#Policy Satire

[mycolourfullworld]

[canadianabroadvery]

[themisinformer]

Student Who Was Sexually Assaulted At School Suspended Due to School’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - Reminding students that they have a strict policy relating to on campus violence, a sophomore at a local San Diego high school has recently been suspended after she was sexually assaulted on school grounds due to the school’s “zero tolerance” policy relating to bullying and harassment. According to authorities, the assault took place in a high school bathroom and was perpetrated by three boys.

When the assault was discovered by a fellow student, it was immediately reported to admin, and everyone involved was sent to the principals office where they would all be suspended, including the victim. This decision has sparked outrage within the local community, but the school stands firm in its decision.

“All students are well aware of our zero tolerance policy relating to bullying and harassment,” principal Jeremy Dugger said in a statement sent to students and their families. “In order to keep our school safe, all students who partake in violent acts must be suspended on the spot, regardless of the circumstances. If we let one student off the hook, then it wouldn’t be fair to all the students suspended before and after them. While we understand that this is an emotional time for everyone, we hope you guys begin to understand our perspective on this.”

The family of the student (who is remaining anonymous) has since gone on to file a lawsuit against the school, claiming that they didn’t do enough to prevent the attack and also claiming that their daughter had been unfairly punished. The school responded by claiming that it wasn’t their fault that their daughter was wearing such skimpy clothing, claiming that “boys will be boys.”

[frostedcupcakesftw]

i think one of the biggest issues i have with south park as a media with an effect on society /how dudebros talk about it is that they conflate being centrist and satire with being apolitical, and thus think the messaging and politics of it is above criticism because "it's not a show about politics its making FUN of politics" when like. no. centrisim is a political policy it's a political stance that can be criticized. South park isn't an apolitical show it's STEEPED in politics and it's messaging, even and ESPECIALLY as satire, is political in topic and nature.

[kesarijournal]

The Great Green Rebellion: Farmers' Uprising Against the Quest for a 'Greener' Tomorrow

In a stunning turn of events that you might have missed (because let’s face it, it’s not on mainstream media, and who reads past the headlines these days?), farmers across Europe have decided they’ve had enough. No more Mr. Nice Farmer. From the picturesque fields of Germany to the romantic vineyards of France, the agricultural proletariat is rising against what they perceive as the tyrannical…

[the-almighty-gob-john-langley]

What Next, DIY Surgery?

#Brighton Right, settle in, everyone. Grab a trolley, if you can find one that isn't already occupied by someone's nan and a rogue drip stand. Because the NHS, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that the solution to ever-expanding waiting lists and the frankly, cosy atmosphere of our hospital corridors, is to hire a "Corridor Care Doctor".

[justsaying4041]

Border Security Evolution: Project 2025's Vision for DHS Operations – A Satirical Take

Well, it looks like we’ve got another brilliant plan in the making from Project 2025: the new vision for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its border security strategy. Buckle up, because this one is sure to impress, or, more accurately, bewilder. According to the great minds behind this initiative, the key to solving all of our border security woes lies in a dazzling combination of…

[vagabondageautourdesoi]

La Révolte des Caryatides : Le Nouveau Policier de Petros Markaris

Petros Markaris poursuit sa série avec son policier de roman, Kostas Charisto, toujours aussi fin limier aimant la très bonne chère ! Devenu directeur de la Sûreté de l’Attique, Kostas Charisto laisse derrière lui les années de misère. Une nouvelle fonction pour un monde différent. Et pour le remplacer à la brigade criminelle, son sous-chef lui présente Antigoni Ferleki, une commissaire. De…

[voxpeople]

More Remote Location Sought As Sending Refugees to Rwanda "Doesn't Go Far Enough"

UK Prime Minister Rish! Sunak is said to be considering revising his flagship policy, after members of his own party have said sending refugees awaiting processing to Rwanda "doesn't go far enough."

A shortlist of potential substitute countries further away than Rwanda is thought to have been drawn up. Included on it are El Salvador, Venezuela, the Philippines and Myanmar, currently in the grip of civil war.

Tory ministers are also thought to be devising plans to launch refugees into space and keep them on a newly established penal colony on the moon, at an estimated cost of over £10 billion.

[our-trans-punk-experience]

trans-punx reacts to trump speech

well thats just a bunch of predictable bs about an invasion at the southern border

1st national emergency called

THE ALIEN ENEMIES ACT OF 1798?????

