I found this chapter interesting because it made me think about some new ideas. The section about avoiding racism particularly stood out to me. Don't identify people by race unless the person's race is essential or interesting to the story. If it's not, leave it out.
Also, avoid using the term non-whites. I hate when people use the word non in front of words, especially when they're trying to describe my personality. I'm a lot of things, so there is no need to say the things I am not. For example, don't call a brunette a non-blond. You can call them a brunette instead. I'm 20 years old, not a non-teen. It's equally important to be careful with how you use the word minority. In some parts of the United States, whites are the minority.
In conclusion, don't stereotype people and remember to describe people accurately. If you wouldn't say someone's race if they weren't of a certain ethnic group, leave it out.
The editing mistake I found this week was online. I was looking at the Seattle Times at the article named, "Judge Holds DSHS Trim of Benefits to Disabled Children and Their Families." After reading the "isms" chapter, I knew this was an able-bodiedism problem. A disability doesn’t mean someone is a disabled person, so the sentence should have said the children who have disabilities.
You really can't be too careful about what you say or write in our day. There are many -isms that you can use that can be taken the wrong way. I agree it is important to think about whether you would use such words as "non" or specify the sex of a certain occupation if it was the opposite.
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