Posted on 12/23/2015 5:50:45 PM PST by huckfillary
Who are they anyway? They have to do this and they have to do that. They should have done this and should have done that. When are they gonna do something about this? I wish they would (fill in the blank) already ! They are so stupid. They are so corrupt. They are a bunch of crooks.
No pronoun gets more use and abuse than the all-purpose, ubiquitous third-person plural “they,†or the objective form “them.â€
But exactly who are they? They, when unidentified as a specific entity, or group, or institution, are simultaneously the party to which we place the blame and to whom we look for solutions, reparation and salvation, usually without any consideration to the fact that they, like us, are subject to human limitations, and they, like us, live in a universe of scarce resources. Or that they, like us, look to they and them for all the answers, for solace and comfort. We depend on they and them. So much so, that without they or them, many of us would go insane. They is the all-purpose go-to fall guy. They is the all-purpose, amorphous straw man. They are the source of all our problems, our misfortunes. They absolve us of responsibility. But at the same time, they hold out the promise of a solution to a specific problem, or general reparation to a much bigger problem, like the economy or world peace, or our personal salvation like “I hope they can straighten Johnnie out or I sure hope they can fix our marriage.†When something’s wrong, we reflexively tend to look outside ourselves rather than inside, to they instead of I.
When’s the last time you heard a friend, a neighbor, or anyone use the word I instead of they? As in, I have to get my s**t together, if I don’t get a job soon, this economy’s gonna fall apart. I’m out of work. If I don’t find a job soon, they (the taxpayer) will have to support me. Federal deficits are through the roof. I have to find a way to get off these entitlements, or I’m part of the problem. My mother is sick and may have to go into a nursing home. I have to figure out how to pay for it, otherwise they (the taxpayer) will have to pay for it. My son wants to go to college. It’s a good thing my husband and I have been saving for college, otherwise he’d have to rely on them (the taxpayer). My son has a drug problem. I don’t what he’s going to do about it. He might have to ask them. Our marriage is crumbling. We have to forge a solution, otherwise we’ll have to go to them.
If we regularly substituted the word neighbors, friends, taxpayers, or ourselves for the amorphous they or them, our outlook on responsibility, indeed reality, would take on a whole new meaning. As Nathaniel Branden said, “It all begins with the acknowledgment that no one is coming to our rescue.†No they or them can substitute for I, individually initiated action. Even if they have contributed to the problem, we can’t wait for or expect them to come to our rescue, to fix things. So the next time you’re faced with a crisis—don’t say “What are they going to do about it? Ask yourself, “What am I going to do about it?â€
You know, them!
Pronouns are sometimes like cuss words: inexact and encouraging of sloppy thinking.
But who do ‘they’ think they are anyway?
Best defined by: “They aren’t us.”
The correct definition is the ‘eponymous they’.
My Grandmother knew but she kept that secret to herself.
“THEY” are those who will soon hang. Europe first, then here.
Beat me to it.
I-SEE!-I SEE- GIANT ANTS!
I-SEE!-I SEE- GIANT ANTS!
I like turtles!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y
Weird! Funny.
They = VanPatton Family
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