wejo wrote:
Sprintgeezer wrote:
Semenya is an a-hole with no honor. I hear that he won. I will never watch a race where he races against women.
She's not an a-hole. She's in a difficult spot.
Your post is so disrespectful.
I think I'm going to start banning people who call Semenya "he" as it is disrespectful.
Yes I get it if you're trying to make a point, she biologically is male, but she is a human being does not have a penis, identifies as a woman, and the respectful way to address her is "she."
Yes, you are absolutely correct that it is disrespectful.
I do not respect Semenya for the decision he makes to run alongside women and thereby create an unbalanced and unfair race.
His conduct is a clear violation of the spirit of competition, and is therefore dishonorable and worthy of disrespect.
There is nothing wrong with expressing disrespect when a sound reason for it exists. As gender in general, and Semenya’s gender in particular, are at the core of the objectionable choice and conduct, it is a particularly appropriate vehicle to use to express that disrespect.
In point of fact, disrespect aside, I consider Semenya to be male in all relevant respects. I would refer to him as “he”, even if I there was no disrespect intended—just the same as I refuse to refer colloquially to any of my homosexual male friends as “she”, even when they themselves do so, and do so when referring to each other.
Guys with combat injuries who have no package are still guys, that is not the single defining characteristic of gender.
And why elevate Semenya’s self-expression above mine, to the exclusion of mine? Disrespect, and negative thoughts and emotions, and their expression, are every bit as valid, important, and acceptable as their positive counterparts—indeed, one would have little meaning without the other.
Look into your own life and actions, and think about when and how someone has earned your disrespect. Look no further than your own post, quoted above, with regard to my own conduct. You are of course free to express yourself as you wish, including banning such posts—but you and your site would be better served to preserve what has been quite possibly the most appealing thing about Letsrun—the open and frank expression of its posters.