Tell me was that your money well spent?

All she has asked you to do is to refer to her by name, but your hatred has made even that simple request impossible for you in your need to be vile towards someone different than you. I find you to be a loathsome person, a hairless ape with more skull than brains that is behaving just as one might expect such an unevolved creature to behave, congratulations, you have so much to be proud of.

I can agree with that assessment. I'm so sick of the hate based on petty and superficial reasons, usually justified by religion, in the haters mind.

You cant "refuse" to finance shit. Stomp your feet and gnash your teeth and throw your little tantrum. But that doesnt change the fact that you have NO control over how the gov't spends our tax dollars.

I'm sure the IRS will come knocking on your door soon enough.

And that was just the immediate problem with that post.

Aren't you just a peach?

Why are you even a member of this forum?

I hope that will be remedied shortly.

And thank you.

personal thoughts/opinions/beliefs rendered pointless by the simple "it is not about YOU."

She wants to be Chelsea, fine. But don't expect people to immediately know she should be called as such. And definitely don't say they're against transgender rights if they call her Bradley.

Maybe not everyone is up to speed.

But HEY you proved how tolerant and knowledgable you are.

Congratulations.

By being thrown in the pool.

But they are gonna learn aren't they

Guess which one is the path of least resistance?

And what you call education and what is obvious

Really? Theres a learning process for that?

No one responding to this thread (that I've read) has any trouble with pronouns

It's the tone and impatience that's my point and that of others. Not too mention that those who may still refer to her as him just may not be up on the latest news. Too call them bigots or homophobes or "obstinate ass" as a result is nearly as insensitive.

That's all

Of course, if someone is not up on the news, they cant be expected to know. But there are quite a few here (if not in this thread) who are going out of their way to make this a painstaking issue and/or an excuse to get their gay-hate on.

Plus I don't think DU is necessarily a haven for the anti-gay Neanderthals

Maybe this a smoke-me-out post ay?

about the anti-gay state of DU. These last few days have been a real eye-opener, sadly. There are very good examples of the posts I was talking about in this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023519261

Yeah. Theyre being smoked out. Just unfortunately not kicked out.

I just try to give the benefit of the doubt. I guess I've been here long enough that now I too look at post count first.

That said, I tried to ask an honest question about race and was accused of flame bait and being a troll.

As to your example. Is it more or less flame bait when it's a current event. Who knows. I agree with du veterans. At some point they out themselves.

never once read an article that discussed Manning's court strategy around this issue ? Really?

With perhaps the best of intentions, these political directives stink too much of guys on the Internet mansplaining.

By the time Chelsea's biography is written, we might be entitled to opinions about her particular journey. Until then, I'm not on board with pretending that Bradley never existed.

Perhaps we might go easy on using her to expound particular gender theories? She's already a political puppet, folks.

A little time since we've known her as him for three years now.

I've only known for two days and I'm glued to this shit.

Now I need to go check my car payment

LOL!

And it didn't go down, either.

No change

It took people a while to adjust.

But here's an honest question. Just for the sake of accurate reporting, should people wait until there is a legal name change or something?

The news media and the government will continue calling saying "Bradley", since that is the legal name.

So don't we have to somewhat say "Bradley" to file petitions and discuss the news?

Swear I'm not trying to be dense. Manning is a huge hero for me, and I want to do it right and be respectful, but honestly don't have alot of personal experience with such things.

with or without a legal name change (unless it is for fraudulent purposes).

I'm with you on this one. It is confusing. I'll get my head around it. From my point of view, I don't think you're dense. Some people here are very sensitive when it comes to sexual and gender identity. I believe those people are blessed and are leading the way in a landscape where the media is itself having issues with Chelsea Manning reporting her new name.

For me, I find it difficult to talk about something that was referred to as one thing that overnight is declared to be referred to as something different - a possible example I offer is in the case of 134340 Pluto, previously referred to as a planet. Pluto is now a dwarf planet, but some people refuse to recognize this fact. I believe the same case is with US Army Pfc. Manning - we have people embracing her new identity, some people who refuse to recognize her identity, and a whole bunch of us in the middle confused, scratching our heads and saying "what?".

I can tell by the other people's reaction how important it is, even though it's a new concept to me.

It felt strange at first...just found out this afternoon after all, but I totally get it.

