This whole pronoun shit has made people completely forget (or just refuse to learn after the fact) how proper grammar has worked for centuries.
In addition to the once common usage of expressing unfamiliarity with someone, They/Their has pretty much always been used to refer to someone of unknown sex (the most frequent pop culture references I can think of are mystery novels where the perpetrator is being described without giving clues to who it is).
But there's a big group of uneducated insisting on some form of pronoun purity just to spite the woke, and don't seem to realise they have allowed 'them' to subvert our language even further.
It is a little bit off for someone to insist upon anyone using any term to refer to anyone and expect it to be casually accepted as perfectly normal behaviour.
Those in my close group of friends will use all sorts of insulting words and phrases as terms of endearment when referencing each other. An outsider might think we are being aggressive to each other but that's simply because they aren't in the group. I would onto refer to a friend as a vulgar term to a stranger if I thought that stranger was close enough within the group to understand it and know it meant they are welcome to that language.
Perfectly normal behaviour of group identity which goes back as far as there have been records :)
I've always used their when talking about a stranger. I have no possession over them and so don't intend to be rude with how they feel.
If you want to be a pronoun stickler then that is your business.
Uh-oh, I don't know your pronoun and so you best tell it to me so that I can use it when I'm shoving it up your ass.
See how that works sweetie; shalom alaykum namaste amen.
This whole pronoun shit has made people completely forget (or just refuse to learn after the fact) how proper grammar has worked for centuries.
In addition to the once common usage of expressing unfamiliarity with someone, They/Their has pretty much always been used to refer to someone of unknown sex (the most frequent pop culture references I can think of are mystery novels where the perpetrator is being described without giving clues to who it is).
But there's a big group of uneducated insisting on some form of pronoun purity just to spite the woke, and don't seem to realise they have allowed 'them' to subvert our language even further.
We know his son's sex though.
You missed it:
Because that's what u/m0r1arty said was his reason for using a non-specific pronoun.
Both uses were very much common grammatical uses before this woke shit started. Downvotes and disagreeing don't change reality.
I disagree. Elon literally said he was talking about his son, so I'm gonna be calling this troglodyte "Xavier" and a him.
The person we're talking about is known and their actual sex is known.
It is a little bit off for someone to insist upon anyone using any term to refer to anyone and expect it to be casually accepted as perfectly normal behaviour.
Those in my close group of friends will use all sorts of insulting words and phrases as terms of endearment when referencing each other. An outsider might think we are being aggressive to each other but that's simply because they aren't in the group. I would onto refer to a friend as a vulgar term to a stranger if I thought that stranger was close enough within the group to understand it and know it meant they are welcome to that language.
Perfectly normal behaviour of group identity which goes back as far as there have been records :)
Source: the hilarious graffity in Pompe.
Exactly!
Othering is easy, and it's not nice. Calling a friend a vulgar name is much more difficult at first, but shows real love between the pair of you.