Working in local government, I get quite used to hearing the latest politically correct phrases and buzz-words. I remember the late Sandy Bruce-Lockhart remonstrating with a facilitator at some conference of another who referred to him as “the Chair of the Local Government Association”. “A chair is a piece of furniture – I’m the Chairman” – he then went on to list several female Chairman who were equally aggravated at being referred to as either “Chair” or “Chairwoman”.
But recently I received an email that took the biscuit. It began “Dear Councilperson…” which has to be the most ridiculous title I’ve heard in a long time. What the hell is wrong with “Councillor”? Is there a male or female version?
Sent by someone called ‘Mooyeen Klopfenstein’ from the ‘Delaware End-of-Life Coalition’, the email invited me to take part in a webcast of “America’s 16th Annual National Berevement Teleconference”, and since the letter mentioned Kent County in the US, I can only imagine it was sent to me in the County of Kent by mistake.
But “Dear Councilperson”? Perhaps political correctness gone just a little bit too far?
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