negative payload "he"

[Chris Waigl]

Peter A. McGraw wrote:

>Not to belabor the point (or do I really mean, "to belabor the point"?),
>but I still don't see any need for any other pronoun than "he" here.  In
>"In Florida [unlike Louisiana] we had a governor who knew what pro was
>doing," pro can still be "he" and the contrast is preserved, since "he" is
>just as unlike "she" as "Florida" is unlike "Louisiana."  The only need for
>a gender-neutral pronoun would be if the sentence were, "In Florida [LIKE
>Louisiana]..." since the "he" would then apply (incorrectly) to Blanco.
>
>
>
But can you catch two birds with one "unlike"? If the comparisons were a
bit different, say, not between Florida and Louisiana, but between
Florida and New Orleans, and someone said "In Florida, unlike New
Orleans, we had a governor who knew what he was doing," wouldn't you
object that New Orleans has a mayor, not a governor?

Chris Waigl