with signs
calling for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. We joined protests at the
White House and rallies in Congressional districts. And we were in the
Senate on Saturday when the historic vote passed, hugging and kissing our
friends who had struggled so hard for this victory.
We understand that allowing gay soldiers to openly serve in the military is
a crack in the armor of bigotry that will eventually open the way for gay
people to marry and be guaranteed equality in the workplace. We understand
this victory in the larger context of the march toward full human rights for
this oppressed community. And who knows? Perhaps this victory will also
serve to strengthen the military's respect for human rights abroad.
We also understand the potential for a powerful alliance between the gay and
anti-war communities. We can work together to help young people--gay and
straight--find careers that won't kill them, maim them, destroy them
psychologically, or cause them to do harm to others. We can jointly reach
out to those already in the military to speak out against the violations of
the rights of peoples whose land we occupy. We can ask gay veterans to join
groups like Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War. And we can
work together to turn our military from an aggressive force to one that
truly defends us here at home.
As we struggle to find a more civilized way to treat each other in this
world, let us recognize the commonalities in the fight for gay rights and
the fight to end war.
Medea Benjamin (medea@globalexchange.org) is cofounder of Global Exchange
(www.globalexchange.org) and CODEPINK: Women for Peace
(www.codepinkalert.org).
***
From: Marcy Winograd
To: pdla@svpal.org
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 7:02 AM
Subject: [PDLA] Fwd: Supporters Call for End to Inhumane Treatment of
Bradley Manning
At the bottom of this article are phone numbers to call and and an address
where you can write to protest Bradley Manning's detention. I just called
and was referred to Lt. Villard at Public Affairs (703-432-0289). I left a
message, explained I was Co-Chair of Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles,
and requested Manning be allowed to exercise and go outside. I stressed
that his prison conditions constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Peace,
Marcy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media:
Mike Gogulski
Bradley Manning Support Network
+1-202-640-4388
press@bradleymanning.org
Supporters Call for End to Inhumane Treatment of Bradley Manning
Quantico, VA, December 22, 2010 - After trying other avenues of recourse,
the Bradley Manning Support Network is urging supporters to engage in direct
protest in order to halt the punitive conditions of the soldier's detention.
Bradley Manning, 23, has been held in solitary confinement in military jails
since his arrest in late May on allegations that he passed classified
material to WikiLeaks..
In the wake of an investigative report last week by Glenn Greenwald of
Salon.com giving evidence that Manning was subject to "detention conditions
likely to create long-term psychological injuries", Manning's attorney,
David Coombs, published an article at his website on Saturday entitled "A
Typical Day for PFC Bradley Manning". Coombs details the maximum custody
conditions that Manning is subject to at the Quantico Confinement Facility
and highlights an additional set of restrictions imposed upon him under a
Prevention of Injury (POI) watch order.
Usually enforced only through a detainee's first week at a confinement
facility, the standing POI order has severely limited Manning's access to
exercise, daylight and human contact for the past five months, despite calls
from military psychologists to lift the order and the extra restrictions
imposed.
Despite not having been convicted of any crime or even yet formally
indicted, the confinement regime Manning lives under includes pronounced
social isolation and a complete lack of opportunities for meaningful
exercise. Additionally, Manning's sleep is regularly interrupted. Coombs
writes: "The guards are required to check on Manning every five minutes
[...] At night, if the guards cannot see PFC Manning clearly, because he has
a blanket over his head or is curled up towards the wall, they will wake him
in order to ensure he is okay."
Denver Nicks writes in The Daily Beast that "[Manning's] attorney [.] says
the extended isolation - now more than seven months of solitary
confinement - is weighing on his client's psyche. [.] Both Coombs and
Manning's psychologist, Coombs says, are sure Manning is mentally healthy,
that there is no evidence he's a threat to himself, and shouldn't be held in
such severe conditions under the artifice of his own protection."
In an article to be published at Firedoglake.com later today, David House, a
friend of Manning's who visits him regularly at Quantico, says that Manning
"has not been outside or into the brig yard for either recreation or
exercise in four full weeks. He related that visits to the outdoors have
been infrequent and sporadic for the past several months."
Bradley Manning Support Network founder Mike Gogulski stated that "the
Marine Brig is using injury prevention as a vehicle to inflict extreme
pre-trial punishment on Bradley Manning. These conditions are not unheard-of
during an inmate's first week at a military jail, but when applied
continuously for months and with no end in sight they amount to a form of
torture."
The Bradley Manning Support Network calls upon Quantico base commander COL
Daniel Choike and brig commanding officer CWO4 James Averhart to put an end
to these inhumane, degrading conditions. Additionally, the Network
encourages supporters to phone COL Choike at +1-703-784-2707 or write to him
at 3250 Catlin Avenue, Quantico, VA 22134, and to fax CWO4 Averhart at
+1-703-784-4242 or write to him at 3247 Elrod Avenue, Quantico, VA 22134, to
demand that Bradley Manning's human rights be respected while he remains in
custody.
# # #
References:
"The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning's detention", Glenn Greenwald,
15 December 2010,
http://www.salon.com/news/wikileaks/index.html?story=/opinion/greenwald/2010/12/14/manning
"A Typical Day for PFC Bradley Manning", David E. Coombs, 18 December 2010,
http://www.armycourtmartialdefense.info/
"Bradley Manning's Life Behind Bars", Denver Nicks, 17 December 2010,
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-12-17/bradley-manning-wikileaks-alleged-sources-life-in-prison/
Bradley Manning Support Network, http://www.bradleymanning.org/
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