Yesterday on Facebook I had a less than joyous exchange with a woman who had
related the story of the teenaged Dominican girl who had cancer, was pregnant,
and who had died after a delay in treatment because of her pregnancy. The
Dominican Republic
prohibits abortion under all circumstances and the doctors there were afraid to
even attempt treating her cancer because the chemotherapy would end up killing
the fetus which is unconstitutional under Dominican law. It is saddening and frustrating that country's abortion law is so inflexible that the mother's life has no value and precedence is given to the fetus in all instances. But this really is not about the content of the heart breaking conclusion of a young teen's life. It's about the poor writing relating to the story and my unwillingness to accept that poor writing.
The story commences with a line introducing the link to the story: "9 week pregnant girl dead in Dominica Republic thanks to a pro-life
law."
My fundamental disagreement here is over the poor quality writing that presented
the story; the syntax and grammar both were stunningly poor and that the
statement was erroneous on several points:
- The subject teen was 16 years
old, had cancer and was pregnant.
- At the start of her legal
ordeal to get treatment for her cancer the teen was 9 weeks
pregnant.
- The subject was not 9
weeks pregnant when she died.
- The name of the country she
resided in is the Dominican Republic,
not the Dominica
Republic.
In my reading of it, a 9 week girl is an infant, so a
"9 week pregnant girl" is an oxymoron. Normally, when people talk
about gestational age, the usual language or terminology is: "
___name/mother/teen/fill-in-the-blank___"
is __
X__ weeks pregnant."
Yes, dear reader, that cheesy little n's absence the end of Dominica(n)
mattered too. Briefly, people and nations usually like having their names
spelled correctly if only because it's their name and most tend to like their names just fine, thank you very much.
Anyway, after a few exchanges, the writer defended it as "a little
typo" without understanding what a typo was so I linked to Wikipedia for
an explanation of what a "
typo"
really is. Typos are not the same as grammar or syntax errors. They're not even closely related. Of course I am that kind of person-- the one who will use the tools at hand to help educate and/or to back up the
veracity of what I'm trying to convey.
I
do that. I love sharing knowledge.
Amusingly, that writer's rebuttal was that visiting my web URL would be a waste
of their time then later said we should get back to the business of
"discussing women's rights." Women's rights and discussing them
is a point I will briefly return to.
I've written almost all my life on a near daily basis for 50 years.
Whether I was writing to fulfill homework requirements throughout my elementary
and secondary education; in the Air Force where I worked on occasional
technical writing projects and also did regular clerical writing for NCOs’ and
officers in my work areas; the numerous research papers, essays and
creative writing projects later in college; carrying out nearly 25 years worth
of business and legal writing in several city departments and private
businesses as well as personal correspondences with friends and family and now
blogging, tweeting and commenting on many diverse subjects, I have written with
an awareness that what we say and how we say it can materially impact
people. A sloppy business letter or poor headline can negatively impact
the perception people have toward companies, organizations and
institutions as well affect their reputations. Bad word choices change the meanings of what is said and
what the writer intends to say. Badly written instructions with erroneous
information can even lead to accidents and death.
In the milieu of school, many of my teachers implored us to respect our writing
and to practice it as a skill because good writing gives our voices resonance
and weight. I think clear, accurate writing gives what we say
credibility. As a reader, I am normally quick to dismiss things that are
badly written as unimportant and a waste of time. I'm definitely not
going to take them seriously.
If we treat the information we convey about our world without accuracy and
clarity, how is our audience supposed to trust what we say? Excusing an
error as a "little" typo is lazy and careless. Why would anyone
respect and accept lazy and careless work? And why should they?
Mediators, courts and juries don't. People have won major lawsuits
because of written errors, incorrect facts, slander and libel, or badly written
instructions that resulted in injury or death.
If a person is a working non-fiction writer, their continued employment depends
on them writing original material, that it be factual and verifiable, that it
be able to stand up to scrutiny, and that the material presented is
understandable by the intended audience. If they're a fiction writer, the
story has to be readable, follow a coherent plot or set of plots, and be
entertaining. And on it goes.
Responding to a criticism that asks for accuracy and clarity (and explains why)
by saying, "OMG out of all the womens groups I am on.............you are
the only one that really gave a hoot. She was 9 week pregnant. Anyway I am not
going to even check out your web address....a waste of my time." is silly
and a third grade kind of behavior. Yes, the accuracy of what I read does
matter. But I don't need you to visit my blog to validate what I have to
say in my own writing or threaten to not visit because you want to punish me
for critiquing you.
So returning back to discussing women's rights I wonder how we women are best
'discussing' our rights when the things we write poorly, even in making a
comment, make us appear incompetent. diminish us, make us look stupid and
under-educated and lastly, make us sound like children instead of grown, mature
women because we can't be bothered to correct mistakes, fact check our
information and make sure it correct and follows a logical writing
structure?
If our voices sound like children's voices then women will
continue to be treated like children, even by other women. If we
can't articulate our ideas even in informal venues like Facebook, who's going
to say "Wow! That's an important thought!" Or
"That's an important story! I need to learn more about this!"
and be passionate about it?
We have a lot on our plates as women. The facts are plain: our
rights are under attack. The ERA was never passed and the window for
having it passed is quickly diminishing. Our health concerns, including
our reproductive health, is seen by many on the political right as a 'bright,
shiny distraction' in public policy discussions. The voting rights of
women of color and aging women are being chipped away at in states mandating
Voter IDs. Our very patriotism and love of country is attacked if we step
up in support of our rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, or anything else the
political and religious right disagrees with. Republican and Tea
Party politicians at the state and federal level are working night and day to
silence us, to push us out of the work force by denying us equal pay, and to
exclude us from the public life of our nation.
We have to be able to use our best tools to keep these topics and all the
others affecting us in the public light. We have to use our best wit and
wisdom to express ourselves, to champion our rights, and establish our goals
and visions. So yes, I'm not going to be satisfied with cheap, sleazy
self-serving grade school level excuses for intellectual laziness.
If a person is savvy enough to use a computer
and social media, then I expect them to also be savvy enough use the rest of their
tools well. The stakes are too high to do otherwise.
