Debunking myths and nonsense (was RE: Pet Peeves)

["Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>]

TW lesson: Don't repeat as fact all the spurious information that you've
picked up from some not-very-reliable "experts" without verifying its
authenticity.

> The story goes that a man could not beat his wife with any 
> stick larger than the thickness of his thumb....

Christina Hoff Sommers set the record straight on this in her 1994 book,
_Who Stole Feminism?_ See http://www.debunker.com/texts/ruleofthumb.html
for the complete story of how the false explanation was created out of
whole cloth. 

> D&PS in the 50s referred to shows put on in the border towns of 
> Mexico. I don't need to go into any more detail, do I? I'm always
> amazed when I hear the term used in a business meeting or -
> horrors - on TV.

As a couple of people have mentioned, this term too has completely
innocuous (and originally non-sarcastic or critical) origins. As Lin
Sims suggested,  http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-dog3.htm has a fine
explanation. 

> It's the recipient who determines whether or not the message 
> is clear -- or hurtful.  When we have been informed that 
> certain words and phrases are hurtful, we need to stop using them.

OK, let's play by that rule. I find your accusation that some phrases I
like are "racist" and "sexist" quite hurtful. Please don't do it again. 

Richard


------
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
------






 
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