The Dees Diversion: So, who am I--the language police? You bet your ass I am--someone has to be

Sunday, August 07, 2005

So, who am I--the language police? You bet your ass I am--someone has to be

Today, at the Acura Classic, an all-women's tennis tournament for an all-women's tour, ESPN commentator Tim Ryan said Akiko Morigami was Ai Sugiyama's "countryman."

Here it is, the 21st Century, and blah-blah-blah prize money, blah-blah-blah crowds, blah-blah-blah sports legends. But it doesn't really mean anything if we insist on calling women men.

6 Comments:

Damn skippy, Diane. Somehow I keep thinking that this should have sunk in by a good 30 yrs into the 2nd wave of the Women's Movement, but some are just slow on the uptake, I suppose.

By Anonymous, at 1:17 AM

Well, if it had been anyone else I'd have been likewise offended, but considering the fact that it was Tim Ryan, I can overlook it. He's so stupid, he probably didn't know either was a woman. For that matter, he probably didn't know they were playing tennis. Consider the source...

By Anonymous, at 5:08 PM

Many tennis fans share your opinion, I can assure you.

By Diane, at 6:21 PM

I should add that I doubt many share mine. I'm sure many have no clue why I'm offended, many are sick of all this "political correctness," and others think it's silly to complain about "insignificant" things when we have Supreme Court nomination (or...filling the blank) going on.

By Diane, at 6:47 PM

You may or may not be aware of the ongoing flap in San Francisco involving a radio personality and Giants manager, Felipe Alou. The reporter, apparently tired of the Giants on-field performance, expressed his frustration on the air with a rant that berated Caribbean ballplayers for their free-swinging demeanor at the plate and accused Alou of being 'brain-dead'.

Alou fired back by demanding the station fire the reporter for his racial insensitivity, which, of course, the station refused to do, choosing to suspend the idiot for a5 days. In his defense, I must tell you that the reporter tried to publicly apologize, but Alou would hear none of it, stating that after berating millions of people, the reporter had no right to apologize.

I fear "the many" of whom you speak would have the same reaction to this situation, but this is where it all starts. Fierce nationalism combined with jealousy provides fertile grounds for prejudicial attitudes.

By Anonymous, at 6:25 AM

I am familiar with the situation, and yes, you are right.

But count the number of people who think that racially insensitive language is okay, and then quadruple it, and you have the number who are okay with sexist language.

By Diane, at 9:49 AM