Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!ut-sally!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!ultra!wayne@ames.arpa
From: wayne@ames.arpa
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Reaction to thoughtlessness.
Message-ID: <8097@brl-adm.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 29-Jun-87 16:17:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-adm.8097
Posted: Mon Jun 29 16:17:34 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 1-Jul-87 00:39:38 EDT
Sender: news@brl-adm.ARPA
Lines: 37

In his mail on "HELP WITH MAILX --- URGENT!" Ed Mrozek writes:

    As such, they would like to see secretaries manage the mail
    for all of the people at a given site.  They hope to accomplish
    this by generating an id for the site and then letting the sec.
    do her thing.  I argue that she can do this by means of our
    menu system.

Now I am not a particularly strong advocate of women's rights, and
am in fact AGAINST such cruft as "affirmative action", but things
like the above just absolutely drive me up the wall!  I am sure that
Mr. Mrozek did not MEAN to categorize all secretaries as "she", but
nevertheless he DID it.  Subconscious sex discrimination is no better
than overt discrimination!  (And by the way, I seriously doubt that
this is a case of knowing that all the secretaries are in fact female;
the original posting alluded to users being "scattered over the entire
state at roughly 160 sites.")

Perhaps I am overly sensitive to this.  My wife used to work in the
data processing department of San Jose Hospital, and whenever anybody
heard the word "hospital" they immediately asked "Oh, are you a nurse?"
Since nobody particularly associates hospitals with data processing,
this seems reasonable, right?  Well, I strongly disagree -- because in
all the years she was there, not one single person ever asked "Oh, are
you a doctor?"! 

I guess I should have started this with "FLAME ON", and I really don't
mean to pick on Mr. Mrozek, but good grief, if the EDUCATED populace
is so thoughtless what hope is there among the "great unwashed"?

Anyway, FLAME OFF; sorry I couldn't help with the mailx problem.

        Wayne Hathaway        wayne@Ultra.COM
        Ultra Corporation
        2140 Bering drive     or pre-domain-server:
        San Jose, CA 95131     ultra!wayne@Ames.ARPA
        408-922-0100