It’s taken me a full year and a half to get to thirty Weekly Rapports. I can’t do the math right now, but I don’t think that’s very consistent…
What I’m Reading
I already posted it in my last article but The Rational Optimist is still taking me a while…
Next up is Decision Points by former President George W. Bush (shout out to Frank for the reco). Like him or not, he was our country’s president for eight years during some crazy times, so I figured it would be really cool to hear his perspective on decisions made after 9/11, the war in Iraq, the 2008 Financial Crisis, etc.
I also didn’t know a lick about politics up until about three years ago, so this will help me play some catch-up for the 2000-08 years when I was half asleep.
What I’m Watching
Aziz Ansari – Right Now [Netflix]
Obviously a lot of comedians are talking about some of the same subjects now: race relations, being woke, and white people feeling bad about everything. It’s just the way our culture is and comedians are really the only people that can speak bluntly and practically about how ridiculous some of this shit is.
But I think Aziz did a really good job at making the audience feel how weird the times we’re living in right now are. Is it ok to like the music of Michael Jackson and R. Kelly? What about Bill Cosby’s comedy?
Speaking of being woke…
No More “Manholes”: Berkeley, California, Removing All Gendered Language from City Code
“A male-centric municipal code doesn’t reflect the reality of the city of Berkeley,” a city council member said.
The city of Berkely is now officially 100% gender neutral. While I’m all for moving towards progressive movements, they should be debated and adopted with careful consideration, rather than forced. Of course it’s ignorant to say something like “fireman” nowadays, that’s why most people now say “firefighter”. That was probably one of the first ones that everyone was down for back in like the early 2000s.
“That seems reasonable” – everyone said. But even when someone slips up and says “fireman” there’s no malice behind it. It’s not like that person is trying to put down woman and doesn’t think a woman is capable of being a firefighter. Most of the time, it’s someone who grew up in a time where fireman was the term and he or she (sorry not gender neutral!) forgot to replace it with firefighter.
But this one is laugh out loud funny. Not being allowed to say pregnant woman? Or brother or sister? C’mon now. And what’s even more ridiculous is that I have to be careful about what I say here because maybe sometime 10 years from now people will see this and try to say I should be fired or cancelled or arrested for being insensitive to gender terms. That’s the crazy land we’re living in.
Listen, if you want to be identify as a purple dolphin and only be referred to as Zoltan, that’s fine by me. But you can’t get mad at somone for saying “Excuse me miss” if you have long hair and boobs.
Everyone with me now! “That’s. Not. Reasonable.”
Yes, we can push to have society get rid of male-centric terms like “Salesman” or “Policeman.” Obviously men aren’t the only people doing those jobs. But once you start enforcing strict language through laws you start treading on some dangerous ground. Out of spite, people aren’t going to adopt mandated phrases. I’ve lived 26 years of my life saying things are “man-made” – am I now going to get in trouble for saying that? No, that’s outrageous. I obviously don’t think men made everything, nor does literally anyone who says “man-made.” Is changing some of these terms ultimately the right thing to do? Probably. But it’s going to take a looooong time for people to come around on these things.
My advice? Take it slow.
Great Reads Across the Internet
- You Need to Wear Sunscreen on an Airplane – True story, I have gotten sunburn on an airplane before. May have to take this article seriously…
- Mud Maker: The Man Behind MLB’s Essential Secret Sauce – “Equipment managers rub it on before every game, allowing pitchers to get a dependable grip. The mud is found only along a short stretch of that tributary of the Delaware, with the precise location kept secret from everyone, including MLB.”
- How Unpredictable is Your Subway Commute? – cool infographic from NY Times
Have a great weekend.
-KB