My stepgrandmother, who made the first Dutch apple pie I ever ate, would listen to someone tell her something and reply with “Oh, for God’s sake.”

That is the first and, for the moment, only printable reaction I have to this, from Todd Starnes:

Educators in the Volunteer State are very concerned that students might be offended by the usage of traditional pronouns like she, he, him and hers, according to a document from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

“With the new semester beginning and an influx of new students on campus, it is important to participate in making our campus welcoming and inclusive for all,” wrote Donna Braquet in a posting on the university’s website. “One way to do that is to use a student’s chosen name and their correct pronouns.”

Braquet, who is director of the university’s Pride Center, suggested using a variety of gender neutral pronouns instead of traditional pronouns.

“There are dozens of gender-neutral pronouns,” she declared.

For all you folks who went to school back when there were only him and her – here’s a primer: some of the new gender neutral pronouns are ze, hir, zir, xe, xem and xyr.

“These may sound a little funny at first, but only because they are new,” Braquet explained. “The ‘she’ and ‘he’ pronouns would sound strange too if we had been taught ‘ze’ when growing up.”

Somehow I sincerely doubt that, but whatever. Anything goes for the sake of inclusivity, right?

“Instead of calling roll, ask everyone to provide their name and pronouns,” she wrote. “This ensures you are not singling out transgender or non-binary students.”

For example, the birth certificate might say that Big Earl is a male. But what if Big Earl identifies as a lady who wants to be called Lawanda?

According to the procedures outlined by the folks at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the professor is obligated to call Big Earl – Lawanda – or whatever name makes Big Earl feel more included.

“We should not assume someone’s gender by their appearance, nor by what is listed on a roster or in student information systems,” Braquet wrote. “Transgender people and people who do not identify within the gender binary may use a different name than their legal name and pronouns of their gender identity, rather than the pronouns of the sex they were assigned at birth.”

It’s all so confusing, right? So thankfully, the Office for Diversity and Inclusion has devised a way to prevent students and professors from calling “sir” a “ma’am.”

“You can always politely ask,” she wrote. “’Oh, nice to meet you (insert name). What pronouns should I use?’ is a perfectly fine question to ask.” …

I reached out to the vice chancellor for tolerance and diversity (yes they really do have such a thing) – but I’m still waiting for him or her or ze or xyr to call me back.

There you have it, folks. His and Hers is no longer good enough at the University of Tennessee – where they are willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of gender inclusivity – including common sense.

I wonder if they’ve got a gender neutral word for idiot?

I know there are some readers who would look at the source, Fox News, and assume this was made up. Here is the link to the university’s diversity page to prove that this is not fiction. The graphic is also linked from that page.

I remember as a UW–Madison political science student reading in the syllabus that I was to use “inclusive language, i.e. language that is not sexist.” That meant “he or she,” which was a bit awkward-sounding, but since I got A’s twice from that professor, apparently I was OK with that. This, however, is absurd.

But so is this, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A former Dane County assistant district attorney who serves as the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s director of community relations is facing criticism because he suggested that shoplifters at “big box” retailers with insurance should not be aggressively prosecuted.

Everett Mitchell, who made the remarks during a “Best Policing Practices” panel on campus last Tuesday, said in a prepared statement that he believes in the law. “I also believe in equal justice for all, and in reforms to our criminal justice system that address disparities in policing for people of color,” he said.

MediaTrackers reported Friday that Mitchell “recommended that police stop responding to shoplifting and theft at Walmart and Target as a way to reduce what he refers to as ‘over policing’ of the community.”

In his statement after the story appeared, Mitchell said he was “saddened that those with differing agendas have taken a selective portion of a larger conversation out of context in an effort to discredit my views.”

The MediaTrackers report included a brief video portion of the discussion. In it, he said: “I just don’t think that they should be prosecuting cases …for people who steal from Walmart.” Mitchell continued that he doesn’t think Target and other big box stores with insurance should be using “the fact that people steal from there as justification to start engaging in aggressive police practices, right?”

“I go to these meetings and that’s what they throw up there on the table: ‘Look at where all this crime is happening, at the East Towne and the West Towne Mall, and the Walmarts and Targets. That’s where crime is happening. That’s why we have to focus so much’…They do that all the time to justify why they’re going to over-police our children.”

Mitchell, who is African-American, said in his statement that he believes the community should explore a restorative justice model in which nonviolent offenders between the ages of 17 and 25 perform community service.

“My comments around ‘big box’ retailers were in no way an endorsement of shoplifting or other criminal behavior, but part of a point about how the distribution of police resources to areas with high numbers of misdemeanor crimes can bring low income or people of color into frequent contact with law enforcement,” he said.

Mitchell is also pastor of Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church in Madison. One wonders how often the Ten Commandments — specifically for our purposes here “Thou shalt not steal” and “Thou shalt not covet” — are taught there. (Or, for that matter, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” since the clarification wouldn’t have occurred without the preceding kerfuffle.) For that matter, Jesus Christ’s second commandment to love thy neighbor as yourself doesn’t include stealing from your neighbor.

It would be one thing if these were private institutions, which are free to do what they wish because you are free to support them, or not. The University of Tennessee and the University of Wisconsin, however, are funded by taxpayers. This is what your tax dollars are getting you.