The AP declared that:
“We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing ‘the’ labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant.”
Even the French Embassy responded with “Le” scorn.
By the way, if you are thinking of objecting to “the grammar police,” think again. It will just establish that you are a dehumanizing monster.
What concerns me most is that this dehumanizing article has lingered in the English language for so long without being noticed until now. Even The editors of The Associated Press are shadowed with this vile, dehumanizing word. It is literally lurking on every computer and in every dictionary.
The only option is decisive action. AP must take its ox cart through the streets and call on people to bring out their “thes” for proper disposal. As for any French people encountered along the way, simply refer to them as “people associated with the nation of France.”