Chelsea Manning has had to endure hateful trolling since she left prison. <\/p>\n
But, it turns out, she gives as good as she gets. <\/p>\n
In May, she was released from prison after being pardoned by President Barack Obama. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Manning began her gender transition while still in prison, becoming the first military prisoner to receive gender transition treatment in prison, according to her ACLU lawyer. <\/p>\n
And since gaining her freedom, she has been an outspoken activist on trans issues and inequality. <\/p>\n
Earlier this week, she tweeted that the US should dismantle the military\/police state, with its walls and borders and replace it with healthcare and infrastructure for all. <\/p>\n
She followed this up by telling her followers that taxation is a sharing of responsibility, and that only the wealthy believe that taxation is theft. <\/p>\n
They dont pay taxes. We should make them, she continued. <\/p>\n
This prompted a storm of abuse in which she was told to die, called a traitor, a socialist and many slurs. <\/p>\n
After all, if youre loud and proud with your views on social media and particularly on Twitter you will come face-to-face with hate. <\/p>\n
And this is even more true for trans women like Manning. <\/p>\n
But the activist has pledged: I will never block or mute, and seems to be up for destroying every troll who dares to take her on. <\/p>\n
This includes people who dont seem to understand that not transitioning can be incredibly dangerous for trans people. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
After all, she spent long enough being imprisoned. <\/p>\n
Shes not going to be restricted now. <\/p>\n
Manning was handed a 35-year jail sentence in 2013 for leaking 700,000 classified US army documents to WikiLeaks, but was released last month after President Barack Obama intervened to commute her sentence. <\/p>\n
Speaking to ABC News following the release, Manning said: I used to get these horrible feelings like I just wanted to rip my body apart and I dont want to have to go through that experience again. <\/p>\n
It was really, really awful, she added. <\/p>\n
Manning was just 22 when she shared the US diplomatic correspondence, which included evidence of civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, profiles of detainees at Guantanamo prison camp, and low-level battlefield reports. <\/p>\n
Speaking about her crime, she said: I have a responsibility to the public we all have a responsibility. <\/p>\n
Anything Ive done, its me. Theres no one else. No one told me to do this. <\/p>\n
Nobody directed me to do this. This is me. Its on me. <\/p>\n
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