User:Josh Gorand
You trouble making faggot. Suck a cock.
— Hate mail sent to me through Wikipedia
See what happens when you defend a homosexual traitor. The two of you are monsters
— Hate mail sent to me through Wikipedia
This is dedicated to you, and Bradley Manning's cock and balls
— Hate mail sent to me through Wikipedia
Something I'm immensely proud of is my work to get the article on Chelsea Manning moved to Chelsea Manning following her request that she be referred to as such. I'm rather familiar with transgender issues, but had never previously edited in that topic area here until weighing in in the first move discussion, pointing out extremely discriminatory commentary that the discussion was rife with—including editors comparing transgendered people to people claiming to be various animals—and criticizing the fact that Wikipedia held a vote on whether to recognise someone's gender identity. Disturbingly, the editors arguing in favour of respecting Manning's gender identity lost that vote, and the article was moved back to "Bradley Manning," a decision criticised even by the Wikimedia Foundation's executive director. On 30 September 2013, I initiated the second and successful proposal to move the article to Chelsea Manning (after a month of evidence collection by myself and other editors). For my efforts to move the article, I have endured rather aggressive abuse both here on Wikipedia and outside of Wikipedia by individuals who insist Manning should be referred to as "he" and "Bradley" or that she can be compared to someone claiming to be a pig, with streams of insults and hate mail over a period spanning August, September and October 2013. Some members of the anti-Chelsea crowd even called for the editors who had pointed out hateful commentary to be excluded from editing Wikipedia—instead of stopping the editors who mockingly compared Manning's gender identity to various absurd concepts.
This case has highlighted how Wikipedia is at odds with what is considered acceptable in society regarding how transgender, and more broadly, LGBT people, are treated, and how individuals whose views are not comme il faut in mainstream media are allowed to significantly influence decisions on such questions here. I believe it is the responsibility of the Wikimedia Foundation, the owners of the website, to ensure that living subjects of bigraphies are treated with basic human dignity and respect. On 8 October 2013 I issued an open letter to the Wikimedia Foundation asking them to address the problems the Manning case highlighted.
I used to contribute to Wikipedia in other topic areas for a number of years, but have stopped contributing in response to the Manning case and the currently unresolved flaws of this website that it highlighted, including the tolerance for aggressive hostility to LGBT people and extremist agendas generally, and the lack of procedures to ensure that LGBT people are treated with decency and respect. My interests include politics, media ethics, journalism and LGBT issues.
During my time as a Wikipedian, I have received a couple of "barnstars" from other editors.