# Easthampton school superintendent job offer abruptly rescinded **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 6, 2023, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248 "2023-04-06T13:01:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/221 "2023-04-11T17:36:27Z")
Were they from the same man and the same woman? Five different people? Somehwere inbetween? – I don’t know how many emails you have in total; but I suspect that an average of 3 a year is quite a small percentage. And I note none since 2019. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/222 "2023-04-11T18:00:34Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Five different people? Yes. I also find it interesting that the phrase was last used in 2019. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/223 "2023-04-11T23:19:52Z")
You could try the [Google Ngram viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=%22Ladies+and+gentlemen%22&year_start=1500&year_end=2019&corpus=en-US-2019&smoothing=3) which shows a recent lowpoint in 1984 and a highpoint in 2013 for “ladies and gentlemen”. Of course I have no idea why. Testing for “ladies” has a very different result. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/224 "2023-04-12T03:43:39Z")
Moderating: Hey, it seems that no one said, “ladies and gentlemen” in this superintendent story. And “ladies”, as several have noted, comes across quite differently from “ladies and gentlemen”. I apologize for my part in this hijack, and urge everyone to drop the subject. If you want to discuss the historical and current usage of “ladies and gentlemen” further, please start a new thread. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/225 "2023-04-12T04:06:03Z")
Should we edit the OP with a note? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/226 "2023-04-12T04:27:07Z")
Good idea. Done. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/227 "2023-04-12T15:14:04Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > - Can I just hijack this briefly to marvel at how WEIRDLY FLEXIBLY American quilting culture, at least in the Northeast, seems to straddle the cultural divide between conventional American “family values” patriotic/family/cutesy-ness piety and art-world cutting-edginess? I always check my t-shirt before leaving for a guild meeting to make sure I’m not wearing any slogans that might shock or distress any of the more traditional Christian flag-quilt-stitching grandmas, but then at the meeting the Christian flag-quilt-stitching grandmas are all hanging on the words of the lecturer who’s an ex-hippie industrial fabric designer telling us about how the Chicago drug scene and Op Art movement of the sixties influenced her early color palette, or an ostentatiously gay-as-a-kite sewing instructor explaining his ingenious new method of setting prairie points. Grandma shock-or-distress level: zero. Floors me every time. I quilt a little, and knit more and have noticed the same. There is a conservative to the point of being reactionary crowd - and a middle - and a smaller, but significant “progressive to the point of ‘eat the rich’” group. And generally, they all just keep the politics out of any classes, circles, bees, retreats, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/228 "2023-04-12T17:17:55Z")
Yeah! Well, there was the Ravelry Civil War of 2019, of course, but I agree that on the local level people tend to stay more focused on the craft content. While I’m hijacking (and I promise I’ll stop after this post), I would love to see a serious discussion somewhere of the distinct, though overlapping, craft cultures (especially in the US) and how they map onto other cultural characteristics. Why is crochet a popular “teen craft”, like friendship bracelets, but knitting is not? Why is cross-stitch a mass-market budget industry but surface embroidery (along with more esoteric counted-thread styles like Assisi) is more ritzy and spendy? Why are DIY carpenters often also machinists but cabinetmakers aren’t? Why do knitters tend to be more political than garment-sewing hobbyists? Why are woodworkers frequently married to quilters and embroiderers but not knitters? This would make a great Cafe Society thread if we had enough crafter Dopers of different varieties. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/229 "2023-04-12T17:36:43Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I quilt a little, and knit more and have noticed the same. There is a conservative to the point of being reactionary crowd - and a middle - and a smaller, but significant “progressive to the point of ‘eat the rich’” group. And generally, they all just keep the politics out of any classes, circles, bees, retreats, etc. Seems like a farmers’ market. At least the ones I wind up being part of. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/230 "2023-04-22T09:50:26Z")
[CNN has an update.](https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/21/us/easthampton-massachusetts-school-district-superintendent-email/index.html) It seems the term used may have been “Ladies and gentlemen.” One woman (I almost said “lady”) on the board ‘said she was “insulted by the familiarity with which the candidate addressed me.”’ The fellow who was not hired seems to be minimizing the idea that salary or other terms on employment were the issue. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/231 "2023-04-22T10:47:26Z")
It doesn’t say the term used was “ladies and gentlemen” - it says that Perrone said thought “ladies and gentlemen” was a term of respect, not that he used it to address two women. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/232 "2023-04-22T10:54:45Z")
How anyone could read the linked article and conclude what you wrote is truly staggering. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/233 "2023-04-22T14:55:41Z")
Why would you literally repeat the exact same mistruth that you did in the OP? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/234 "2023-04-22T15:33:07Z")
Just came here because someone upthread said Stephen Colbert addresses his audience at the top of his shows as “Ladies and Gentlemen.” I didn’t think he did, so I’ve been paying attention ever since (I watch his show every night or on dvr). He’s never said “Ladies and Gentlemen” in any show even once. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/235 "2023-04-22T15:35:26Z")
It was @ShadowFacts ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/236 "2023-04-22T15:36:07Z")
That poster wasn’t talking about Stephen Colbert, they were talking about _Steven_ Colbert. I have no idea who that is. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/237 "2023-04-22T15:46:49Z")
Thanks, @hajario – I was lazy. @k9bfriender – Yeah never heard of that Steven Colbert guy. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/238 "2023-04-22T15:53:56Z")
Late to the thread, but this sounds like “First World Problems” to me. Plus, I suppose they would have been snippy if his salutation had read “Creatures, Entities and Organisms”. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/239 "2023-04-22T16:07:52Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Late to the thread, but this sounds like “First World Problems” to me I agree that asking for more money and vacation days and then not getting hired sounds like a first world problem. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/240 "2023-04-22T16:45:28Z")
Moderating: > [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > It seems the term used may have been “Ladies and gentlemen.” One woman (I almost said “lady”) on the board ‘said she was “insulted by the familiarity with which the candidate addressed me.”’ > > The fellow who was not hired seems to be minimizing the idea that salary or other terms on employment were the issue. Misrepresenting what is stated in a cite is a no-no. Doing it twice after having been mod-noted for it previously in the same thread is the basis for a warning. So you’re getting one. Don’t do this again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248.md?page=13)