After the woman who called the police in the Gates incident appeared on the national news and spoke about how people were attacking her for allegedly referring to race, I started thinking about how people might make 911 calls in the future.
Just imagine if people could not describe people in ways that might be seen as racist or sexist, or perhaps to use any terms that might be seen as judgmental. A future 911 call might go something like this:
Caller: “I think a crime is happening!”
911 Operator: “What is happening?”
Caller: “Um, I think it might be a break in. Or maybe it is a college professor and a driver who are trying to get into the professor’s home. I don’t know what to say!”
911 Operator: “Okay, there are two?”
Caller: “Yes. I can use numbers, right?”
911 Operator: “Yes. Can you describe them?”
Caller: “Uh, each has a gender, I think. They are wearing pants and one has a beard, but I don’t want to judge whether they are men, women, transgender, multigender, or ambigender.”
911 Operator: “Okay. Can you say more?”
Caller: “Um, I can’t say what color they are, but I can see them, so they do have some color. They are also humanoid and bipedal. I can say that, right?”
911 Operator: “Yes.”
Caller: “Oh, wait. The owner, I guess, was at home. The owner is a bipedal humanoid as well. He, she or it has a shotgun and just shot the two bipeds that were at the door. So, never mind.”
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