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> Um, OK and rewriting history is a tactic favoured by fascists. We're not rewriting history. Allowing a transgendered person to choose a new name doesn't chan

> Um, OK and rewriting history is a tactic favoured by fascists. We're not rewriting history. Allowing a transgendered person to choose a new name doesn't change the basic facts about what happened. It's just an act of compassion towards someone who would otherwise be suffering from feelings neither you nor I personally experience, but are well documented by scientists. > Shouldn't it be "Bradley Manning (now called Chelsea)"? You could say "Chelsea Manning (at the time, 'Bradley')" if you really wanted to refresh people's memories, so long as you consistently refer to her as Chelsea through the rest of the comment/essay/etc. > I prefer objective to polite. This is a false dichotomy. You can be both. https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034 https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Mar...

pbhjpbhj 9y ago
You can't always raise objective facts and remain polite. I disagree. Someone changing their name and identifying as the opposite sex after being arrested (the next day I think?) in a major political scandal makes that pertinent to the history of the situation. Hiding that by pretending the person always was identified as they currently are hides facts about the situation -- are they pertinent, maybe not to the primary issue, but the contemporaneous nature suggests something of interest (in social history if nothing else).
- danso 9y ago
  FWIW, Lamo himself consistently uses Chelsea/her/she when writing about the past: https://medium.com/@lamo/a-statement-on-the-commutation-of-wikileaker-chelsea-mannings-sentence-from-the-man-who-busted-4faaff042960 https://medium.com/@lamo/a-statement-on-the-commutation-of-w...
- dang 9y ago
  Please stop.
  - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
    How will I come to an understanding of why people act in this manner without questioning those who do? Are you asking in your position as moderator?
    - CiPHPerCoder 9y ago
      That's easy: By questioning them on your own platform, not on HN.
    - dang 9y ago
      Yes.

pbhjpbhj 9y ago

You can't always raise objective facts and remain polite. I disagree. Someone changing their name and identifying as the opposite sex after being arrested (the next day I think?) in a major political scandal makes that pertinent to the history of the situation. Hiding that by pretending the person always was identified as they currently are hides facts about the situation -- are they pertinent, maybe not to the primary issue, but the contemporaneous nature suggests something of interest (in social history if nothing else).

danso 9y ago
FWIW, Lamo himself consistently uses Chelsea/her/she when writing about the past: https://medium.com/@lamo/a-statement-on-the-commutation-of-wikileaker-chelsea-mannings-sentence-from-the-man-who-busted-4faaff042960 https://medium.com/@lamo/a-statement-on-the-commutation-of-w...
dang 9y ago
Please stop.
- pbhjpbhj 9y ago
  How will I come to an understanding of why people act in this manner without questioning those who do? Are you asking in your position as moderator?
  - CiPHPerCoder 9y ago
    That's easy: By questioning them on your own platform, not on HN.
  - dang 9y ago
    Yes.