Leave my pronouns to me

I am beginning to really dislike pronouns More accurately I dislike how people are making the use or non-use of pronouns a toxically political way to divide our country These extremists on both sides of the pronoun issue are equally responsible for the mess in which we now find ourselves For years there have been institutions and companies requiring their members when they communicate with others to state their preferred pronouns They really don t give their people a choice They believe this is a necessary edict so people can feel free to identify with the pronoun that makes them majority of settled This thinking is wrongheaded and defeats the very reason they claim that pronouns must be reported to the world to make people feel better and more welcome A person s choice of pronouns for themselves is a very deeply personal and private decision They should not be required to release such personal information unless they wish to Maybe a few reserve such information for close friends This pronoun exposure is a form of outing that is totally unnecessary Certain entities that require their members to share their preferred pronoun say it is voluntary Of subject in the form of memos emails and verbal communications they highly recommend that you follow this edict Bulk members of an organization do not feel content going against the tradition of their group So in essence they are making the release of private information mandatory in the name of freedom of choice and equality What a horrific contradiction Equally idiotic are those institutions in contemporary times both residents and private that prohibit sharing our pronouns in our communications This too is a direct attack on our personal freedoms If someone wants to end or begin a conversation or an email with their preferred pronouns that should be their individual personal choice A mandatory ban on pronouns violates our freedom of speech expression and identity It is a step toward state-controlled speech Only allowing acceptable strategies of communicating that are approved by the regime sounds like something out of George Orwell s Big Brother is watching you So much for small unintrusive leadership Both extremist groups have taken pronouns that are personal and have made them political Dave Berger I have a close friend whose name is complicated to pronounce or even write correctly That person s name is B B goes by B because B feels more confident not releasing B s private and personal pronouns But sometimes for clarity of communication B chooses to share B s pronouns That is absolutely B s freedom of speech and choice to share B s preferred pronouns The pronoun extremists world force B either to reveal B s personal and private pronouns or force B to keep B s pronouns a secret even if B wants to share B s identity These ideologies disregard the very democratic and constitutionally guaranteed rights we all have It is a disgrace to make something so personal in any way required or banned When I am now appealed by folks what my preferred personal pronouns are I say I am very uncomfortable sharing that with people until I get to know them Just call me Dave or better yet just D When I do feel reassured sharing my pronouns I will do so despite any heavy-handed executive regulation It would be better for the entire nation if we stop making pronouns a political litmus test one way or the other Let B be B Dave Berger or D of Maple Grove is a retired sociology professor freelance writer playwright and author His upcoming play is A Woman s Place is in the House A Comedy about the first four women elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in The post Leave my pronouns to me appeared first on MinnPost