Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.
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Permit us to bring to the fore a petty gripe. Which may well be universal.
A person walks into a medical facility. "Hi," he says to a staffer, who sits behind a computer display screen behind a plastic shield behind a counter. "I'm Jack Fox for a 2:15 with Dr. Mienswell."
Seated person: "OK. First name?"
Jack: "Jack."
Seated person: "OK." Tap tap tappity tap tap. Tap tap backspace tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap tap tap tappity. Click. Click! Tap tappity tap tap. Tip tap tip tap tip tap. Click! Tap. Tap. … "Last name?"
By now you've figured out that Jack is a stand-in for an editorial writer who's had this experience a time or two. So for the sake of clarity, we'll drop the pretense and simply refer to that individual as "us" or "we." (It's a shortcut for an editorial board's hive mind, don't ya know.)
