Don’t sweat the small stuff, the wise man counseled. Er—make that “wise person.” Or “wise other.” Or something.
National Review Online reported on Monday:
A construction crew working on the campus of Ohio’s Sinclair Community College was forced to halt work until it removed a ‘Men Working’ sign that was deemed ‘sexist’ by a college administrator. A spokesman for the college told National Review Online that the incident … stemmed from the school’s ‘deep commitment to diversity,’ and that it takes that commitment ‘very seriously.’
Mental health professionals take “commitment” very seriously, too. According to Cincinnati CBS affiliate WKRC the work crew was comprised entirely of men, meaning the sign was accurate if not politically correct. But the more important issue is whether the cost of the delay outweighs the benefits of assuaging some administrator’s self-righteous indignation over a trifle.
The answer appears to be yes and no. Notes NRO:
In the wake of the incident, the school acknowledged its request may have been over the top, but stood by its commitment to diversity, saying in a statement that, ‘while it may not have been necessary to suggest that work be stopped, Sinclair stands by its commitment to providing an environment that is inclusive and non-discriminatory.’
Translation: Making a federal case over trivialities may be nonsensical, but we will defend to the death our right to do it.
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Just paint over the N in Men. Everybody happy now?
Undoubtedly Sinclair has unisex bathrooms, or maybe they’ve just removed the sexist signs from the doors and selecting the right one is a crap shoot.
“Crap shoot.” Was that intentional in the context you provide?
Maybe the offensive word was “working.” It made all those stoonts feel bad cause they aren’t, you know, working.
Steven
These stories aren’t funny any more. My response if I was the contractor, or a guy doing the work, would have gotten me fired or lose the contract. These guys had no testicular fortitude.
“A spokesman for the college…”
oh oh…isn’t it supposed to be “spokesperson”???
Uh-oh. NRO is in big trouble!
well Howard…you didn’t think I had any reading comprehension skills…
teejk, it’s you! Where you been?
well howard…I’ve hit the site a few times under my real name thinking that was a requirement since your site says Name is a required field…you guys/girls (had to add that especially in light of the current topic) might want to clarify that to say how one’s post should appear…
If you can decode with average intelligence, you’ll find them (teejk is a shortened version when you add my middle initial).
I’m still learning your new blog format (not at all like HA is it???).
Yes, I’m aware. It was a joke.
you really shouldn’t kid with me Howard…I am really sensitive and have already spent my gov’t paid therapy sessions for this month (they seem to be getting close…something about being abused by the hospital staff at birth).
Sorry, teejk. I’ll try to be sensitive.
Were only men working?
Yes.