PRONOUNS AND PANCAKES

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We as a culture have become very much attuned to language. Woke is a thing, cancel culture has emerged as a response to language we don’t like, and while PC has been around a while, it seems to gain in strength. Pronouns have become a subject for serious discussion. And social-justice warriors are forever perched, ready to pounce for the slightest breach or transgression.

Do I say African American or people of color? Some folks (usually White ones) are afraid to say anything. I have heard it—and not heard it—in the classroom. Moreover, many professors won’t go anywhere near the issues of race or gender for fear of backlash.

Some of this is headed in the right direction. It’s a sign the culture is morally developing. It doesn’t hurt to take stock and try to use less offensive language. However, American society has become a bit obsessive with this new-found enlightenment. It has produced a culture of fear, a preciousness, and a self-righteousness. I won’t even go into the huge mistake of handing the conservative-minded a set of targets. Do we need the word woke? No, we do not. Do we need DEI or Critical Race Theory as labels? Nope. They have just become things for the rightwing to grouse and bleat about.

It makes sense that the Republican Party, whose mission it is to give free money to the ultra-wealthy, shaft the working class and working poor, and all the while traffic in white supremacy, would take issue with things like diversity, equity, and inclusion. I get it. They are the party that represents the opposite of those things. But did we need to hand them three-letter bullseyes?

Same for woke. According to Google, woke “generally refers to an awareness of social and political injustices, particularly those related to race and discrimination.” This is the opposite of what the GOP values. So, don’t give them something to aim at.

That all said, I think trying to be less offensive in how we speak is a good thing. And DEI, conceptually, is also a good thing. Same for CRT. And being woke. They’re all noble goals. They just don’t need labels. Cancel culture is not a noble goal, and is an exercise in intolerance and self-indulgence. The sooner the culture rejects it, the better. If you don’t like what J. K. Rowling is saying, ignore her. Or endeavor to constructively discuss why what she’s saying is ignorant, offensive, and stupid—which it is.

As for pronouns, the real issue is people from the trans community being historically mistreated. The issue is not pronouns; the issue is how these human beings have been treated.

I have been teaching college-aged people for thirteen years; I have probably had a couple thousand students by now. To date, I have had one conversation with one student on the topic. She told me she doesn’t really identify with either gender. I said, “Which pronouns do you prefer?” She said, “I couldn’t care less. Some use she, some use they. I don’t really care, to be honest.”

There you go. One student, one conversation, and the person doesn’t even care. In case anyone is interested in my pronouns, they are universal/basic/income. I have also been known to use break up/the/banks. And sometimes I’ll use universal/health/care.

And this is my point. While we are busy with pronouns, Aunt Jemima, and Confederate statues, income inequality and lack of healthcare are causing agony and killing people—a lot of people. Families are living in their cars. Aren’t these more important than statues and the names of buildings and food-company characters and Harry Potter?

We’re quite conscientious about the small stuff; there prevails an ignorance and cowardice when it comes to the big stuff. This is what it means to be a good liberal. NPR’s coverage of the war in Iraq was appalling; they marched in lockstep with the State Department. But NPR very bravely tackles the smaller issues. War crimes and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people? They were basically complicit. Issues like the ones I have mentioned here? Oh so brave and principled.

Why wasn’t NPR principled when Baghdad was running out of morgue space and was storing dead bodies in refrigerated trucks? NPR has much to be ashamed of. But that is the liberal orientation: liberals didn’t say Vietnam was wrong; they instead talked about mistakes. Much handwringing. As Noam Chomsky has pointed out for decades, the liberals are far worse. Conservatives say, “Exterminate the brutes.” The liberals wring their hands and legitimize the killing with tactical talk. Y’know, like good intellectuals.

It’s difficult to take seriously the moral outrage leveled at J. K. Rowling while people are living in tents and dying. And they’re dying because of how we vote. Congress is a national embarrassment, but why do they have those jobs? Because of us. Because we’re worried about pronouns and pancakes. Poverty is a far more serious issue. Lack of healthcare, too. They cause agony and death. The Confederate statues? They collect bird droppings and do little else.

Many Baby Boomers roll their eyes at these social concerns. On one hand, I can’t say as I blame them. On the other, their generation I find to be a failure; it is because of them that we lack decent legislation. Yet, they are judgmental and condescending about people caring about things like offense and treatment of trans people. As a generation, they have a lot of nerve for rolling their eyes at anything. It has been their generation that has brought the country to a low point. And my generation (X, 1965-1980) has not been much better. We’re basically Boomer Lite. 

Meanwhile, Israel—with US support and authorization—kills about 40 people a day in Gaza. School children are gunned down by snipers. People are murdered while they line up with their aluminum pots for food aid. Murdering hungry people? This is Israel. And I don’t detect much concern. I hear few talk about it. Americans get angry about gas prices; murdering hungry children doesn’t seem to merit much attention. But I do hear a lot of talk about other topics. A lot. So very enlightened, so woke, so progressive, so impressive. 

History will have something else to say.