7/24/2023 0 Comments What is the pronounCollecting insults and taking offense when obviously none was intended have become national sports. GENTLE READER: That they do not mind being disrespectful of their elderly relatives who are trying to respect them. The person is a minor, but their parent allows this aggressive approach to “prevent them from being disrespected.” What are your thoughts? I have asked them for grace in the transition, but it seems they are so focused on the way they want to be addressed that they aren’t thinking of it as a two-way street. I don’t want to be disrespectful, but I have found myself hesitant to converse with them because it has the risk of major sidetracking and drama (crying and shouting). They will either aggressively correct the offender or refuse to respond, and the conversation is hijacked. The issue: If we slip up and don’t correct ourselves immediately, the conversation becomes a battle. We aren’t intentionally using the wrong ones, but it’s a process, especially since we don’t see them but twice a year. ![]() We do, however, make verbal slips, both with the new name and pronoun. ![]() The elderly members of our family are respectful of this. I have a family member who has declared they/them pronouns, along with a change to their given name, in the last year. The issue our family is experiencing relates to pronoun identity. ![]() DEAR MISS MANNERS: Thank you for addressing the issue of “intent to offend” as opposed to being slow to adapt to newly identified verbiage.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |