YouTube link here. Terrible new setup!
Part 1 of 2. Tony talks far too long about movie trailers, and then William talks far too long about movie trailers. Then a quick bit of movies, a cry for help, and down into the questions. Enjoy!
QUESTIONS:
Which level of Dante’s Hell from his Inferno book would work best categorize where Trump and his supporters should be sent to? –Dave of Id
Gender pronouns – please discuss your views on how and when to use them. Is there a good reason why someone would mix their choice (aka she/him) –Beth
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Levels of the Inferno: I do find the distinctions of sin in the Inferno really interesting. The 9 levels are actually subdivided into categories which are represented by the three animals that attack Dante at the very beginning. The wolf represents incontinence, the lion represents violence, and the leopard represents deception. Incontinence is the least of the sins and the least of the incontinence sins is lust. The worst is greed. (Gluttony is in the middle.) I like the fact that greed is lower than lust, and that lust is generally the least of all the sins. I also like the fact that deception is lower than violence. Something about all of that seems accurate to me. Then the lowest level of deception is betrayal (with Judas, Brutus, and Cassius representing the worst cases of human betrayal–a decidedly Italian perspective.)
I would describe Trump’s main attribute as deception, including self-deception.
Regarding why some people make fun of/don’t accept other people’s pronoun choices: this actually fits with something I thought about Trump recently. I think a dominant part of our culture is shaming others. I’ve probably mentioned that I play an online game, and it is clear to me that a number of people find the most important part of the game to be shaming the opponent rather than winning. I really think this was Trump’s main appeal–the fact that he shames people. I also think this accounts for a lot of what passes for political and cultural commentary these days.
Other pronoun thoughts – I’ve been listening to this podcast called History of English which I highly recommend for anyone who is a language nerd. (For instance, you’d be surprised at how many words are derived from falconry, like “stool pigeon.”) There was a reference to the transition from Old English pronouns to Middle English. Mathilda–of the Stephen/Mathilda battle for the throne–was the first person referenced as “she” in writing. Old English had a pronoun for all nouns that had male gender endings and a pronoun for all nouns that had female gender endings. That got me thinking about whether the development of English to have specific gender pronouns for people actually shows some kind of development or strengthening of the idea of a gender binary. I think that idea is supported by the fact that in Middle English, the singular “they” was also used, but eventually dropped out.
Pronoun etiquette-something I’m trying to do these days generally when I meet people is to give them my pronouns first, and then ask about their’s. I got to thinking about this because someone joined my taiko group and presented in a way that I wasn’t sure of their pronouns. But then I thought, why am I even sure what pronouns other people are using. So I suggested we all introduce ourselves with this information and it turns out that there was someone else in the group who was using “they” pronouns and I didn’t realize it. And this leads me to something else I’ve been curious about lately which is why it is that taiko seems to interest a lot of people who are either transgendered or non-binary. Three people who used to be in my taiko group have recently transitioned; a current member also has, and two people identify as non-binary.
Yes! Finally, someone else who thinks we should go back to Old English. Welcome to the club. 🙂
🙂 Another tidbit from that podcast – both the Scots accent and Scots words like “bairn” and “ken” come from the fact that Scotland was much later to give up on Old English so retained more words and pronunciation. And the stereotype of red hair and fatalistic attitude – it’s because there’s much more Norse influence up there.
I think this all explains why Scots have such a glorious insult vocabulary.
(My Scots grandmother would be so proud! :))
So you come from stock of circus folk, Dickensian street urchins, and Vikings.
That tracks.