Mrs. Sondra Wrzjbrsky of Parts Unknown, Nebraska, has written to warn me off writing about centaurs. Actually, with this keyboard, it’s surprising I can write about anything.
“It will not be tolerated,” wrote Mrs. W. “Centaurs are not without influence in high places. If you want to find out how a loaf of bread feels when you run over it with a car, just keep right on doing what you’re doing, mister.”
Mrs. Wrzjbrsky also objects of the non-inclusion of centaurs in my novels. “You’ll be up on hate speech charges. Mark my words!”
Enough. Tomorrow I have to search for a data recovery shop in hopes of recovering the data from my failed computer. This is complicated by being unable to print out directions to the place. I won’t have time to worry about offending centaurs.
I saw that woman’s name once before. On an eye chart.
I remember the early days of political-correctness speech codes, when it was equally a sign of bigotry (a) to look intently into the eyes of a member of a protected group, and (b) to fail to make eye contact with a member of said group. The first was an intent to intimidate, and the second an attempt to erase (i.e., ignore) the person. I suppose the only way to escape would be to look quickly and look away, then look back quickly and away again — but no, that would indicate shiftiness and thus discomfort in the presence of the Other. The whole point, of course, is that if you’re not a member of a PC-approved group You Can’t Win.
And now, I take it, centaurs are among the Protected? How about trans-centaurs? Or just the back end of a centaur? 🙂
The back end of a centaur is a senator.
Oh, you could get around that dilemma with the eyes by making–or buying, at an exorbitant price–a special pinhole thing similar to the contraption you use for viewing an eclipse.
LOL! 🙂
And just what will Mrs. W. have in her sights next (using marble’s eye chart of course) – the protected jackalope?’s