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Path: utzoo!watmath!saquigley
From: saquigley@watmath.UUCP (Sophie Quigley)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Animal Sexist Language
Message-ID: <7582@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 21-Apr-84 09:21:41 EST
Article-I.D.: watmath.7582
Posted: Sat Apr 21 09:21:41 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 22-Apr-84 08:24:02 EST
References: <313@teldata.UUCP>, <7578@watmath.UUCP>, <6742@watrose.UUCP>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 31


Well Carlo, you were obviously not one of the people I was refering to in
my article.  I think there is a wide gulf between saying: "Even though I
recognise it makes some people feel uneasy to be called ..., I don't feel 
like changing and that's my right" and "If it makes you uneasy to be called
..., it's because there's something wrong with you.  I think you are
completely wrong to feel this way, here's proof of it: <assinine "proof"
follows>"

I was not objecting to the first behaviour as I too think that freedom of
speech is important, but I was objecting to the second behaviour which is
one of complete arrogance, and refusal to accept other people's different
perception.  Looking what is at stake: using "human" to say "human" instead
of "man", "s/he" instead of he and a few other minor changes to the common
use of the language, I find the violence of some people's reactions very
strange, and disturbing.  That is why I was asking them: "what makes you
tick?".  There must be more than respect for the language, because the
language is hardly been denigrated, and also because the same people probably
do not go crusading off against the use of such words as "television", 
"telecommunications", or any other "new" technological words.  This makes me
conclude that in their minds it is alright to change the language to change
the state of technology, but not alright to change it in order to get social
changes; strange priorities if you want my opinion.  That is why I cannot
help believing that there are ulterior motives to their reaction, and the
violence of the reaction leads me to believe that those ulterior motives are
pretty heavy stuff.

Therefore my question still stands.

Sophie Quigley
...!{clyde,ihnp4,decvax,allegra}!watmath!saquigley