14 December 2022. It is Wednesday morning, and the sun has yet to breach the eastern horizon. I’ve been under the weather the last couple of days, but this morning I’m doing OK. That doesn’t mean that I won’t be feeling like a dirt-rolled snotwad later, but for now, it’s good enough.
I joked with friends yesterday that Benadryl is the “I’m not ready for a nap/we didn’t ask you” cold medicine.
OK. Today’s rant.
I go by Bob. I prefer Bob, I’ve always been called Bob. No one that knows me calls me “Robert”. If I hear “Robert”, I figure it’s either because that’s what it reads on the form, on my insurance card, or it’s my Gramma Reinsch mad at me from beyond this mortal plane. I don’t look at it as an insult, but I have preferences.
In a lot of movies, you’ll hear coaches and drill sergeants misgender the troops. It’s not innocent. It’s an attempt to diminish, to make people feel they are somehow “less”. We’ve been doing it so long, we don’t even give it a single thought. “Let’s get to work, ladies” is one of those expressions you’ll hear, and maybe it’s time to rethink that.
Then, the crux.
Everybody deserves a base level of respect for just being a living human being in the world. I’m often surprised how many people forget that. We need to respect each other and refer to each other in a fashion that says, “hey, I see you”.
I was going through the comments section about a story of a corporate environment where people were constantly misgendering people. I told ’em it was bullying.
Oh, boy.
One person, “Remember when we told our kids, ‘sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me’?”
My reply – we were wrong to say that. We know that mean kids can torment another kid to the point of suicide or worse.
“It’s bullying to make me use a pronoun that I don’t accept”
It’s not about you, dude. It’s about a 3-way fork in the road. 1. Misgender somebody. 2. Learn their name and refer to them by name. 3. Use the pronouns they prefer.
Show me on this doll where the pronoun hurt you.
The irony is that I pointed out that kids use nicknames as a form of torment, and it happens all the time. Part of that irony is that the guy that argued about “pronoun bullying” – his first name was Richard.
I wonder if he takes issue with being called “Dick”.
I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.
Peace y’all.
