While at Netroots Nation 2011, I had the privilege of speaking to Lieutenant Dan Choi, who served in the US Army infantry, went to war in Iraq and graduated from West Point with a degree in Arabic.
Choi was kicked out of the military under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) about one year ago. At Netroots Nation, Choi celebrated his one year "anniversary or birthday" as a civilian. He also noted that despite DADT being repealed there are still soldiers getting kicked out of the military for being gay.
The US government is putting Lt. Dan Choi on trial August 29 for "demonstrating in front of the White House in November of last year." Choi refuses to plead guilty or accept any kind of deal.
“I believe this Administration is making a grave mistake in limiting the areas, times and manners that free speech should be allowed," declares Choi. And adds nobody should be intimidated into not protesting.
I spoke to Choi the day after he had gone with Hamsher to support Bradley Manning Support Network co-founder David House, as he went before a federal grand jury investigating individuals supportive of alleged military whistleblower Bradley Manning and WikiLeaks. Choi says House is an "American hero" and "our situations are exactly the same."
Whenever a government tries to stifle the truth by censoring the people, we sometimes take a look at the people. And that’s what’s going on with Bradley Manning. People have been trying to scapegoat him as someone who is crazy or someone who should not have gone to war but I think that Bradley Manning is a great soldier who did something as far as morality.
This was supposedly one of the first times Choi had expressed solidarity with Pfc. Manning so openly on camera.
He continues:
What the true mandate of the American servant of society is he embodied through his act. It’s no different from what Daniel Ellsberg did with the Pentagon Papers. And, I wonder what this president is about to do to this new hero of American patriotism. He is not antiwar. I want to make sure that everybody knows that. From the things that I’ve heard this soldier signed up because he believed in this country and when he saw things that were unbelievable and were being perpetrated by this country, he wasn’t attacking this country. He was trying to teach this country what this mandate of service really was. So, I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with anybody who speaks up against injustice, against war crimes, against torture and against the reprobate actions of any kind of reprobate government that tries to tell them that power belongs to the powerful.
Choi recently visited Moscow to participate in the Moscow Pride parade and stand in solidarity with gays in Russia. I ask him the United States has some effect on how countries around the world treat their own people, particularly gay people.
The US is a "horrible role model not only on gay rights but progress," replies Choi.
He doesn't fault the government entirely for failing to be a good role model and concludes, "I blame our courage inadequacy. The only ingredient that is missing nowadays [among activists] is the willingness to stick to your guns 'til the very day that you achieve what you set out to accomplish in the first place.”
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Courage
DADT always appeared to be a horribly bad policy for the US military. It showed the military’s need for and recognition of the value of gay troops, but demonstrated a lack of integrity which have would allowed the top brass to voice their value openly. By stigmatizing gay troops they wasted valuable talents and caused unnecessary burdens.
It is also sad that the wikileaks connections will further stigmatize gay troops and suggest that rather than being honest and courageous as some of them are demonstrating here, that they are indeed ‘different’, and subversive. It is obvious to all that there are straight troops who also object to the actions of the US military, but the ultra religious right will use this situation for propaganda.
These young men are being very courageous, but they are setting themselves up for all sorts of attacks. I hope the price they pay will result in better public understanding of their love of country. Not withstanding Mr. Obama’s latest pronouncement, there is a deep-seated and irrational fear of homosexuality across North America. This fear and others have left people in panic mode. Unable to rationalize the true cost of the fear remedies in surrendered freedoms.
Good comment, Paul
There will be Free Bradley Manning contingents in gay pride parades this weekend in the United States. With hundreds of thousands of people in attendance at some of these parades, there will be Americans hearing about Manning for the first time. And, hearing his story first from the gay community is a good constituency to hear explain why it is important to fight for Bradley Manning.
@Kevin;
When I read your comment, "..there will be Americans hearing about Manning for the first time." My first thought was, 'gimmie a break',who doesn't know about Bradly Manning's story?
Then I reconsidered. The popular part of the Mainstream Media never says 'boo' about anything. Certainly, they never touch anything controversial beyond sex scandals. Many people probably don't know who Bradly Manning is and have never read anything from Wikileaks.
As to the rest of your comment; I wish the gay community did not so actively differentiate themselves. Rather than "Gay Pride", It should be billed as "American/Russian/whatever, Pride. Let the detractors and the homophobes try to make the case that sexual orientation somehow diminished the national identities of the people. Everytime we allow some group to be separated from the herd, we weaken our freedom.