Already fraught

I don’t think so.

I don’t think it’s daft or purist or obstinate or stupid to dislike customized pronouns. It’s maybe somewhat stupid or wrong to tell off other people for using them, but I think we have good reasons for objecting to them in general.

For one thing they condition us, as is the plan. If we say it we start to believe it, involuntarily. I don’t want to be conditioned to believe it.

For another it’s a falsehood, and not the minor personal kind to save people’s feelings but the major public kind to convince us of a general falsehood. I just don’t think we should be pressured to comply.

And on a more trivial level it’s just irritating and stupid and tedious, and extra effort to remember.

On the other hand…it’s trickier for a journalist, because Singal can’t just use the real pronouns as the default, in a normal no-problem way. His not using them would send all kinds of messages, which he won’t want to send in a piece of journalism. We’ve been boxed into a no-win situation here.

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