Say what you want to, it's a brilliant move.

[quade 4]

Quote

Less than 24 hours after being sentenced to 35 years in prison, Bradley Manning, the Army private convicted for leaking classified documents, made an unexpected announcement to the American public. "I am Chelsea Manning," Manning said in a statement read on the TODAY show this morning. "I am female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt, since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible."

In the past, a transgender prisoner like Manning would have been especially vulnerable to sexual violence. That may be changing, thanks to the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). Although the law was passed by Congress 10 years ago, it was enforced for the first time earlier this week, when every state in the country had to demonstrate compliance with the new set of federal regulations. The regulations were shaped by extensive research and graphic testimonies showing that gay and transgender prisoners were at particular at risk of victimization.

Source:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/how-will-bradley-manning-be-treated-in-prison-as-a-woman/278961/

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kallend 2,106]

I think he's mentally ill.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[winsor 236]

It speaks volumes that you would describe anything related to this tragic creature as "brilliant."

[quade 4]

winsor

It speaks volumes that you would describe anything related to this tragic creature as "brilliant."

An evil genius is still a genius.

I mean, you're probably some sort of genius yourself. I can recognize that even though I might personally think ill of you.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[ryoder 1,590]

kallend

I think he's mentally ill.

This PBS Frontline episode made it clear he had a lot of personal problems: http://video.pbs.org/video/1946795242/

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Dewhast 0]

All my time on the internet I have never seen such a thinly veiled personal insult by a mod. I might even be offended if I believed in such a thing.

[quade 4]

Dewhast

All my time on the internet I have never seen such a thinly veiled personal insult by a mod. I might even be offended if I believed in such a thing.

As opposed to W's which was not veiled at all?

Don't make me laugh.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[melch 1]

There was an article in USA Today? Or AP News explaining thy gender identity was listed by some organization or another as a disorder or something that technically requires it to be treated by the prison at the taxpayers expense. The justification was something along the lines of if a prisoner breaks his leg you have to treat it, if the prisoner has depression he gets help, etc. So much for the days of a prison being a place of rehabilitation through labor or 'hey, you fucked up so you deserve to live in squalor and suffer'. Weak spine and touchy geeky types keep developing a sense of entitlement in miscreants and morally decrepit people all in the name of percieved rights which are really privileges.

*Remove soap box

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Could Bradley ... err I mean Chelsea Manning have been inspired by this?

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[winsor 236]

quade

***It speaks volumes that you would describe anything related to this tragic creature as "brilliant."

An evil genius is still a genius.

I mean, you're probably some sort of genius yourself. I can recognize that even though I might personally think ill of you.

In the same sense that it is only the proletariat who think of individuals as "rich," one does not generally refer to an individual as a "genius." One may have a genius for music, for example, or be possessed of a genius-level IQ, but those on the high end of the intellectual spectrum may be better described as "gifted."

The backhanded compliment is amusing, and I am reassured by the element of disapproval. Had there been any indication of admiration or respect, I would suspect that I was doing something wrong.

Carry on.


Winsor

[kallend 2,106]

Dewhast

All my time on the internet I have never seen such a thinly veiled personal insult by a mod. I might even be offended if I believed in such a thing.

Saying he thinks W is a genius is an insult?
Why do you hate geniuses?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Gravitymaster 0]

kallend

***All my time on the internet I have never seen such a thinly veiled personal insult by a mod. I might even be offended if I believed in such a thing.

Saying he thinks W is a genius is an insult?
Why do you hate geniuses?

I'd say he hasn't been on the internet very long.

[lawrocket 3]

Why is nobody acknowledging the possibility - if not PROBABILITY - that he actually has gender idendity disorder? Trust me - it exists. And with the information that's come out about Manning over the last couple of years, is anybody surprised?

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[normiss 851]

I would be surprised...if the military actually caves.
I don't expect they will.
They do not currently provide any medical treatment other than counseling for this disorder.

I say let him serve out his sentence then grow his own titties on his own dime.

[NorrinRadd 0]

lawrocket

Why is nobody acknowledging the possibility - if not PROBABILITY - that he actually has gender idendity disorder? Trust me - it exists. And with the information that's come out about Manning over the last couple of years, is anybody surprised?

+1
That is something you can't really express in the military. And now that he will be living the rest of his life in prison, when else will he get the chance to come to terms with it? I agree. But gender identity disorder is not a very well understood thing, so it is not surprising that it is being viewed as a defensive strategy.

Why drive myself crazy trying to be normal, when I am already at crazy?

[Dewhast 0]

To be honest, I was under the impression that that was precicely what winsor was getting at with his use of the term "tragic creature". But as kallend indicates, interpretation is everything.

And before you come after me, identifying as another gender does not make you tragic. What is to become of his life now certainly is.

To see quade come back with the "he did it first" defense only increases my disappointment in this forum.

Guess I am too thin-skinned for this internet thingy.

[lawrocket 3]

I'm not going after anyone. Excpet to add that there's a lot of misunderstanding out there when it's thought of as a defensive strategy to go through hormone therapy.

It's not something the military has provided. I get that. But with the end of DADT and DOMA and other recognitions, I can see Manning obtaining these treatments within a few years.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Gravitymaster 0]

NorrinRadd

***Why is nobody acknowledging the possibility - if not PROBABILITY - that he actually has gender idendity disorder? Trust me - it exists. And with the information that's come out about Manning over the last couple of years, is anybody surprised?

+1
That is something you can't really express in the military. And now that he will be living the rest of his life in prison, when else will he get the chance to come to terms with it? I agree. But gender identity disorder is not a very well understood thing, so it is not surprising that it is being viewed as a defensive strategy.

I don't think the sex he's going to have in prison requires a vagina.

[NorrinRadd 0]

True. But if he expresses as female.. he may enjoy it nonetheless!

Why drive myself crazy trying to be normal, when I am already at crazy?

[Gravitymaster 0]

NorrinRadd

True. But if he expresses as female.. he may enjoy it nonetheless!

Suppose the Military agrees to pay for his sex change. He/she/it would then be put in an all female cellblock. He would then have to become a lesbian.

[normiss 851]

Ass.
The other vagina.

[NorrinRadd 0]

normiss

Ass.
The other vagina.

A gay friend of mine calls it the 'mud-pussy'

Why drive myself crazy trying to be normal, when I am already at crazy?

[Gravitymaster 0]

normiss

Ass.
The other vagina.

In his case, "The Other White Meat"

[normiss 851]

I guess a prison sentence doesn't mean what I think it does.
Marriage? Kids??? WTF?

[NorrinRadd 0]

Maybe he just feels that prison is like liberty compared to whatever hole he has been locked up in for the last couple of years.

Why drive myself crazy trying to be normal, when I am already at crazy?