I think people should be free to be whom they want to be without enduring ridicule from others. I'm reminded of a former co-worker who is a transgendered male. His gender was a bit ambiguous, but he sported a goatee which made it obvious how he wanted to be identified. I had many other co-workers, or maybe I should say troglodytes posing as co-workers, who thought it was funny to pretend to "not know what to call him/her." My typical response to that nonsense was on the order of, "Well dumb-ass, he's got a beard so what the fuck do you think?"

Peace out.

Homophobic and transphobic bigot. It's that easy.

Totally agree with the rest of your post.

its a 'learning process' for some. They need an 'adjustment period'. It very difficult to adjust to saying she instead of he. Makes me wonder how some people have made it so long on this planet if they cant even handle excruciatingly simple things like this.

When I'm refering to the court case, I will still refer to it as the Bradley Manning case because that was what she was known as through the trial process and this is what the majority of search results will bring up. If I'm speaking about her as a person and the gender issues that have now arisen because the media can't think of anything better to focus on (like the fact she is being sent to jail only for releasing the truth), I will refer to her as Chelsea.

As a default I will address Chelsea as Chelsea from now on, regardless what part of her life I am talking about.

This will probably be the first really high-profile exposure to transgender issues a lot of people are likely to have - even on DU - so there's going to be a lot of mental gears being stripped between the basic dissonance and the why-should-I-cares and so on.

If, past that, someone's making a conscious decision to toss around Bradleys and male pronouns, they're doing it to make a point, and they're saying more about themselves than they are about their target.

should suffice if you need the distinction (shouldn't be necessary though) ...otherwise you are who the post is talking about

only, though I will always use female pronouns and she is Chelsea to me otherwise.

The lesson can be said in four words. "Her name is Chelsea."

Anyone who's still calling Chelsea "Bradley" or using male pronouns is doing it to be a bigot and an asshole, and it's time to send those assholes to MIRT.

Zero tolerance for bigotry!

And a M-F transgender. She doesn't post here, but she is politically active. She's a stanch liberal feminist, a Democratic voter and a personal hero to me.

She is also a decorated Vietnam combat veteran who knows first hand what bullshit war is and what the government does-or doesn't do to promote it or to hide the truth about it. She still does color guard and simply side steps awkward questions.

In her honor I would join the OP and ask that people be respectful of Chelsea Manning, to honor her determined gender, no matter what your views of her actions are. As Stinky says, it's not hard.

Since I watched my-not-famous-or-controversial friend go though hell to become the awesome, incredible strong woman she is today with her gender reassigment, I ask that Chelsea be given the same right to her own gender autonomy with respect that deserves.

She was in battles famous to Vets (not me, I forget the names of them) and when we talk, the horror of it lingers. Her solace was in drugs and alcohol for a while. I wish everyone could meet her, one of those once in a lifetime human beings that graces your life.

Just Wow!


=============


They were two love rships, she--a loonng time ago; he--more recent.

Thing is, I have a bad habit of falling in crazy love with potential. It takes more than potential to have a rship--and they were both on downward spirals.

If I ever get over the vet ( ), I won't get near a severely damaged person again!!

Generally not people who are concerned with the wants of prisoners. They seem more like the people who "urge" you into a pre-shaped mold of their choosing.

But if someone won't make any allowance at all for some time for the news to spread and sink in, this sounds like a formula too many DUers might all-too-gleefully employ for making strident, inflexible snap judgements about other people posting on DU.

As if we don't already have enough of that obnoxious, posturing bullshit already.

Very true. Sad to say.

Thank you!

Very well put.

s/he

Then just go the fuck away and never come back again and yes some ass with more than a few posts put that nauseating shit up yesterday and all the bullshit excuses in the world will not cover that noise.

It's a slur with a forward slash.

When discussing the actions of the member of the military that committted the acts, one refers to them by their "military" name. When discussing the person currently pursuing gender modification, they use the current name. One can avoid it all by merely saying "Manning", or Cpl. Manning.

the K & R......

It's not that hard.

...and I'm not buying the "I need to get used to it. I still need to be educated." The trolls have already been educated, and refuse to accept the teaching.

They're just being contradictory to be assholes.

Thus I've got a hair trigger on the alert button.

Zero tolerance for bigotry on DU.

well done

I have to admit. I didn't know how to spell Chelsea before all this.