'I am Chelsea Manning,' says jailed soldier formerly known as Bradley

35 points by protothomas 11 years ago | 0 comments
  • jstalin 11 years ago
    Hopefully this thread won't degenerate into anti-transgender comments like so many others today. Obviously Manning has needed mental health treatment for quite some time. Hopefully he can get what he needs while in prison. It's just too bad that prison is where he has to go to get help.
    • davidcollantes 11 years ago
      "It's just too bad that prison is where he has to go to get help."

      Why do you say that? Before now, he[she] lived a life, with plenty of opportunities to get help, or help him[her]self.

      • jstalin 11 years ago
        He acted out while in the Army, obviously behaving in a way that showed his superiors that he needed help, yet they did nothing. He was even busted back down to PFC from SPC. Yet, they put him back on the job.

        On top of that, he was living in the "don't ask don't tell" world of the military at the time, risking discharge for admitting that he was gay.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Manning#Deployment_to_...

    • drakeandrews 11 years ago
      s/he/she
      • mkr-hn 11 years ago
        Doing this repeatedly is likely to get you automatically hellbanned. A comment on this at the root level will probably get enough upvotes to bring it near the top.
      • simias 11 years ago
        Can you stop doing this all over the thread? If you have a point to make, make it, but this is just spam.
        • drakeandrews 11 years ago
          The message(s) are the point. Misgendering people isn't nice, especially after someone has specifically laid out how they wish to be addressed. But yes, I will conceed I have been a little spammy and probably could have gone about it with less.
      • nhangen 11 years ago
        I don't see how the taxpayers should pay for this. One of the reasons the comments are so negative is because it feels like a smokescreen and/or a last attempt at sympathy.

        I don't care if he wants to become a girl, but he should wait until his/her time is served.

        I wonder if military prisons are monitored/protected any better than civilian prisons when it comes to that 'other' stuff.

        • objclxt 11 years ago
          > I don't see how the taxpayers should pay for this [...] I don't care if he wants to become a girl, but he should wait until his/her time is served.

          Gender identity disorder / gender dysphoria is a genuine medical condition classified in the DSM (IV and V). For many sufferers it is not a matter of simple "wanting" to change their gender.

          If you accept that gender dysphoria is a medical condition (as most in the medical and mental health professions have), then the question becomes "should prisoners receive treatment for it?"

          I would argue that yes, they should. But I live in a country with socialised medicine, where healthcare is provided to all free of charge (including treatment for gender dysphoria). In my mind, being imprisoned deprives you of liberty, but not the right to free healthcare. I imagine many people in America would feel differently - "why", they might say, "should a prisoner get treated for free when I can't afford my own medical bills?".

          That said, it's not totally clear to me that taxpayers would be paying for Chelsea Manning's treatment? I couldn't find any reference to it in her letter, merely that she hopes to begin hormone treatment shortly.

          • nhangen 11 years ago
            Taxpayers pay for the military, so I would assume that by extension, they would pay for this treatment.
          • norswap 11 years ago
            Nonsense. His point of view is that a women is not what he wants to become, but what he is. He just wants to be recognized as one.

            Also, I don't really see where there is spending involved. Even if there were, the amount would be insignificant to even care about. There is much more waste elsewhere in the system.

            Last but not least, this guy shouldn't even be serving the sentence he is.

            • nhangen 11 years ago
              That's not what I'm arguing against, I'm stating that hormone therapy should not be paid for by the military.

              That said, if he wants to be recognized as a woman, that means he wants to be placed in prison with other women, which is clearly an issue. IMO the military has no choice but to place him in a male facility and call him whatever he wants to be called.

              • drakeandrews 11 years ago
                s/he/she s/guy/girl*

                *Feel free to replace girl with another appropriate feminine noun, I know some people consider it diminutive but it's probably the closest alternative to guy I can think of right this moment.

              • sp332 11 years ago
                Manning preferred to be female well before the leaks or the trial. Also, the Army/taxpayers are paying for Manning's housing, food, clothes, and therapy even outside of prison.
                • nhangen 11 years ago
                  Typically, they would not provide hormone therapy because

                  a) it is not essential for the job (they pull teeth instead of fix them for crying out loud) b) this is typically something that would lead to a medical discharge and in some cases, dishonorable discharge because it wasn't listed in the health questionnaire at time of application.

                • drakeandrews 11 years ago
                  s/he/she s/his/her
                  • ianmcstorm 11 years ago
                    Seen your "nickpickiness" leads to no other conclusion: you are homosexual, are you?
              • simias 11 years ago
                Seriously we have to do something about that type of articles making the front page of hacker news. It's getting out of hand lately.
                • objclxt 11 years ago
                  Why? They make the front page because people view and up-vote them. People are clearly interested in them...

                  It's a new story, and gender dysphoria is a topic that I think is well worth discussing.

                  • simias 11 years ago
                    Sure, look at the quality of the comments in this thread. Truly enlightening. I'm sure we've all learned a lot on gender dysphoria.

                    This is tabloid material.

                    • mjolk 11 years ago
                      >It's a new story, and gender dysphoria is a topic that I think is well worth discussing.

                      It's hacker news, not the comments section of deviantart.

                    • aspensmonster 11 years ago
                      Oh don't worry. You got your wish. It's not on the front page any more. Or the second. But it's not deaded either. Interesting.
                      • alan_cx 11 years ago
                        Do you object to members voting up article that are of interest to them?
                      • jrkatz 11 years ago
                        Heads up everyone using "him" or "him (her)" (and permutations thereof), the correct terminology is just "her", because she is a woman. This isn't rocket science.
                        • ollysb 11 years ago
                          I find this news extremely disturbing, why make such an announcement with a posed photo the day after his sentencing?
                          • lignuist 11 years ago
                            Maybe she feared that this announcement could negatively affect her lawsuit if published before the sentencing. Maybe she also feels, that it is necessary to inform the public in order to make sure, that she gets the medical treatment.
                            • DominoTree 11 years ago
                              The defense released that photo during his (her) trial, and used his (her) gender identity issues as part of their case during his (her) trial. I don't think that this is really breaking news.
                          • mkr-hn 11 years ago
                            It's interesting to see people finally talking about this outside tumblr. I heard it on AJAM last night, and now it's on The Guardian and HN.
                            • bdg 11 years ago
                              - Assange: Rapist

                              - Manning: Transgendered

                              - Snowden: ???

                              If something comes out about snowden that would offend the morality police, I'm calling propaganda conspiracy on this.

                              • ZeroGravitas 11 years ago
                                Another recent story about a retired US Navy Seal that went from Chris to Kristin, tells a similar story, but without the trial elements to muddy the waters:

                                http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23464947

                                • acomjean 11 years ago
                                  I heard this on the radio, and my thinking was: ok... this doesn't seem relevant to the Manning story. More like a side show.
                                  • sp332 11 years ago
                                    Lamo befriended Manning during a depressive period caused by gender confusion. Lamo played on Manning's vulnerable state to get information about the leaks. That's why it's relevant.
                                  • mindcreek 11 years ago
                                    I have no qualms or problems whatsoever with gender reassignment or, sexual preference, but wtf ?! is this thing real ?
                                    • mkr-hn 11 years ago
                                      The transgender people I know/have known seem to be serious about it.