Fran Itkoff longtime California volunteer forced out by National MS Society for questioning the new preferred use of included chosen pronouns. When ideology trumps servitude.
He or she? She or her? Me or he or we? Or non binary? A 90 year old California woman claims having being forced to step down from her volunteer position of 60 years after she asked for clarity on the use of pronouns.
Fran Itkoff, a prominent leader of the Lakewood/Long Beach Self-Help Group, was told her organization would no longer be affiliated with the National MS Society after her ‘failure to abide by our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion guidelines.’
Itkoff, who has won multiple awards for her and her husband’s work with the organization, became confused one day after she saw several people sign their emails and letters with their names along with their ‘chosen pronouns.’
“I was confused, I didn’t know what it was, what it meant,’
‘I was confused, I didn’t know what it was, what it meant,’ Itkoff told the social media account Libs of TikTok. ‘I’ve seen it on a couple of letters that had come in after the person’s name they had the pronouns, but I didn’t know what that meant.’
As Itkoff noticed the pronouns more often, she asked one of the society’s representatives what it meant.
Itkoff however, did not get a clear answer. Shall we?
‘Finally I was talking to her and thought I would ask ‘what does it mean’ and let her tell me,’ Itkoff said. ‘She said that it meant ‘they were all-inclusive,’ which didn’t make sense to me.’
Itkoff was confused about how the ‘she/her’ pronouns could be labeled as ‘all-inclusive’ if it was referring to females and not males.
A few days after the conversation, Itkoff received her thank you letter and bouquet of roses and all expenses dinner for years of servitude ‘pink slip.’
Stabbed in the back
‘At the end of the day, end of the week, I got an email from her saying ‘they were sorry, but they had to ask me to step down as a volunteer for the MS society,’ Itkoff recalled.
‘The verbiage she said was you didn’t abide by their diversity, equity and inclusion, so they had to ask her to step down and she can’t be a part of the MS society as a volunteer.’ Itkoff’s daughter Elle Hamilton said.
Hamilton pointed out the irony in the statement as they were excluding a ’90-year-old disabled woman who volunteered for over 60 years.’
‘I was completely shocked as I read that,’ Itkoff said of her termination. ‘I couldn’t believe that, I had to read it a couple times to see if I’m getting what she said.’
A background round up. Itkoff’s family has won several awards for her work with the MS society including her own Volunteer Lifetime Achievement award in 2008 according to the nypost.
‘This is ageism, compelled speech, and awfully disappointing’
Itkoff’s husband was flown out to the White House to meet President Jimmy Carter while he was still in office after he won the National MS Father of the Year.
And back to the present.
‘It’s sad that they’re discriminating against her. MS doesn’t discriminate, it can happen to anybody, and yet they’re discriminating against her trying to help just because she asked a question to explain what pronouns were,’ Hamilton reflected.
The daughter condemned the society’s mission, and wondered if they were too focused on inclusive talk and not working to fight MS.
‘I don’t know what’s worse, if the MS society is focusing on these words and these pronouns and they’ve lost their focus on finding a cure for MS and helping the patients,’ Hamilton said.
‘It’s a sad day.’
‘Not another dollar!’
Responded a bevy of commentators on social media following Fran’s axing.
Said one commentator: ‘Are you aware that Fran Itkoff, age 90, a Long Beach, CA, volunteer of 60 years(!) was let go of her duties because she did not understand the reason for the new fashion of adding one’s pronouns to communications?
Reflected another, ‘This is ageism, compelled speech, and awfully disappointing. Is your corporate team aware of the message this sends out to patients, donors, sponsors, and of course, your remaining volunteers?’
Posted another, ‘MS is not a political issue. Don’t let it become one for the sake of “inclusivity.” Take care of Fran Itkoff. Apologize, reinstate her with honors, and have a good chat with the representative who let her go.’
Itkoff said she will continue her leadership role with the self-help group because the ‘patients that come want to keep going.’
The determined volunteer says she will continue her work while hoping there is a way to alleviate and straighten out the situation between her and the society as she continues the work she is doing.
When ideology trumps practicality and the desperate need of patients and dependents too far gone to give a f**k about pronouns as they continue to deteriorate…
And then there was this comment too, that caught this author’s eye…
‘Not another dollar to the MS Society until they reinstate Fran Itkoff and publicly apologize for their abusive treatment of this 90-year-old dedicated volunteer.’
