shit hits the fan in SF

Dear Lisa L. Williams, SF Pride Board President:

“He does not now, nor did he at that time, speak for SF Pride.”

That’s pretty rich coming from the president of an organization whose name
implies that you speak for LGBT folk.

“even the hint of support for actions which placed in harms way the lives
of our men and women in uniform — and countless others, military and
civilian alike — will not be tolerated by the leadership of San Francisco
Pride”

Um, go fuck yourself please? Your mindless jibber jabber flag waving
dunce cap saluting McCarthyesque patriotism poses far more risk to anyone
than Bradley Manning’s actions ever posed. Sure, you could say that
Manning’s actions posed some risk to people, but that’s the fucking price
you pay for waking up in the morning. Just by driving to work in the
morning you run the risk of running over someone in a cross-walk. Shit
happens. At the end of the day if no one stands up for what’s right,
nothing gets fucking done and the status quo perpetuates forever. I don’t
give a fuck about “your” men and women in uniform.  I give a fuck about
the countless civilians that have been killed by the actions of “your”
men and women in uniform.  I will not tolerate your “hint of support”
for mass murder and genocide.  Go fuck yourself, please for the love of
God, go fuck yourself. What the fuck do you stand for, Lisa L. Williams,
other than playing the perfect game of Obamaeqsue rope-a-dope
middle-ground moderate political talking head football?

“There are many, gay and straight, military and non-military, who believe
Bradley Manning to be innocent.”

Are you fucking serious? Maybe you shouldn’t be talking for anyone.
Everyone knows he did it. People don’t support him because they think
he’s innocent. People support him because they know he’s guilty, and they
appreciate that what he did was the right thing to do. By framing it as a
question of a guilt/innocence test, you’re rigging the debate so that he
fails. What’s your interest in persecuting legitimate patriotic
whistle-blowers, Lisa L. Williams?

-Elliot Smith

Glenn Greenwald:

Thus, while Bradley Manning is persona non grata at SF Pride, illegal
eavesdropping telecoms, scheming banks, and hedge-fund purveryors of the nation’s
worst right-wing agitprop are more than welcome. . . .

Even the SF Gay Pride Parade is now owned by and beholden to the
nation’s largest corporations, subject to their dictates. Those who run
the event are functionaries of, loyalists to, the nation’s most powerful political
officials. That’s how this parade was so seamlessly
transformed from orthodoxy-challenging, individualistic and creative
cultural icon into yet another pile of obedient apparatchiks that spout
banal slogans doled out by the state while viciously scorning those who
challenge them.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/27/bradley-manning-sf-gay-pride

SF Pride Statement about Bradley Manning

San Francisco Pride
Friday at 7:00pm near San Francisco, CA ·

SF Pride Statement about Bradley Manning

26 April 2013: Bradley Manning will not be a grand marshal in this
year’s San Francisco Pride celebration. His nomination was a mistake
and should never have been allowed to happen. A staff person at SF
Pride, acting under his own initiative, prematurely contacted Bradley
Manning based on internal conversations within the SF Pride
organization. That was an error and that person has been disciplined.
He does not now, nor did he at that time, speak for SF Pride.

Bradley Manning is facing the military justice system of this country.
We all await the decision of that system. However, until that time,
even the hint of support for actions which placed in harms way the
lives of our men and women in uniform — and countless others,
military and civilian alike — will not be tolerated by the leadership
of San Francisco Pride. It is, and would be, an insult to every one,
gay and straight, who has ever served in the military of this country.
There are many, gay and straight, military and non-military, who
believe Bradley Manning to be innocent. There are many who feel
differently. Under the US Constitution, they have a first amendment
right to show up, participate and voice their opinions at Pride this
year.

Specifically, what these events have revealed is a system whereby a
less-than-handful of people may decide who represents the LGBT
community’s highest aspirations as grand marshals for SF Pride. This
is a systemic failure that now has become apparent and will be
rectified. In point of fact, less than 15 people actually cast votes
for Bradley Manning. These 15 people are part of what is called the SF
Pride Electoral College, comprised of former SF Pride Grand Marshals.
However, as an organization with a responsibility to serve the broader
community, SF Pride repudiates this vote. The Board of Directors for
SF Pride never voted to support this nomination. Bradley Manning will
have his day in court, but will not serve as an official participant
in the SF Pride Parade.

— Lisa L. Williams, SF Pride Board President