The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has some explaining to do. They decided to tell a volunteer to step off because she dared to ask what or why pronouns were being used. The volunteer is 90-year-old Fran Itkoff, who apparently had been a volunteer for 60 years! Her late husband also suffered from multiple sclerosis, which is why she got involved with the organization.

Thank goodness for the Libs of TikTok, who first brought this story to us. And now there’s more.

BREAKING: National MS Society just put out a statement TRIPLING down on their decision to force a 90-year-old volunteer to step down for breaking their “inclusion policy” after she asked what pronouns are.

.@mssociety also deleted their webpage of their board members. They’re… https://t.co/rhNSSPKQxo pic.twitter.com/roarSrRKeG

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 15, 2024

Let’s get something out of the way right now. Fran’s age. Some will say, “Well, she’s 90, so who cares? Maybe she does need to step away.” That’s the wrong answer and attitude. She’s a volunteer, and if she offers her free time in any capacity, then let her. Hopefully, if I reach the age of 90, I’ll still be able to get up and move around. Good for Fran for offering her time to volunteer to help people.

Fran asked why people were using pronouns. So what.

Fran Itkoff, whose late husband reportedly suffered from multiple sclerosis, had been volunteering for the MS Society for nearly six decades. The non-profit’s request for Itkoff to step away was first revealed in an interview with the popular social media account Libs of TikTok.

During the interview, Itkoff explained she didn’t understand why people were listing their pronouns on letters and asked someone at the MS Society what it meant. Itkoff was allegedly told that pronouns were meant to help the MS Society be “inclusive.” – WPDE.com

The pushy and ridiculous-induced policy infraction happened during an email exchange when someone asked Fran to use this person’s preferred pronouns. I reckon Fran had questions, and then the organization told Fran they no longer needed her and told her not to return.

More on Pronoun Mandates

Back in October 2023, we had the government imposing pronoun mandates on people.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services imposed a transgender pronoun mandate on its employees this week with new guidance that instructs employees to affirm any co-worker’s self-proclaimed gender identity and preferred pronouns.

“All employees should be addressed [by] the names and pronouns they use to describe themselves,” an HHS email sent to employees and shared with CNA read. The mandate is part of the department’s new Gender Identity and Non-Discrimination Guidance, which was established to outline “employee rights and protections related to gender identity,” according to the email.

In an unlisted YouTube video linked in the email, HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm said the policy ensures “that our colleagues are able to show up every day as their whole selves.” – NC Register

So yeah, these idiotic things are really happening. Also, a group of Department of Justice employees have a lovely little website regarding how you can help with pronouns.

DOJ Pride is an employee-run membership organization that does not speak on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice or any administration. – DOJ Pride.org

An important part of DOJ Pride’s mission is “the elimination of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in all Departmental activities.” DOJ Pride works to make the Department of Justice an inclusive and welcoming place for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) employees, contractors, interns, and applicants; LGBTQ+ individuals who have dealings with the Department; and our allies.

One way that you, as a Department employee, can help promote an inclusive environment is to proactively identify your pronouns in professional settings, such as in your email signature. Identifying your pronouns is a good practice for people who are cisgender (someone whose gender identity corresponds with their gender assigned at birth), because it can both communicate your gender identity and signal that you won’t make assumptions about another person’s gender or pronouns based on their name or the way they look. And it may make it safer for transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary colleagues or members of the public with whom we interact to identify their pronouns, too.

Little old Fran didn’t stand a chance. No, she doesn’t work or volunteer for the DOJ. It is the Multiple Sclerosis Society she used to volunteer for, but this just shows you how far this nonsense has spread.

I’m old enough to remember when this pronoun trend started on social media, and I laughed at it. Shame on me for not taking it seriously back then. The transgender movement has come a long way in a short time.

As far as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society having any explaining to do, they are not backing down. So we will start shunning people, firing them, for what others perceive as not being inclusive. That sounds inclusive, doesn’t it? It’s insane, is what it is.

It’s reported that some people threaten to withhold their funds and encourage people to donate elsewhere because of how the organization treated Fran. That would be a shame, but who would blame them. I suspect the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will survive this, and people need their help. But you’ll use their preferred pronouns if you want assistance.

Feature Image: Markus Winkler/the word non-binary spelled out with Scrabble tiles/Pexels/Free Use