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Subject:Speaking as a manipulator of thoughts... From:Geoff Hart <Geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> Date:Tue, 27 Apr 1999 08:25:57 -0400
Daniel Hall observed <<Double-plus good for those who
oppose P.C. constructions in TW.>>
Speaking as a Machead, I'd buy that. Long live the Mac
revolution! <g>
<<Language IS power. Those who maipulate language are
manipulating thought.>>
And speaking as a writer and editor--someone who is paid to
manipulate thoughts on a daily basis--I'd have to agree with
you. The issue isn't whether manipulating thoughts is wrong,
since any time we try to get our readers to adopt a specific
behavior, that's precisely what we're doing. The issue is at
what point this manipulation becomes (innocently) downright
silly or (more scarily) unethical. It's a very grey issue, and
each of us draws a very different line in the sand to mark our
final position.
<<All animals are equal, but some are more equal than
others.>>
And ironically, that's precisely why "worker-hour" is
important: we men are still considerably more equal than our
sisters on this planet. Like it or not. And if it's in our power to
correct that situation to even the slightest degree, why the hell
shouldn't we do it?
