Dear Readers: Recently, I ran a question from an older gentleman signing his letter, “Indeed, not Your Sweetie.” He and his friends wanted to register their disgust at being called “Sweetie,” “Honey,” and the like by service workers and health care professionals.
I’ve received a huge response to this question (especially from health care workers) — many taking issue with my choice to call this “patronizing,” instead of how they see it — as degrading and outright offensive.
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