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Re: [dq-rules] OT: Bias, Gender, Perception, Insults, Fun, and, oh what the heck, Beer, too.

Just for fun...


      I think the first thing that I absolutely must point out is that
      we may be agreeing and disagreeing at the same time, because
      we're both coming at it from our technical mindsets, with each
      of us having concluded the nature of the premise beforehand, and
      then proceeding from what we considered solid ground. After


I think you have a keen mind and a firm grasp of the situation.


MG> Research indicates that "when you use the word man generically, people do
MG> tend to think male, and tend not to think female" (Miller and Swift 21).

      Naturally, but the key is: is that so bad? Or even the more rude
      response, "who cares?" :)
Many people do. That whole women's suffrage issue that arose a few years ago is one example (and slavery, etc.) 


MG> 3 It perpetuates stereotypes. Language influences our thoughts and
MG> beliefs.

    Ok, to be fair, here's where I not so much disagree as just feel
    sad for people in general, and a little superior without intending
    to. People, in general, often prove to be extremely weak, and that
    disturbs me to no end. I'm one of those types that, regardless of
    where I was raised, or the influences around me, would always, in
    most respects, grow into the same person. I'm "me" and always will
    be. I can take influences and pick and choose the elements I wish
    to absorb, or discard them without breaking a sweat. It has taken
    me man long years to figure out that this wasn't a common trait in
    people, so I now, in my old age <chuckle>, try to be more
    understanding of this, but I will never like it. My family was
I think it is because you are tall, and therefore oblivious to the biases the rest of us have to fight against daily. ;-) 


MG> Find two lefties, one taught how to write by a left handed teacher
MG> and the other taught to write by a right handed teacher. Sit with
MG> them and discuss their experiences.

    That would be rather interesting. My own experience had no outer
    influences. As an ambi, I, for whatever reason, found myself
    assigning a hand to different tasks as I went along. It was
Similar to the 'tall' problem, you were oblivious to the problems the lefties face. ;-) 


    do not believe you will ever see a neuter pronoun that will be
    considered valid, and even if one were created and enforced, you'd
    have a riot on your hands if you tried to re-publish classic works
    with the words changed to reflect it. Correcting problems is fine,
I agree that there will probably not be a solution in what is left of my lifetime. I agree that the first person who suggests rewriting the literature to include the new pronoun should be, ahem, neutered. With a bat. 


    whereas Native American conflicts with logic. If a black guy was
    born in Utah, he's a native American, so it's kind of silly to
    imply otherwise (which is why I hate the term African American,
    too. If you were born here, dammit, you're an American. If you
Time to break out one of my stupid stories. I applied for college in 1979. A few months later, after getting accepted to a college, I got a call from somebody from the BIA offering me scholarships, tutoring and probably a car (with insurance and gas money!!). I kept asking questions like 'why would you offer me such things' and she kept responding with statements like 'we do this for all people in your position'. It confused me because NONE of my friends had received offers like this. It took a few minutes and rounds of question, offers and answers before it clicked - BIA = Bureau of Indian Affairs and that I had inadvertently checked the 'Native American' box on the ancestry section of my application (I was in a hurry to fill out the application. I was born in America after all (I am 3/8 Italian, 3/8 British and 1/4 Scot by heritage - but American by culture). It seems that VERY few 'indians' make it to college, and fewer still to 'good schools'. I felt so sorry when I had to break the news about the mistake, but we laughed about it for a while. 

Marty
--


"If you haven't got your health, at least you have something to talk about."
"They say that everything happens for a reason. I am just tired of that reason being to make me unhappy or embarrassed."
"You can't make a baby in a month using nine women, but it sounds like it would be fun to try!"
"Does it ever occur to women that maybe it is their butts that make their pants look big?"