WikiLeaks is certainly a hot topic these days, and Roger Waters weighed in with this thoughts with a post on Thursday:
Big Mother is trying unlawfully to silence 'Wikileaks.' Please visit http://Avaaz.org/ to help them stop Big Mother denying us our freedom of speech. We are at the breach! Act now or get ready for their Standard Issue Kicking in Your Door.
Roger
No matter which side of this debate you’re on, Waters has quickly found himself challenged by an active American soldier who attended one of “The Wall” shows.
To address the situation, Roger posted the following on Friday:
At every show on The Wall Tour I set aside 20 tickets for veterans. We make contact with these men and women mainly through the Wounded Warrior Program, a great organization that seeks to help US vets returning from conflict overseas to deal with their reintegration into civilian life. We have hosted nearly 1000 vets so far on this tour. During the intermission, when the photographs and stories of Fallen Loved Ones are projected on The Wall in the auditorium, I am backstage in a private room with the vets. We talk a little, joke a little, take photos, I do autographs, It is very moving to me. I have been lucky. I have never been wounded, but I have lost loved ones and I empathize with these guys and their families. We never talk politics. It's not about my politics or theirs.
I share this with you now because Joseph Slotter, a vet, who is still serving in the military and who came to one of the shows responded to my post supporting Wikileaks right to exist. James' position is that Wikileaks is a terrorist organization that puts American troops into danger etc etc, and that my support of them made mockery of his visit to my show.
With all due respect to Joseph I beg to differ. There is no evidence that any Wikileaks revelation has or will put anyones life in danger, that assertion is just the usual scaremongering tactic of the right wing. Wikileaks does however provide 'we the people' with information that better informs our decisions and our ability to contribute to society. I am sorry if James, or for that matter any of my other guests felt misled. My position is clear, I feel equal desolation at the loss of any human life in war, American or not, my grief transcends national boundaries.
Love,
Roger
Roger Waters – Run Like Hell
United Center – Chicago, IL – September 20, 2010
