In his email announcing the publication of a Great Lakes Division newsletter, Director Scott Yonally, N8SY, usually includes a paragraph similar to the following:
So, grab a big glass of whatever makes you feel good, a sweet snack stolen from your wife’s pantry and sit back in your easy chair and have a great read!!
Now, I ask you, is Yonally out of touch or what?
First of all, many, if not most, hams look like they have had one too many “sweet snacks” already, and instead of sitting back in their easy chair, they should be out for a brisk walk.
Second, think about that phrase, “stolen from your wife’s pantry.” I guess that Yonally thinks that only married men are hams and read the newsletter. With those five words, Yonally has excluded:
- teenage hams,
- single hams,
- female hams, and
- hams (like me) that share the cooking duties with their spouses and consider the pantry “their pantry.”
I’m sure that Yonally isn’t being intentionally exclusive, but it’s the thoughtlessness that’s the issue here. It’s the same thoughtlessness that led the ARRL to think that offering the Gil mug as a membership-renewal incentive was a good idea. I’m continually amazed that the ARRL is still offering this mug.
This may be a small thing, but it’s a real thing, and I’d go so far as to say that it’s attitudes like this that are driving people away from the ARRL. People who don’t feel welcome, quit organizations when they feel excluded, and intentional or not, the ARRL certainly isn’t rolling out the welcome mat to many potential members.
Ouch. To be fair, they offer a *different* Gil mug now…..
Ahhh, OK. It’s not quite as out-of-date and inappropriate, but I’m still not sure that it’s all that much of an incentive.
I’m not sure I’m with you on this one. I do think ham radio has a problem attracting younger members (although I’ve had some luck changing somewhat with POTA) but I’m not sure it’s because we aren’t sufficiently attentive to “inclusive” language. That might even distract us from the bigger issue. The challenges are too multi-faceted for a blog post reply, but the big issue is explaining the relevance of ham radio, and the value of working for a license, in today’s communication-saturated world. Anyway, my three cents (inflation).
Yeah. The statement is obviously meant to be comforting and welcoming, but it does reveal the author is not really thinking beyond the existing demographic. It is a small detail and I do not think language policing is a long term recipe for sustained cultural change. But we often have experienced hams who are unwilling to reflect on these small things, despite a supposed commitment to “growing the hobby.” My takeaway here would be: sometimes even well intentioned, seemingly harmless statements can be have unintended consequences. The question for the Elmers is: do you care more about the little off color jokes you make or actually growing the hobby?
Thanks for calling out that phrases like this do matter. The English language is pretty powerful, and when wielded incorrectly, even if accidentally, the consequences are real. Even if there wasn’t negative intent the consequences of “friendly fire” are the same as taking a purposeful shot.