The National Multiple Sclerosis Society was in the spotlight last week, and it wasn't for hitting new fundraising records. 

Rather, they kicked to the curb a 90-year-old woman who had volunteered for them over six decades because she didn't understand the need to use neopronouns. 

Let's be clear: she wasn't even objecting to the practice, although she had every right to. She was just curious about why all the emails now included pronouns in the signatures. 

This was deemed to be offensive, proving that she wasn't "inclusive" enough to give her time and energy to a cause she had served for decades. 

Chaya Raichek, the infamous Libs of TikTok proprietress, exposed the snub, and all hell broke loose. She interviewed the poor volunteer, and the MS Society has been scrambling to contain the damage ever since. 

My friend on Twitter, a gerontologist, was sufficiently outraged that he wrote a post on SubStack that summarizes the scandal well. Rather than repeating his good work, I commend to you his post. 

After first "explaining" their decision, telling us why Fran Itkoff was unworthy to be an MS Society volunteer, the organization has retreated and issued a non-apology apology. 

A complete non-apology. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

This is a historic betrayal of the backbone of your organization. Unless you re-issue an unqualified apology, you will never recover from this, guaranteed https://t.co/3jcSMuMpZQ pic.twitter.com/TFgMJ5eQJt

— GeroDoc (@doc_gero) February 21, 2024

They want to have their cake and eat it too. They now LOVE Fran and want her back--as long as she will submit to re-education into the intricacies of alphabet ideology. 

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society apologizes to our longtime, dedicated volunteer Fran Itkoff. Recently, we asked Fran to step down from her role as a group leader because of statements made that we viewed as not aligning with our recently implemented diversity, equity and inclusion policy. We realize now that we made a mistake, and we should have had more conversations with Fran before making this decision. 

Over her 60 years of volunteer service, Fran has been a committed champion for our cause. We had an opportunity to work with her and support her as a self-help group volunteer leader, but as an organization, we fell short. 

While we acted at the time with the best intentions, we did not have clear protocols in place. We should have spent more time with Fran to help her understand why, as an organization, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive movement where everyone has equitable access to the care, connections, and support they need to live their best lives.   

We apologized to Fran directly and reached out to her to find a way to continue to work together. In the spirit of continuous learning, we are focused on evaluating our processes and fortifying our learning to ensure our team members are equipped on the best ways to implement all of our policies. We want everyone to feel confident and supported in their roles. This work is a journey requiring commitment, accountability, transparency, and courage. 

They needed to "work with her" to "help her understand why, as an organization, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive movement where everyone has equitable access to the care, connections, and support they need to live their best lives."

At no point was there any question about Fran's being anything but inclusive. There was no concern about her work at all. What was important to the MS Society was that she wasn't enlightened enough to understand the importance of neopronouns. Nobody complained; there was never any issue about what she did as a volunteer. 

It all came down to a bureaucrat who got annoyed that Fran didn't "get it." 

Fran doesn't need to explain anything to her because everybody she works with is happy to do so, and they have been for decades. 

But still, the MS Society can't admit that Fran was fine as she was. No reeducation camp is needed. 

This statement isn't an apology. It is an attempt to get their fundraising back on track. It is their Clydesdale commercial--please come back; we need your business...