Something Has Gone Terribly Wrong
And I Don't Know How to Fix It
I do not particularly enjoy being called a “boomer”. There doesn’t seem to be anything complimentary about it. But, by the strict definition of boomer, I am one. Younger people use that label when describing someone old and out of touch and who thinks he knows everything. So be it. I don’t like it, but mostly, who cares? I know who I am and what I am. I refuse to be a victim.
Speaking of victims, this old boomer says there are way too many people claiming to be victims these days. It devalues those who truly have been victimized.
For example, not long ago, there was a story in the news about a man who received an offer to be superintendent of the public schools in a city in Massachusetts. However, while in contract negotiations for the position, the offer was revoked after, in an email to the hiring committee, he referred to women as “ladies”. The chairperson of the committee called that a “microaggression”. So, they took another vote and rescinded the offer. How dare that filthy pig of a man refer to women as “ladies”? He must be one of those ignorant old boomers. Maybe he should be flogged. Or stoned. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)
This is a prime example of looking for a reason to be a victim. To take a job away from the most qualified applicant over this is senseless. When did we become so delicate and defensive? This person went through the hiring process and was judged as the best candidate for the position. And it was taken away. All because someone decided it was more important to be a victim, than it was to give the job to the best candidate. All because someone chose to be offended.
And, make no mistake, taking offense is a choice. We all decide why and when to take offense at something. No doubt, in life, there are plenty of valid reasons to take genuine offense, and to react accordingly. But, I believe it has gotten way out of hand. Taking offense and playing the victim have become tactical, meant to enforce a particular agenda or exact revenge against those with a different point of view. It is my opinion that such behavior is detrimental to desired and worthy goals such as inclusivity and acceptance, and can be counterproductive. How so? Well, being bludgeoned by constant aggressive victimhood tends to alienate those folks from whom inclusion and acceptance are desired. Which, in many cases, is a large portion of society.
It seems that stupid behavior is becoming commonplace. A school in Vermont released a letter to parents of 5th graders, informing them that terms such as “boy,” “girl,” “male,” and “female” will be not be used in an upcoming unit on puberty. In their place will be: “people who produce sperm” and “people who produce eggs.” Christ, this is asinine. How does it possibly make any sense to confuse these children at this pivotal point in their young lives? The goal should be to educate with facts. Schools should not be ideological battlegrounds. Twisting the language into a pile of linguistic glop is not helpful. There has to be a better way.
At the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, presumably filled to the rafters with highly intelligent humans, they endeavored to find a better way, but instead got caught up in the idiocy. They recently published an “LGBTQ Glossary”, which was an apparent effort at inclusion, I guess, but it backfired in spectacular fashion. Among the definitions contained therein, “lesbian” was defined as “a non-man attracted to non-men”. One might wonder if a gay man was defined as “non-woman attracted to non-women”. Uh, no. According to the Glossary a gay man is a “man attracted to other men”.
Another interesting tidbit from the Glossary was the usage of the term “trans woman”. So, following the tortured “logic” of all this, only trans women should be called “women”, but people born female and identifying as “women” should be called “non-men”.
My goodness. The stupidity is simply breathtaking. Predictably, the blatant sexism and indecipherable logic of this caused an uproar on social media, and Johns Hopkins promptly removed the problematic material from its website. But, how did the language get so messed up that it has come to this? Attempting to change the language in order to create a gender-free utopia without gaining the assent of people who use that language, is doomed to failure. Demonizing common words that everyone has used for centuries in an attempt at inclusion, just forces us farther apart. Someone is always going to be left out. Or offended. Or both.
Yes, I am aware there are certain words that once were common and are now verboten. We all know them. They are words that were used as epithets against certain groups and are now rightly stigmatized. Words like male and female are not, and never have been, derogatory. They are words used to describe certain characteristics common to all of us in the animal world.
Groups seeking inclusion and acceptance from the rest of society used to have rock solid support from those who identify as politically liberal. (Actually, I guess “progressive” is the preferred term these days, as if liberal is a dirty word. Whatever.) It seems that support is not quite as rock solid anymore. And, if the support of people who view themselves as liberal or progressive is being lost, then something has gone terribly wrong. Let’s face it, support will never be forthcoming from the MAGA morons. The knuckleheads who buy a case of Bud Light, only to shoot it up with an assault rifle and post a video of it because they do not like the person who endorses it, well, changing those minds seems unlikely.
But, the people to whom I am referring are those who have identified with liberal causes their entire adult lives. They have supported civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights, and the rights of everyone to live and work and be accepted in our society. These people are crucial to the goal of gaining inclusion and acceptance for all, but some feel they are being driven away by constant aggressive victimhood, and forced to accept changes to the language without input or consent. And, if these foundational supporters are lost, then those seeking inclusion should be prepared to be on the outside looking in for a very long time.
I do not know the best way forward. I am not smart enough to come up with solutions to these issues. Maybe in 50 years, when all of us fossilized, reactionary old boomers will be long gone, these types of problems will have solved themselves. Good luck until then.
