General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Manning’s Biggest Revelation of All [View all]frazzled
(18,402 posts)the one in which a protester throws a metal barrier at a policeman, breaks through the designated lines, and then levels charges of police brutality when he or she is cuffed. I don't buy those kinds of tautological charges. Civil disobedience is fine, but it must be accompanied by the dignity to accept that breaking a law runs the risk of paying the punishment (even if you think that punishment unjust), and that by doing so, one is calling attention to the laws themselves. To her credit, Manning pled guilty to many of the charges and was willing to serve the time. Everyone should accept that a minimum of 20 years for those charges was going to be the price paid for the "good to society" that was generated by the act. And one should remember that this particular act was one wholly covered by the military and its internal laws.
Say what you will about the leaks themselves (I would not characterize them as "countless stories of malfeasance and corruption," even after re-reading the well-circulated "Ten Revelations" . But whatever one's position on that, the discussion should be about the leaks and their content, not about the person who decided to put themselves on the line by breaking the law to reveal them.
This has all turned into a cult of personality, and that's always a dangerous road to take.