Chelsea Manning in Vogue

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Article from the Guardian with photo by Annie Liebovitz.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/aug/11/chelsea-mann...

Comments

Shrug

Her 4 minutes of fame.

She did something really stupid, I honestly don't understand why she deserves this kind of notoriety. She will be the target for many of ex-military and such. She's okay looking but nothing to write home about *shrug*.

So, if I were a potential employer, why would I want to hire her unless she happens to fit her political agenda. Honestly, she is monetizing her trans status whereas if she were otherwise, she would fade off into the sunset that much more quickly.

Carch - 22

An ethical person doesn't break the law.

Yet, an ethical person doesn't idly stand by and watch others break the law.

There is a tempest in our Washington teapot with our lawmakers "cracking down" on "leakers."

A leak is an euphemism for urinating. The trouble with this sort of pissing contest is that everyone is going to get wet.

About three decades ago a "pisser" of an elected official threatened me with regulatory action if I didn't drop my lawsuit against him. After that meeting, my attorney, a gentle soul, explained to me that we had both just witnessed a felony. I didn't drop my lawsuit.

Government, in its various roles can be awesome. It can also be a tool for those with money and power to gain much more money and power.

The Whistleblower Protection Act, which sounds quite blue, was signed into law by GHWB. It passed the senate by unanimous vote and the house by verbal acclaim. It's extremely hard to say who's a leaker and who's a whistleblower, yet we see bloviating every day now that seems to condemn leakers as universally bad people.

Partisanship has played a major role in creating public opinion about Chelsea. Her trans status was used to vilify her, which was an affront to the trans community.

If you accept that two wrongs don't make a right then either the slaughtering of civilians was a "right" or what Chelsea did was a "right."

It's complicated. As a person who has hired many people I would agree she would not be my first choice because of fiduciary issues. Yet, I never would expect any of my employees to stand by and watch me do "wrong" things. Rather I would appreciate them helping me stay on the right path.

What's not complicated is this. Beauty is in the beholder and a lot of people find Chelsea quite beautiful.

Beyond that . . . "target" is a poor word choice when used in the same sentence as ex-military. She's paid for her crime and shouldn't be anyone's target. Was she "Stupid"? I would a agree that she used a sledgehammer when a much lighter approach would have served the purpose and been less damaging. Her intent was correct. . .her implementation woefully flawed.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

not my favorite trans personality

Teresa L.'s picture

as she had a moral obligation, as she saw it, but used the WRONG outlet. every military branch has established channels, and so does CONGRESS, she could have used those but her choice in going to a foreign national, to me was just wrong. yes it exposed some things that were embarrassing, etc. big deal look at our current POTUS, he does this on a daily basis. she was treated abominably in prison, but as someone who committed treason, did she expect anything LESS? and then adding the trans on TOP of that?

when i first heard this claim, with no support documents (history of claims, doctor care, etc) i thought "great, now being trans will be used by people to get different prisons, etc" just glad THAT wasnt a put on honestly.

someone who is in the military, enlisted or officer, has certain duties, expose corruption and treason, not to follow illegal or immoral orders, but to uphold their oath otherwise. she didnt. she DID commit treason, she was found guilty, and Obama commuted the sentence, and i think rightfully so.

just my opinion

Teresa L.

Agree

littlerocksilver's picture

... and I'm retired military. She did not reveal military secrets, she exposed cover ups. She exposed travesties and horrid mistakes.

Portia

Whatever

She is pretty average to my eyes. It's a lot of makeup really. I mean really, at her age even I could look beautiful with enough slap on my face and I know I am not that great. Similarly, her figure is okay but nothing to write home about. Eye of the beholder is true but believe it or not beauty does have core standards as babies respond to ugly people differently from beautiful ones.

Frankly you are being far too generous in your description about her, in all respects.

A simple response

persephone's picture
  • Chelsea Manning stole classified data in wartime.
  • Her actions increased the risk to a lot of lives (including mine) and made the mission harder.
  • She got caught, pleaded guilty to 10 charges, convicted of 17, acquitted on 5.
  • She played the Gender Dysphoria card and allowed herself to be used by the activist community.
  • As a result she has (once again) made my life more difficult.

Thanks a lot.

Persephone

Non sum qualis eram

I will have to agree with Persephone.

Bradley (no that is not mis-gendering, when all this went down, he was presenting as a male) stole and leaked information. That information led to the identification of six co-operating individuals and possibly their deaths. Like with Persephone, it made my job a lot harder, even while living in the Green Zone in Kabul.

Manning should be behind bars, until old and gray, not being played up like some type of hero. She isn't.

Heroes are people like Specialists Sandra Brown, an Army medic. She was awarded the Silver Star due to her heroic actions while under fire that saved the lives of 11 soldiers in Afghanistan.

Conflicting views.

History is written by the winner. My own personal feeling is that she reported unfathomable actions, where innocent, but stupid news crew got caught out where wise people would not find themselves. The invasion of Iraq should not have happened, and that was driven by oil magnates. It is doubtful that the real guilty parties will ever come to justice. The pilot who shot them can not be blamed, and the spotter who identified the target not either.

As to Mz Manning, there was just lots of documentation, some even before she entered the service, that should have prevented her from ever wearing the uniform since she lacked the stability required. There are lots and lots of people who favor her. She'll do as well as she wishes.

Chelsea Manning Is A Hero

To me, my partner and many others; more, probably, that are LGBTQ or politically to the left.

Awesome article in Vogue; she obviously knew she was trans before going in the army, but was unsure about what to do about it.

Whistleblowers are very necessary in our society as they have been in the past. A few are Upton Sinclair exposing the meat packing industry and Daniel Ellsberg releasing the Pentagon Papers. Chelsea is just like Ellsberg except she was in the army. She was easy to prosecute since she was in the military, but if she were not in the army she would not have had access to all the info that she felt was her duty, for the good of the US and the world, to release.

Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee