Thoughts on reading the original "Heather"
	   -- Richard Stallman, Chief GNUisance


Philip Greenspun's parody of "politically correct" language, entitled
"Heather Has Two Mommies", made me curious about the book by Leslea
Newman which the parody criticizes.  I promised to buy a copy for Philip
so he could see what the book actually says.  But before sending it to
him, I read it myself.

I found that the book does not use any "politically correct" language.
You won't find the expressions "... challenged" or "differently ...",
or anything like them.  The book's language meets the most stringent
"anti-PC correct" requirements.

Most "politically correct language" disputes are about how to name
certain classes of people.  The book "Heather Has Two Mommies" doesn't
talk much about classes of people.  It talks about a particular
fictional family, it says what they do and what they feel, but it
doesn't try to say "what kind" of people they are.  Its message is
that people are individuals, and individuals are more important than
stereotypes.

For those looking for something to dislike, the book does contain one
statement which preaches.  It is a plea for tolerance:

    "It doesn't matter how many mommies or how many daddies your family
    has...  It doesn't matter if your family has sisters or brothers or
    cousins or grandmothers or grandfathers or uncles or aunts.  Each
    family is special.  The most important thing about a family is that
    all the people in it love each other."

This is pretty tame--you could almost call it family values--but there
are some who would disagree with it.  The right-wing Christian
movement dogmatically condemns certain sorts of families even if the
people in them are happy and mind their own business.  This movement
raises millions each year from the faithful, in a campaign to impose
their prejudice on the rest of us.

People who criticize common figures of speech are annoying, but people
who dictate what kind of family you can have are worse than annoying.
The right-wing movement has vowed to do this.  The politics of
"Heather Has Two Mommies" is that what sort of family you have should
be up to you.

If you want to get a copy of the book, contact:

    Alyson Publications
    40 Plympton St
    Boston, MA 02118 

    ISBN 1-55583-180-X

If you want to help resist the right-wing Christian movement, contact:

    People for the American Way
    2000 M St NW
    Wash DC 20036
    202-467-4999
    Membership $25

    ACLU
    132 W 43 St
    New York, NW 10036
    212-944-9800
    Membership $20

    Planned Parenthood Federation of America
    810 Seventh Ave
    New York, NY 10019
    212-261-4300
    No set dues--whatever you want to give