[beckett]

Recently I have noticed some very good writers using "who" where "whom" should be according to the usual rules. Just yesterday Christopher Hitchens wrote something like (can't find the link) "he saw the fellow who he gave the money to" rather than "he saw the fellow to whom he gave the money."

Lots of people would like to see "whom" go the way of the dinosaurs, I think, and recently it seems editors are looking for ways to restrict usage of the word.

[Rocky]

How about this for a change in the language:

"Whoever the person was who wrote this, they need to confess immediately."

You can't say "he". That would be sexist. You can't say "he/she". That would be awkward. You can't say "he" half the time, and "she" the other half of the time. That would be stupid. Next you'll have to register each usage with a central clearinghouse to determine which pronoun you should use next. (Also, if you say "she" in any negative context, you are obviously suggesting that the wrongdoer is a female. Another sexist presumption.) So you are stuck with using a plural pronoun to describe a single person.