Recently, a fifth grade teacher asked students to address her by using plural pronouns, because she believes grammatically incorrect pronouns are somehow more “woke” than singular pronouns. But National Review‘s Jim Geraghty wrote that this is plainly incorrect — not morally, just grammatically:
Using a plural pronoun when referring to a singular noun is grammatically incorrect, as editors remind me on a frustratingly regular basis. You can’t just decide that in one classroom, the grammatical rules are one way, and in another classroom, they’re different. Grammar isn’t sexist, patriarchal, hetero-normative, racist, or somehow otherwise sinister; it’s just grammar.
You do have a right to ask others to call you by the name you prefer. You don’t have the right to demand schoolchildren use incorrect grammar just because you feel like it. The rules of grammar are not set by personal preferences. As much as it pains leftists, you can’t redefine reality just because you want to. It reminds me of this Monty Python sketch called “Raymond Luxury Yacht,” from episode 6 in season 2 of Monty Python’s Flying Circus starring Michael Palin and Graham Chapman.
I agree with the interviewer in this sketch. I will not participate in this silliness.
It’s amazing how the comedy of Monty Python is now the serious position of the left.
Hat Tip: Red State