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12/06/2003 Entry: "Who gives to who"
The Gutless Pacificist has a great post about economic justice that hits the nail squarely on the head, quoting from Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
hame on our own dependency on the underpaid labor of others. When someone works for less pay than he/she can live on-when, for example, she goes hungry so you can eat more cheaply and conveniently-then he/she has made a great sacrifice for you, he/she has made you a gift of some part of his/her abilities, his/her health, and his/her life. The "working poor", as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor to everyone else.
Replies:
I agree that he/she is an awkward construction, but language and sensibilities change Pieter. We may regret that, but we can't deny it. I strongly suspect that "they" will come to be used as a genderless singular in time
Posted by Richard @ 12/06/2003 09:40 PM CST
Oh, wait. That's a quote from somewhere else that the GP is using. Ah, well...what I said still stands.
Posted by Pieter Friedrich @ 12/06/2003 08:28 PM CST
I don't suppose the Gutless Pacifist could try just going with the generic and previously standard "he" and "his" instead of the awkward and PC "he/she" and "his/her," could he?
Posted by Pieter Friedrich @ 12/06/2003 08:26 PM CST
