What is with so many of you referring to Manning with male pronouns

[tblue37]

166. What the OP is referring to, I am quite certain, is NOT innocent slips

made out of habit (though simple proofreading could correct those in an internet post if the poster is a person of good will who believes that Ms. Manning's wishes matter at all).

Nor is the OP concerned with the mistaken use of masculine pronouns by people who have not yet heard about Ms. Manning's gender identity, or who have heard of it, but in a way that makes them unsure about whether the reported information is accurate.

The OP is concerned with attitudes like the one forcefully expressed in post #95 above*, which is the deliberate, willful refusal to accord Ms. Manning the respect involved in acceding to her simple request to use "she" and "her" when referring to her.

Post #95 makes me very sad. It is not merely disrespectful. It is unkind--and it is both disrespectful and unkind in a situation where respect and kindness would be so easy to express.

How hard would it be to support Ms. Manning in something so simple as calling her by the pronoun she wants to be called by? It costs us nothing at all--not money, and not time even time or effort. It is a simple gesture of respect and kindness to someone who has faced and is still facing a lot of pain and suffering.

And even if a person strongly disapproves of what Ms. Manning did and strongly approves of her prosecution and sentencing, that is no reason to be nasty and dismissive about using the pronoun she has asked people to use when referring to her!

ON EDIT: *And in post #50 below.