• @sailingbythelee
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    111 year ago

    This sounds clever, and I agree with the sentiment, but this is actually a terrible argument. It inadvertently implies that only those with a very specific, near-obsessive interest in pronouns, similar to how obsessed with Tolkien you have to be to know the difference between Narsil and Anduril, should be expected to remember anyone’s correct pronouns.

      • @sailingbythelee
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        91 year ago

        A logical argument should not need to be interpreted other than through its own premises and logic. I know what the post is getting at, but it isn’t a good logical argument. The post postulates that if you are capable of understanding and remembering one complex thing (Tolkien), you are capable of understanding and remembering a different, simpler thing (pronouns). However, that argument fails to address the actual problem. It’s like saying that if someone can understand quantum mechanics, then surely they can recite something as simple as the Ten Commandments by heart.

        The issue for most isn’t that they can’t intellectually understand pronouns. It is that they don’t really care about pronouns, don’t want to devote mental energy to the subject, and may even think that pronoun-oriented people are making their personal issues a burden for other people.