This and That and Why Donald Trump is an A-hole

Proximal this and distal that each inflect for number as these and those. The word this indicating

something nearby, and that indicating something further afield. These words may also be used

either independently or dependently as is evidenced in the sentences: “That’s not true,” in the former case,

or, “This meat is rotten,” in the latter. But what really matters about these two words is that, if used correctly, they

refer to inanimate objects, not humans or animals. Therefore, one says of a steer, “He looks healthy,” but

of a side of beef, “That looks bad.” And when Donald Trump says, “Those people shouldn’t be allowed

to cross our border,” he’s using the plural, dependent form of the very distal word that to refer to animate human beings,

or at the very least, animals, and not things. It is only those assholes who prey on our worst natures that do this on purpose.