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Checksum: 61986
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From: tomwest@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Tom West)
Date: Thu, 21-Jul-88 15:48:19 EDT
Message-ID: <1988Jul21.154819.17924@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu>
Organization: University of Toronto Computing Services
Newsgroups: news.admin,misc.legal,soc.women
Subject: Re: Proposed lawsuit
References: <12165@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <6278@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <12180@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <175@quintus.UUCP>
Reply-To: tomwest@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Tom West)

In article <175@quintus.UUCP> ok@quintus.UUCP (Richard A. O'Keefe) writes:
> (2) Are authors to be forbidden ever to use "she" as the default
>     in papers they publish, lest Mark Ethan Smith read them?  How is this
>     to be done without offending women who _like_ that practice?  [This is
>     only one step removed from referring directly to the plaintiff with
>     the pronoun in question, because in a context like "The reader will
>     note that this is a complex issue.  She can expect further surprises."
>     the pronoun will refer to whoever happens to be reading the text.]

  And more stupid examples about having to call everybody "he", etc. and 
otherwise justifying himself to the rest of the world.

  Look, somebody on the net wishes to be referred to by the male pronoun
irrespective of sex.  Is that a big deal?  Well, it appears it is too big a
deal for a goodly number of posters, almost all of whom are male.  (Suprising?
not really.)

  The person involved has not asked that the word "she" be abolished, only that
it not be used with respect to that individual.  Too much to ask?  It appears
so.

  Personal Opinion:  Anyone who can't be bothered to use "he" or "him", or more
    to the point uses "she" or "her" in order to provoke a response is a jerk.
    Probably not an illegal jerk, but a jerk nonetheless.  Decrying that one
    has the right, or it is grammatically correct is even more stupid.  If one
    is going to be a jerk, why bother with justification?  Nobody is going
    to care anyway.  Does anybody else find it amazing what lengths will be
    followed in order to justify rude and obnoxious behaviour on the part of
    individuals?

  Exemptions from opinion:  Those who have suffered extra-net activities that
    might give them cause to react worse than called for.

    As far as MES's behaviour, I will not comment due to the fact that there
    are a lot of other factors beyond the net involved in his responses.  

  Legal Opinion:  Only layman's guess, which is the lawsuit isn't likely to
    go anywhere.  'Course I could be wrong.

-- 
				Tom West

BITNET:         tomwest@utorgpu.bitnet, tomwest@gpu.utcs.utoronto
Internet:       tomwest@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu 
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