2nd national emergency called (energy)

"drill baby drill"

its DOGE time

donald, you keep saying free speech. i don't think that means what you thinks it means

oh its LAW&ORDER time

we're "removing race and gender". no gender? very progressive

"It is the policy of the United States Government that there are only two genders: male and female"

he wants to stop the army being subjected to radical social experiments? i think he means the covid vaccine?

"My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker" - satire is dead and we are kicking its corpse

He wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America?

"the panama canal, which has foolishly been given to the country of panama"

how is he going to keep kids disease free without vaccines?

HE WANTS TO CONQUER MARS

"there's no nation like our nation". well. that's true.

"defeated fascism and communism" - satire is dead and we are kicking its corpse

"We will be a free soverign and independent nation". in case anyone didn't know, the USA is a free sovereign and independent nation, and has been since 4th July 1776.

if anyone has any questions or worries, the bureau is open, chuck a message in a molotov bottle in it.

live punk, love ya

[copperbadge]

I'm getting depressingly good at identifying the formula for Pop Academic Books About ADHD.

Regardless of their philosophy it pretty much goes like this:

1. Emotionally sensitive essay about the struggle of ADHD and the author's personal experience with it as both a person with ADHD and a healthcare professional.

2. Either during or directly following this, a lightly explicated catalogue of symptoms, illustrated by anecdotes from patient case studies. Optional: frequent, heavy use of metaphor to explain ADHD-driven behavior.

3. Several chapters follow, each dedicated to a symptom; these have a mini-formula of their own. They open with a patient case study, discuss the highly relatable aspects of the specific symptom or behavior, then offer some lightweight examples of a treatment for the symptom, usually accompanied by follow up results from the earlier case studies.

4. Somewhere around halfway-to-two-thirds through the book, the author introduces the more in-depth explication of the treatment system (often their own homebrew) they are advocating. These are generally both personally-driven (as opposed to suggested cultural changes, which makes sense given these books' target audience, more on this later) and composed of an elaborate system of either behavior alteration or mental reframing. Whether this system is actually implementable by the average reader varies wildly.

5. A brief optional section on how to make use of ADHD as a tool (usually referring to ADHD or some of its symptoms as a superpower at least once). Sometimes this section restates the importance of using the systems from part 4 to harness that superpower. Frequently, if present, it feels like an afterthought.

6. Summation and list of further resources, often including other books which follow this formula.

I know I'm being a little sarcastic, but realistically there's nothing inherently wrong about the formula, like in itself it's not a red flag. It's just hilariously recognizable once you've noticed it.

It makes sense that these books advocate for the Reader With ADHD undertaking personal responsibility for their treatment, since these are in the tradition of self-help publishing. They're aimed at people who are already interested in doing their own research on their disability and possible ways to handle it. It's not really fair to ask them to be policy manuals, but I do find it interesting that even books which advocate stuff like volunteering (for whatever reason, usually to do with socialization issues and isolation, often DBT-adjacent) never suggest disability activism either generally or with an ADHD-specific bent.

None of these books suggest that perhaps life with ADHD could be made easier with increased accommodations or ease of medication access, and that it might be in a person's best interest to engage in political advocacy surrounding these and other disability-related issues. Or that activism related to ADHD might help to give someone with ADHD a stronger sense of ownership of their unique neurology. Or that if you have ADHD the idea of activism or even medical self-advocacy is crushingly stressful, and ways that stress might be dealt with.

It does make me want to write one of my own. "The Deviant Chaos Guide To Being A Miscreant With ADHD". Includes chapters on how to get an actual accurate assessment, tips for managing a prescription for a controlled substance, medical and psychiatric self-advocacy for people who are conditioned against confrontation, When To Lie About Being Neurodivergent, policy suggestions for ADHD-related legislation, tips for activism while executively dysfunked, and to close the book a biting satire of the pop media idea of self-care. ("Feeling sad? Make yourself a nice pot of chicken soup from scratch and you'll feel better in no time. Stay tuned after this rambling personal essay for the most mediocre chicken soup recipe you've ever seen!" "Have you considered planning and executing an overly elaborate criminal heist as a way to meet people and stay busy?")

Every case study or personal anecdote in the book will have a different name and demographics attached but will also make it obvious that they are all really just me, in the prose equivalent of a cheap wig, writing about my life. "Kelly, age seven, says she struggles to stay organized using the systems neurotypical children might find easy. I had to design my own accounting spreadsheet in order to make sure I always have enough in checking to cover the mortgage, she told me, fidgeting with the pop socket on her smartphone."

