<blockquote><font size="1" face="TImes, TimesNR, serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Jackie: Remember back in the good ol' days when you constantly had to remind city desk that it's fireFIGHTER and police OFFICER, etc.?<hr></blockquote><p>Yes. At my last job.<p>My take on these PC creations is that we are, in fact, depriving the nebulous reader of a piece of information by neutering such a person.<p>If three "police officers" who happen to all be male release a report, where, pray tell, is the harm in saying that "policemen" prepared the report?<p>On the fire end (consider my tender age, here), I've never seen "firemen" doing anything. Firefighters do all manner of things, but to me, "fireman" belongs in such a construction as "three firemen took on an ice-berg."<p>I agree that in cases where people of both sexes were involved, the neutered version is appropriate. But I question whether the reporting of six female police officers apprehending a suspect would be so looked down upon if they were referred to as "policewomen."
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