(06:08:53 PM) info@adrianlamo.com: What’s your greatest fear? (06:09:24 PM) bradass87: dying without ever truly living via Manning-Lamo Chat Logs Revealed | Threat Level | Wired.com.
Everyone should read (apparently) this full chat log. In it Manning, a 22 year old depressed man, questioning his gender reached out to Lamo for someone to talk to. While Manning poured out his story of growing up with abusive, alcoholic parents Lamo repeatedly assured him that he was safe to talk to. Manning denied having a "doctrine", but he did have a clear sense of morality: (1:11:54 PM) bradass87: and… its important that it gets out… i feel, for some bizarre reason (1:12:02 PM) bradass87: it might actually change something (1:13:10 PM) bradass87: i just… dont wish to be a part of it… at least not now… im not ready… i wouldn’t mind going to prison for the rest of my life, or being executed so much, if it wasn’t for the possibility of having pictures of me… plastered all over the world press… as a boy…
via Manning-Lamo Chat Logs Revealed | Threat Level | Wired.com.
When Lamo was chatting to him, Manning had been demoted and had lost his access to classified networks. Any good or ill he had done by leaking to WikiLeaks was over. He was going to be discharged. He'd started to set up his identity as a woman. He was just 22, trying to serve his country, serve humanity and work out who he was.