Monday, February 06, 2017

‘Manpower’ doesn’t mean ‘man power’

Beaton: ‘Manpower’ doesn’t mean ‘man power’ | AspenTimes.com:
"Free speech is no longer free at our universities.
If you say the wrong thing, your words will cost you.
Even if you say the right thing it’ll cost you plenty.
At Princeton University, you pay tuition of $41,820 per year (well, this being academia, make that per two-thirds of a year) for the language police to ban you from words they deem sexist.
Image result for newspeak
The ban applies to so-called hateful words and phrases like “layman,” “mankind” (which the censors deem not just politically incorrect but also oxymoronic), “man hours,” “workmanlike” and of course that most-hated word, “manpower.”
In addition, they’ve banned gender-specific pronouns.
So you can’t say, for example, “Each person pays his tuition through the nose.”
Do it, but don’t say it.
You can substitute “their” for “his.”
So you can say, “Each person pays their tuition through the nose.”
Grammatically speaking, this use of the plural pronoun “their” to reference one person is incorrect unless the person has a mouse in his/her/their pocket and the mouse is carrying its own $41,820, which it intends to pay through its own little nose.
But let’s not let grammar, money or vermin stand in the way of social justice.
Where will this end?..."

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