Know your pronouns
Chartreuse Flamethrower (who sometimes comments here as Z2) has a really excellent post up about choosing your pronouns correctly. Here’s the crux of the issue:
Pronouns are a big deal for transgendered people. Calling a trans man (female to Male) ’she’ is at best misinformed and at worst purposefully hurtful and can be a very painful thing. Calling a non-binary ‘he’ or ’she’ is just as inaccurate, which brings up another problem- the English language isn’t equipped for gender neutrality.
They go on to discuss several options for more appropriate pronouns, and the pros and cons of each. It’s a very insightful and thorough post, while still being concise and understandable. The post title sums it up well in that it is both “an explanation and a request” (for respectful behavior), which is why I think it’s so important to pass this on to my readers — especially those of you who don’t usually encounter, and so probably don’t spend much time thinking about, gender identity issues. It’s definitely worth your time. What are you waiting for — read it!
Obama’s Q&A with House Republicans
We haven’t had a lot of posts about politics here over the past year, in part because that was always a bit more of A’s territory and he hasn’t been writing much, and in part because I feel more relaxed about things with Obama in the White House. I don’t feel like I have to hang on every shred of news out of Washington anymore because I agree with the basic principles on which Obama operates, and I feel like I can trust him to make well-considered decisions based on his own ability to reason, as well as on the information and expert advice he has available to him (a much vaster quantity than what I know). It’s obvious, when I listen to Obama speak, that he knows what his positions are and exactly why he has taken them. It sounds like such a little thing to ask from a president, but after eight years of Bush, it feels like a breath of fresh air.
A perfect example of what I’m talking about is Obama’s meeting with House Republicans at their retreat in Baltimore last week. If you’re the sort of person who reads this blog regularly, you’ve probably at least heard about this if not seen it. I finally sat down and watched the video all the way through, and I’m still in awe — of Obama especially, but really of everyone. It was an awesome thing to do. Everyone was very civil — the Republicans had time to explain their questions fully and did so in a way that was earnest and not belligerent, Obama answered with real details and arguments rather than talking points and catchphrases. This is a great example what a real political dialogue can look like. Could we please have more? Lots more?
If you haven’t watched it yet, I’ll make it easy for you. Here’s the meatiest part, the Q&A session (via C-SPAN).