I feel a little bad making fun, because these books are often the best resource people can get (in itself concerning). It's like how despite my dislike of AA, I don't dunk on it in public because I don't want to offer people an excuse not to seek help. It feels like punching down to criticize these books, even though it's a swing at an industry that is mainly, it seems, here to profit from me. But one does get tired of skimming the hype for the real content only to find the real content isn't that useful either.

Les (not his real name) was diagnosed at the age of 236. Charming, well-read, and wealthy, he still spent much of his afterlife feeling deeply inadequate about his perceived shortcomings. "Vampire culture doesn't really acknowledge ADHD as a condition," he says. "My sire wouldn't understand, even though he probably has it as well. You should see the number of coffins containing the soil of his homeland that he's left lying forgotten all over Europe." A late diagnosis validated his feelings of difference, but on its own can't help when he hyperfocuses on seducing mortals who cross his path and forgets to get home before sunrise. "I have stock in sunburn gel companies," he jokes.

[canadianabroadvery]

Paolo Calleri - Germany

24 December 2024

The trip to the Panama Canal

[yourdailyqueer]

Chuck Tingle

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay

DOB: N/A

Ethnicity: White - American

Occupation: Comedian, writer, activist

Note 1: Little has been confirmed about Tingle's identity, beyond the fact that "Chuck Tingle" is a pseudonym. A photo presented as a portrait of Tingle was found on a stock photo web site. When appearing in person, Tingle maintains his anonymity by wearing sunglasses over a pink sack on his head, which has "love is real" written on it in black marker.

Note 2: During Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Tingle created the web site TrumpDebateFacts.com, which purported to fact-check various imaginary Trump claims, mostly attempts to hide Trump's supposed non-human origins (such as "I am not a poorly disguised mass of crabs wearing the skin of bloated human").

Note 3: Has been a strong advocate for transgender rights. In 2020, he began publishing satires of the Harry Potter series featuring "Trans Wizard Harriet Porber" in response to J. K. Rowling's stances against transgender rights. In 2022, he purchased the domain governorabbott.com and used it to protest Governor of Texas Greg Abbott's policies impacting transgender individuals.

[writingquestionsanswered]

I'm writing a novel that criticizes the unethical way AI has been used and how newer technology is replacing older methods when they should still be available.

What I'm struggling with is to plan the story while having the tone in mind, because my main characters are goofballs, they're all supposed to bring funny moments and comic relief, but even with the comedic parts I don't want to make the social critic a satire. How do I plan a story with humorous characters doing serious stuff and keep a balance of humurous moments and serious subjects?

Balancing Humor with Serious Themes

Here are some things to keep in mind...

1 - Let the majority of the humor derive from the characters themselves. Since you say the characters are goofballs and bring comic relief, it sounds like you're already doing that. Keeping the characters as the primary source of humor helps to create a buffer between them and the actual (serious) situation.

2 - Time the comedic moments appropriately. When it comes to balancing humor with serious themes, timing is everything. The best time to use comedy in a serious story is when the tension needs to be momentarily relieved. This creates a nice contrast which makes the seriousness of the moment feel that much more serious and deepens the emotional resonance.

3 - When possible, keep the comedy relevant. Let's say you have a dramatic moment where the characters are hunkered down, waiting for something bad to happen (that they know is going to happen), and it's super tense, so one of the characters says something funny. It isn't going to make a lot of sense if they just randomly say, "Have you ever noticed you can never remember the three items you went into the grocery store to buy, but you can recite lines from a movie you saw once nine years ago?" That is a funny observation, but what does it have to do with that particular moment? How is it relevant to what's going on?

A more relevant funny observation would be, "Why is it when I'm waiting my turn to present a book report, the seconds fly by, but when you're waiting for the arrival of a blood-thirsty shapeshifter, suddenly every second takes five minutes?"

Alternatively, if the group happens to be waiting for said blood-thirsty shapeshifter while hunkered down inside a grocery store, that gives the shopping observation relevance.

4 - Work in character development by letting comedic quips reveal quirks, flaws, vulnerabilities, strengths, relationships, personal stakes, and personal journey.

5 - Avoid jarring transitions by using environmental or narrative cues to signal shifts in mood. For example, after the comedic quip is made, maybe the lights flicker and go out, or a huge shadow falls across the floor, signaling the arrival of the bad thing they're waiting for. This helps to transition between the comedic moment (and any comedic reaction) back to the seriousness of the moment at hand.

Happy writing!

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