Hotter, Badder, and Unpopularer Takes

[If my soul was made of stone]

We as a species are about 30,000 years past our peak physical, mental, cultural, and spiritual performance and ideal place in nature. However, there are far too many obvious disadvantages for attempting to go back for it to be worth the massive costs unless unprecedented societal collapse occurs naturally, and even then it's highly unlikely that it would be anyone's aim.

[If my soul was made of stone]

The usage of "it" to refer to little children, which apparenty is not uncommon in English, irks me and strikes me as dehumanizing.

It irks many English-speakers and strikes them as dehumanizing as well. I never hear anybody who doesn't vocally hate children use it, (ETA) except sometimes for infants--and it bothers me when used for infants as well.

I'm the opposite way, as I wish "it" could be normalized as a gender-neutral pronoun that can apply to human beings regardless of age. I don't understand what's so terrible about things and people sharing pronouns. Romance languages do that all the time (in the other direction) and I don't think that has rendered the relevant countries more callous toward human beings.

Of course, I know it's probably too late. The grammatically clunky singular-they is probably the best we'll ever get to a gender-neutral pronoun. As if having the same pronoun for 2nd p. sing. and 2nd p. plur. wasn't confusing enough already.

I wasn't aware that "y'all" or "youse" could apply to a single person.


EDIT: Joke already made, I see.

Not a joke, I unironically like "y'all". I've never heard "youse" used in the wild yet, but I'm not opposed to it either.

I've spent much time in Philadelphia and its environs but never heard anyone say "youse" or "youse guys". I've never at all been to Western Pennsylvania, and thus never had the chance to hear "yinz". Both are abominations. I started saying "y'all" as an ironic affectation when I was a teenager, but I wouldn't have it any other way now.