Bradley Manning, the brave soldier who exposed US war crimes to Wikileaks, just had his honored hero status revoked by San Francisco Pride. In 2011, many marched in the SF parade showing support for Manning, and demanding that he be freed. But this year, it seems he has been rejected as "too-controversial," and marchers are carrying Verizon and Bank of America banners instead.
"I and many other LGBT Manning supporters are deeply disappointed by this sudden change in position on the part of the committee," supporter Rainey Reitman said. "Bradley is a gay American hero who sacrificed a great deal so we could learn the truth about our government, and he was fairly elected to serve as grand marshal in the parade."
Manning, who is still in custody at a military prison in Kansas, was notified of his selection earlier this week. It was only an honorary distinction, since he would not be released from prison in time to appear in the parade on June 30. However, SF Pride President Lisa Williams revoked that honor from Manning, saying the nomination was "a mistake" and "as an organization with a responsibility to serve the broader community, SF Pride repudiates this vote." She gave no specific reason why, but SF Pride's partnerships with wiretapping giant Verizon and Rush Limbaugh's radio station Clear Channel might give us some insight which "broader community" Lisa was talking about.
