Free Chelsea Manning-President Obama
Pardon Chelsea Now!
Manning an inspiration for Conscientious Objector
February 4, 2015 by the Chelsea Manning Support Network
The statement above is from Wikileaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning’s public letter to President Obama, and was read aloud at her court martial in June of 2013. Recently, these words have taken on a new life, as they served to inspire conscientious objector Jacob Bridge.
First Lt. Jacob Bridge filed for conscientious objector status last year in 2014, and now cites Wikileaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning as an inspiration.
“In November [2014], I read a quote from Chelsea Manning and I agreed with what it said. I started realizing that she was not like I’d been told and that I had a lot in common with her and her experience and her thinking and that was terrifying. Then I saw the ‘Collateral Murder’ video. It was a huge impact on me and I knew there was no going back.”
Like many before him, Bridge’s patriotism and desire to protect his country’s freedoms led him to the marines. Once in the service, however, Bridge quickly began to have doubts:
“…how could anyone be qualified to do what we were doing, to make the choice that this person, squad, or country needs to go to war and who needs to die? And that ‘what am I doing here in this job?’”
Manning’s words spoke to Bridge’s unrest, and he came to understand the true reasons behind Chelsea’s decision to leak classified information to the public, including the ‘Collateral Murder’ video, which shows American soldiers shooting and killing 11 unarmed civilians, two of whom were Reuters journalists.
In a letter to Chelsea he writes:
“You did not jeopardize America’s security for your own benefit. You jeopardized your own security to give the human race a chance at healing itself. Thank you for being a beacon of hope. You have lit a torch for all to see, and those brave enough will take from the fire and light their own torches.”
You too can carry on the fire. Donations to the Chelsea Manning Support Network go towards funding Chelsea’s upcoming legal appeals as well as public education & awareness. Donate today!
Read more of Jacob Bridge’s story here
Read Jacob Bridge’s letter to Chelsea Manning here
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“Patriotism is often the cry extolled when morally questionable acts are advocated by those in power. When these cries of patriotism drown out any logically based dissension, it is usually the American soldier that is given the order to carry out some ill-conceived mission.
Our nation has had similar dark moments for the virtues of democracy – the Trail of Tears, the Dred Scott decision, McCarthyism, and the Japanese-American internment camps – to mention a few. I am confident that many of the actions since 9/11 will one day be viewed in a similar light.
As the late Howard Zinn once said, ‘There is not a flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.'”
-Chelsea Manning, June 2013
First Lt. Jacob Bridge
First Lt. Jacob Bridge filed for conscientious objector status last year in 2014, and now cites Wikileaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning as an inspiration.
“In November [2014], I read a quote from Chelsea Manning and I agreed with what it said. I started realizing that she was not like I’d been told and that I had a lot in common with her and her experience and her thinking and that was terrifying. Then I saw the ‘Collateral Murder’ video. It was a huge impact on me and I knew there was no going back.”
Like many before him, Bridge’s patriotism and desire to protect his country’s freedoms led him to the marines. Once in the service, however, Bridge quickly began to have doubts:
“…how could anyone be qualified to do what we were doing, to make the choice that this person, squad, or country needs to go to war and who needs to die? And that ‘what am I doing here in this job?’”
Manning’s words spoke to Bridge’s unrest, and he came to understand the true reasons behind Chelsea’s decision to leak classified information to the public, including the ‘Collateral Murder’ video, which shows American soldiers shooting and killing 11 unarmed civilians, two of whom were Reuters journalists.
In a letter to Chelsea he writes:
“You did not jeopardize America’s security for your own benefit. You jeopardized your own security to give the human race a chance at healing itself. Thank you for being a beacon of hope. You have lit a torch for all to see, and those brave enough will take from the fire and light their own torches.”
You too can carry on the fire. Donations to the Chelsea Manning Support Network go towards funding Chelsea’s upcoming legal appeals as well as public education & awareness. Donate today!
Read more of Jacob Bridge’s story here
Read Jacob Bridge’s letter to Chelsea Manning here
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