Argentina Legalizes Gay Marriage

[Graeme]

Argentina Legalizes Gay Marriage

Australia and most of the USA are looking increasingly backwards....

[Cole Parker]

Argentina Legalizes Gay Marriage

Australia and most of the USA are looking increasingly backwards....

Not just looking that way. They are backward.

C

[colinian]

Argentina Legalizes Gay Marriage

Australia and most of the USA are looking increasingly backwards....

Not just looking that way. They are backward.

Uh... Cole... that should be WE are backward. As citizens of the USA and of Australia it's OUR responsibility to fix this problem.

Colin

[DesDownunder]

I spoke to my moderate, Liberal Party member (= Republicans but not as religious) for where my business is, and she said she was fine with civil unions but not with marriage (for same sex persons). I told her that she might as well get used to it as it WILL happen in Australia. She then conceded that I was probably right.

Both major political parties in Australia are not in favour of gay marriage at this moment in time, (July 2010) and I don't expect to see any change soon, in their attitudes.

They both seem to think that the majority of Aussies are against it. I don't think that is true at all. Opinion polls vary in our favour as far as I have seen.

We do not have a bill of rights in Australia and there is an opinion (from memory some years ago) that a bill of rights would actually be detrimental to our freedoms.

We used to be such carefree, happy-go-lucky people; now we are just oppressed and for all intents and purposes, we are living in a police state caught between religious politicians, and asinine morality.

Australia has gone nuts!

Maybe it always was.

[Cole Parker]

Uh... Cole... that should be WE are backward. As citizens of the USA and of Australia it's OUR responsibility to fix this problem.

Colin

You could quibble, but 'they' means 'those two' and so is correct.

'We' works too, of course, and would have been pithier.

C

[colinian]

You could quibble, but 'they' means 'those two' and so is correct.

'We' works too, of course, and would have been pithier.

C

"They" doesn't include "me". So yes, "We" is a lot better.

Colin

[DesDownunder]

"They" doesn't include "me". So yes, "We" is a lot better.

Colin

Actually if Cole takes the position of an objective observer then, it is quite correct for him to use 'they' in referring to both the USA and Australia.

This is often done in debate when the observer has a differing point of view, but can also be done purely as an observation of fact or opinion.

The 'we' however is inclusive and does mean that the speaker, (Cole in this case) does include himself in the subject under discussion.

Please note that use of the word 'they' does not mean that he, (the speaker) isn't included, just that he is making it known he is making an observation.

On the other hand, 'they' is sometimes used to dissociate the speaker from a category from which he would prefer to be distanced.

In general, I agree that use of the word 'we' is preferable because it makes us realise that we too are responsible or related to the subject.

However the (aloof) objective case of 'they' is also valid.