Language and political correctness question

nikolai_42

nikolai_42

Well-known member
Stumbled over an older (2018) article in The Atlantic about using the term "guys" generically :

Okay to Say "Hey Guys"?

Honestly, that's just a segue into my question - everyone is aware of the postmodern push to redefine and relabel according to someone's feelings (though many would say the redefinition is for other reasons).

Simply put, if "you" have the right to identify the way "you" want - i.e. to define your own identity - don't I have the right to determine what "I" mean by what "I" say? So if ""I want to say "Hey, guys!" and mean it in the broadest possible sense (i.e. anyone near me who would be likely to listen to me), then why does "your" identity and demand need to override "my" decision to identify "you" with certain language (whether you like it or not)? After all, we've rejected biological certainty in favor of individual feelings and impressions - so why do "your" feelings and impressions override "my" decision to use language the way "I" want?
 
eider

eider

Well-known member
nikolai_42 said:
Stumbled over an older (2018) article in The Atlantic about using the term "guys" generically :

Okay to Say "Hey Guys"?

Honestly, that's just a segue into my question - everyone is aware of the postmodern push to redefine and relabel according to someone's feelings (though many would say the redefinition is for other reasons).

Simply put, if "you" have the right to identify the way "you" want - i.e. to define your own identity - don't I have the right to determine what "I" mean by what "I" say? So if ""I want to say "Hey, guys!" and mean it in the broadest possible sense (i.e. anyone near me who would be likely to listen to me), then why does "your" identity and demand need to override "my" decision to identify "you" with certain language (whether you like it or not)? After all, we've rejected biological certainty in favor of individual feelings and impressions - so why do "your" feelings and impressions override "my" decision to use language the way "I" want?
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Say it how it works for you , is my suggestion. If any folks would want to give me a lecture over such a title then I would ask them to write to me about it. But I wouldn't bother to read it when it arrived. 😁
 
nikolai_42

nikolai_42

Well-known member
eider said:
Say it how it works for you , is my suggestion. If any folks would want to give me a lecture over such a title then I would ask them to write to me about it. But I wouldn't bother to read it when it arrived. 😁
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But that's the point. Those that are redefining identity are being utterly inconsistent.
 
annabenedetti

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
nikolai_42 said:
But that's the point. Those that are redefining identity are being utterly inconsistent.
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For your purposes, who are "those redefining identity" in this situation? The people who'd like to see changes to the use of "you guys" or the people who use the term? Because those are two not-necessarily overlapping demographics.

I would never use "y'all," but I have on occasion asked "Do you all.." I don't use "folks." "You people" can be read negatively and sounds stilted, though it could work in a professional setting. Most of the time I say "you guys" as does just about everyone I know because I live on the west coast and not in the south. I don't use it as a gendered word, but - I use it casually among family and friends, which is different than being in a professional setting and in that case I'd choose my words more carefully and would fall back to "you all."
 
ok doser

ok doser

lifeguard at the cement pond
nikolai_42 said:
Stumbled over an older (2018) article in The Atlantic about using the term "guys" generically :

Okay to Say "Hey Guys"?

Honestly, that's just a segue into my question - everyone is aware of the postmodern push to redefine and relabel according to someone's feelings (though many would say the redefinition is for other reasons).

Simply put, if "you" have the right to identify the way "you" want - i.e. to define your own identity - don't I have the right to determine what "I" mean by what "I" say? So if ""I want to say "Hey, guys!" and mean it in the broadest possible sense (i.e. anyone near me who would be likely to listen to me), then why does "your" identity and demand need to override "my" decision to identify "you" with certain language (whether you like it or not)? After all, we've rejected biological certainty in favor of individual feelings and impressions - so why do "your" feelings and impressions override "my" decision to use language the way "I" want?
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This is the one I remember and mostly for the comments comparing the size of her mouth to Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger. The human blowfish.

 
C

chair

Well-known member
Political correctness has gotten out of hand. Do you get emails that are signed with a list of which pronouns the person wants to be called by?
 
C

chair

Well-known member
chair said:
Political correctness has gotten out of hand. Do you get emails that are signed with a list of which pronouns the person wants to be called by?
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I don't get many, but I have a cousin who does this. Here's her signature:

Take care,
C_____
she/her/hers

One thing that really bothers me is that they seem to substitute semantics for change. Despite my being labelled repeatedly as a 'leftist' here, I don't think this kind of censorship makes a real difference- and it does real damage. And much of the effort to improve society has been misguided, or consists of throwing money at problems. I do believe that weaker parts of society can be helped, specifically through better education- but it is a long=term process, one that can take generations.
 
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