this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2024
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Anything that makes you apply your hand to your face.
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Your point is very clear, and you need to get off the internet for a bit and interact with real people, nobody is offended by the terminology.
To assert that 'nobody is offended by the terminology' is to commit the fallacy of argumentum ad populum, erroneously believing that majority opinion dictates truth. It's a convenient but very lazy dismissal that ignores the voices of those who do feel excluded by such language.
The suggestion that discussing these issues requires more 'real' interaction is a classic straw man argument. It sidesteps the substance of the debate in favour of a cheap ad hominem attack. It's a spinlessly weak attempt to undermine a valid discussion about how language evolves and impacts inclusivity.
I’m not trying to argue with you, as this is a complete non-issue. Nobody feels excluded by the term “mankind”.
Remember this?
Old Star Trek: "...to boldly go where no man has gone before..."
New Star Trek: "...to boldly go where no-one has gone before..."
I noticed, and to be honest - once my pattern-recognition subsystems adapted to that very minor cognitive dissonance - I was very glad to hear it. It also prompted me to think more consciously and diligently about similar mental shortcuts elsewhere in my life (and not just for gender equality), and bolstered my nascent efforts to be actively fallibilistic in all things - especially the things I am expert in, which are the hardest ones. It "raised the empathy bar" by way of ripple-effect.