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From: jlg@lanl.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Re: Why taxation *is* coercive
Message-ID: <22142@lanl.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 22-Feb-85 14:12:45 EST
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Posted: Fri Feb 22 14:12:45 1985
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> > > By what right can a government force a person from her home if taxes are
> > > not paid?
> 
> > Why is this person who doesn't pay taxes assumed to be female?
> 
> > J. Giles
> 
> The only one making that assumption is yourself; haven't you heard
> of the generic 'she'?  It's fairly popular on the net these days,
> having been introduced as a substitute for the generic 'he', which
> makes some women feel left out.

Even most feminists admit that the 'generic she' causes more confusion and
controversy than it is worth.  The only thing it does is focus attention
on sexism - which was not the subject of your tax article.  In English,
the word 'he' is taken to mean 'a person of unknown gender' or 'a person
of masculine gender' depending upon context.  The word 'she' ALWAYS means
'someone of feminine gender'.  If you use the generic 'he', you are just
using correct English.  Introducing some 'generic she' rule is an overtly
sexist act (you are trying to make an issue out of something that isn't and
never was).

Women have their own pronouns, men don't.

J. Giles