10.12
Strunk and White’s Elements of Style
I just finished reading Doc Searls column in the most recent issue of Linux Journal. In it he dicusses the book Elements of Style by Strunk and White. As anyone who has read it can tell
you, it’s an absolute gem of a book(more like a pamphlet). Even though it’s probably been 10 years since I read it, and even then I only read about 2/3rds of it, it still influences my writing more
than anything else I’ve ever read. So, needless to say my interest was piqued when I saw the subject matter Doc was hitting on. About halfway through the column he references some changes that have
been made in the most recent edition of this classic. Here is the quote in question:
The current entry in Wikipedia notes, “An anonymous editor modified the text of this 1999 edition. Among other changes, he or she removed White’s spirited defense of ’he’ for nouns embracing both
genders. See the ’they’ entry in Chapter IV and also gender-specific pronouns.” In his forward, Angell puts it more gently, “This edition has been modestly updated .. .with a light redistribution of
genders to permit a feminine pronoun or female farmer to take their places among the males who once innocently served him. Sylvia Plath has knocked Keats out of the box, and I notice that ’America’ has
become ’this country’ in a sample text, to forestall a subsequent and possibly demeaning ’she’ in the same paragraph.”
–Doc Searls, Linux for Suits(LJ-Nov07)
So someone has edited out the “he”, in obvious contrast to E.B. White’s feelings on the matter. Nevermind that it’s his book. Once you’re dead I guess all of your legacy is fair game, but I just
have one question: Why? Just look at the whole scope of what was done in the plain. Someone removed an entire section of White’s material from his own book. Again, why? Evidently, because our
current sensibilities can’t handle patriarchy in any form. Not even linquistic custom. It offends modern notions of equality in all things. Why should Hot Fries have a picture of Andy Capp on the
bag instead of his wife? It’s that silly. There is no gender-neutral singular pronoun in the English language. Get over it. We will always resort to “he” or “she”. Custom dicates “he” as the
appropriate usage.
I just can’t believe that someone would edit this classic book over something so silly. If redacting portions of books based on offensive notions is ok, then why does Mein Kampf even exist
anymore. It should have been edited out of existence by now. Evidently I don’t fully understand all of the nuance of political correctness… or maybe it’s just tripe. I hear Occum calling for his
razor.
