I found Jo Schneiderman's piece about her issues with the use of “they/them” as an alternative to gendered pronouns to be written respectfully and, in telling her story, she provided a valuable context for her issues with “they/them” as a pronoun.
However, I hope to provide a further context for its use by telling my own story.
When I was a child, roughly 5, my mom came home one day with a dress that fit me perfectly. I was exuberant. In wearing the dress, I felt a kind of freedom and excitement that I'd never felt before. I never wanted to take the dress off, and I insisted on wearing it to day care the next day. My mother, to her credit, didn't try to dissuade me.
When I arrived at day care, I was met immediately with ridicule and scorn - not only from the other children, but also from the adults to whom my care was entrusted and with whom I had previously felt very safe. They expressed disdain at the very idea that a boy would even play with the idea of displaying any amount of femininity.
I've heard people - almost always people who were never poor or ever had to go on welfare or food stamps - complain up a storm over someone they saw at the supermarket using food stamps who had a nicer phone than they did. From that one event, they...
There's still poop dust all up and down Frost Street. You'd think the rain would have washed it away, but all it does is pack it down so it doesn't blow away, so that next time the sun comes out it can dry up again and mosey on right...
The police harassment issue has gone from a slightly amusing nuisance to a downright menace. Allow me to explain. You might have heard of an incident where a group of teenagers were told to, and I quote, “Stop sitting on benches.” by the police [“A decree - nay, a demand - to remove Brattleboro benches,” The Commons, July]. Today, I witnessed an incident tantamount in its ridiculousness. An officer of the law, one M. Gorman, and another officer whose name...