Almost everyone I know, whether they mean to or not, uses "they/their/theirs" as the gender neutral equivalent of "he/his/his" or "she/her/hers," at least in casual conversation.
That's the great thing about language: it changes over time to fill its own conceptual gaps, and the scholars often take generations to codify it. "They/their/theirs" will be considered formal usage in a matter of fifty years or I'll eat my hat.
It would be nice to have a way to tell "friends" in a non-confrontational way: "Please stop posting this stupid, pointless bullsh*t. I like to keep up on the cool things you're doing and finding online, but I really don't give a flying f*ck about this lame political re-post or your g-d farmville activities. Seriously, dude. Enough."
"Even poor people have the ability to think and make decisions for themselves. They're not animals."
WE ARE *ALL* ANIMALS.
We are all subject to the stressors in the environment as well as the chemical makeup of our genes. Yes, there is a large allowance for "personal choice," but if you think a person scrabbling for just enough food to stay alive has much if any choice about anything in their life, then you have never been truly hungry, my friend.
That's the great thing about language: it changes over time to fill its own conceptual gaps, and the scholars often take generations to codify it. "They/their/theirs" will be considered formal usage in a matter of fifty years or I'll eat my hat.
"Even poor people have the ability to think and make decisions for themselves. They're not animals."
WE ARE *ALL* ANIMALS.
We are all subject to the stressors in the environment as well as the chemical makeup of our genes. Yes, there is a large allowance for "personal choice," but if you think a person scrabbling for just enough food to stay alive has much if any choice about anything in their life, then you have never been truly hungry, my friend.