Hi All:
Just wondering if we should design some Bradley Manning- Grand Marshal Gay Pride 2013 T shirts on Cafe Press and either/or both have the people who are manning the booth perhaps wear them (if they are comfortable with that) and also sell them. We might make some money:)
I have no artistic capacities but perhaps someone else does… and if no one else does I’d be willing to try. I’d also be willing to contribute towards that.
Francoise
Although I will be wearing regular clothes helping to staff the Pride booth, the Bradley Manning T-shirts are a great idea for those who want to find a way to show support. One caveat, our agreement with Pride precludes us selling anything at the booth. In the past we have sometimes asked for donations if we wanted to "give away" something.
Another idea for the booth is Phil Berg's cardboard cutout of Bradley Manning. Phil's idea was to have a cutout without a face, so that a person could put their own face, and we took a picture. Aubrey priced those types of personalized cutouts, and they proved too expensive. I suggested a poster, where we could cut out the face and do as Phil suggests. However, the more I think about it, the more I feel unsure about the idea; it strikes me as disrespectful to cut out someone's face, especially someone who is in prison facing a bleak future.
As an alternative to Phil's idea, I am submitting another. Maybe have a full size cutout, and we offer to take a picture of someone next to it. If we send a picture of what we want, Shindigz will make a cutout for $20 or so; problem is, I just spent an hour looking for a life size picture of Manning and cannot find one. http://www.shindigz.com/party-supplies/party-decorations/standees/life-size-cutouts/45681
This is a perfect example of the natural tendency towards misunderstanding I never suggested cutting out the face my original suggestion was the same as yours
Forgot to mention: I again looked for a full-size picture of Manning to send to a place like Shindigz so they could make a cutout such as Phil suggests (they offer this service starting at around $20); but I could not find one.
I am wondering if anyone would like to weigh in on the alternative of pricing the following (I suggest not paying more than $50): blow up the picture of Manning where he is holding the sign "Equality: The Home, The Classroom, The Workplace, The Battlefield," cut the outline ourselves, paste it on sturdy cardboard, offer to take pictures of folks holding up the other side of the sign.
If no concrete Manning cutout strategy materializes, we can have some literature on the issues regarding him on the table.
I couldn't turn up any full-length pictures suitable for making a cutout either, but someone who is good with Photoshop or some similar program could probably combine these two images into a relatively seamless whole without too much trouble, taking the bottom of the full length image cut from just above the third button on the jacket and combining it with Manning's upper body:
Hi All! Phil has a friend in Berkeley who has offered to make the actual wood cutout. It will most likely be from the waist up. I have asked Phil's friend for the actual dimensions, so I can find an appropriate picture. I know nothing about Photoshop at all, so I won't be attempting to conjure up the photo. Regardless it looks like we will have a regular wood cutout of Bradley Manning after all, which will be a great addition to our booth this year.
