#the yale debbie downers

[anxiouspotatorants]

Oh the pain of knowing, just knowing that if this beautifully messy show hadn’t come out in the early 2000s aka the late stage of «women are from Venus and men are from Mars» then Marty and Glenn would’ve been absolutely unhinged but stellar additions to Rory’s post Chilton friendgroup

[anxiouspotatorants]

@stellaluna33​ said: “I like pre-season 7 Marty! @anxiouspotatorants has some pretty strong feelings about this too, haha.”

Oh boy do I ever have feelings about Marty. Not only do I think pre-season 7 Marty is over-hated, I think he had the potential to be a great character and an important addition to Rory’s social life if ASP and company had just tapped into his potential. I don’t think Rory ever owed him returned feelings just because he was a better person than Logan (and I think that’s kind of a low bar to meet), but I do think his season 5 storyline worked well - it just wasn’t used to its full potential if you ask me. Not only was Marty’s unrequited feelings an issue for their friendship, nor that Rory liked someone else, but that she specifically liked Logan. Logan, who not only hung out with elitist assholes who treated everyone (but especially those of lesser financial means) like trash, but who himself put down and mocked Marty for no other reason than not being born into wealth like him. I’m convinced that Marty keeping a distance from Rory would’ve made more of an impact if they had made that conflict between Logan and Marty more explicit, and even more so if that had been Marty’s sole issue and not any attraction towards Rory.

I just generally also think that Rory deserved more friends and especially guy friends. College! Rory didn’t really get to make many true new friends, and those who appeared left as fast as they came. Not to mention that the LDB feel more like Logan’s entourage than people Rory herself got close with. Rory getting to actually make friends from her Yale years like Marty (or Glenn or her year 1 roomies) could have made for some really interesting changes to her social dynamics and opened up for new sideplots for Rory that weren’t just tied to her love life or her family. And not only having a friend like Marty inform those key aspects of her (aka love life and family) life but having uniquely platonic conflicts with him that could span several seasons would’ve been so cool to see!

Anyway, I’ll make due with a thousand different AUs where Marty and Rory got to be real friends and season 7 just didn’t happen.

i rlly wanna hear everyones opinion on Marty, hes definitely not the best character in the entire show but hes a little over-hated in my opinion. I think at the end of the day Marty was just an awkward loner guy who didnt know how to express his feelings properly. In my opinion he was much better than logan, that whole episode when Marty, Logan, and Rory go out for Chinese food and Logans friends are the most pathetic jerks ever. They way they make fun of him were not having enough money or when they give the most sarcastic unnecessarily rude response when Marty asked if Colin missed his family at boarding school. Logan and all of his friends have access to a stupid amount of daddies money, they all want to party all day, not take anything seriously, cause messes, and then throw money at people to clean up the filthy trail of expensive food and illegally bought drinks they left behind. Were Marty's actions absolutely perfect all the time? No, definitely not, he did some borderline jerk things sometimes but he was much better than Logan. He was smarter, kinder and just less pathetic. I do understand that it was annoying when the writers ruined their friendship by making Marty like Rory romantically but if i had to pick, it would be Marty over Logan any day.

[peter-parkouuuur]

Girl Crush (Harry Styles fanfiction)

Hi there! I’ve decided to do something a bit more different in contrast to my Peter Parker fanfiction. This, of course, is a Harry Styles one. I’m in the middle of writing my Peter Parker fanfic, so there’s that.

I know this will sound really cliche that I used the president’s daughter premise/storyline but I think it’s cuter to be a bit more unrealistic and to have more of an idealistic setting and plot. American or not, you can surely fit yourself in the plot, we can all dream to be the president’s daughter (but not Trump’s! hellz nah!!)

It’ll also be featuring the rest of the boys in future chapters, I don’t know when, but they’ll appear. ;)

I hope you enjoy this short prologue.

ILY!

PROLOGUE

Y/n’s footsteps pitter-pattered against the carpeted floors, trying hard not to make a sound.

“Shoot, where’d I leave my keys?” Y/n grumbles, searching through her black handbag.

“And where did you come from?” A voice interrupts her from rummaging her purse.

“Crap…” Y/n mumbles.

“Ms. Y/n, your parents wish to speak to you in the yellow oval room.” Marty, her bodyguard reminds her.

“Both of them?” Y/n asks, dumbfounded.

“Yes. Best not make them wait.” He warns.

He opens the door and announces her arrival to the first couple.

“Alright, let’s get it over with.” Y/n starts as soon as Marty closes the door.

“It’s 1 AM and you didn’t have your bodyguards with you! I’ve been calling you for hours and not once did you answer my calls! Didn’t you ever think of telling me or your dad about your whereabouts?” Her mom chastises.

“Mom, I’m fine, I was just hanging out with my high school friends. What’s the big deal?” Y/n grumbles.

“The big deal is young lady, you never told us whereabouts and you didn’t even bother to bring your bodyguards with you! I just wish you called us.. heck, I wish you called me, that’s all. I would’ve understood.” Her dad reasons out.

“Richard, you have got to stop being so lenient towards our daughter. You and I both know what she did tonight was out of line!” Y/n’s mother protests.

“Honey, she’s 20 and she’s in college. She’s an adult, we can’t really hold her back from everything that we think is wrong. My only wish is for her to bring her bodyguards with her.” He argues.

Her mom just rolls her eyes at her husband’s statement.

Surely, as the First Lady of the most powerful country in the world, she wouldn’t have time to look out for you, but as America’s sweetheart, it’s in your image to become the obedient daughter your parents never had.

“Mom, what do want me to do? I stayed home for the summer, didn’t I? I was supposed to go to Europe to take fashion classes but you wanted me to be here?! Can’t I at least enjoy every bit of my freedom?” Y/n snarks back.

“Of course you can enjoy yourself, but your father and I were worried sick! We already have enough work on our plate as it is.” She admonishes.

Y/n’s parents were successful lawyers before her dad got into politics which eventually landed him the most important job in the world. Her mom, on the other hand, had to give up her law practice as soon she became the First Lady of the United States.

“Can you at least save some of your judgments and your screaming tomorrow morning? I need to rest.” She tells them, preparing to walk out of the room.

“You’re drunk, that would just be cruel. I’ll wait until you’re hungover so it’ll be twice as painful.” She tells her daughter before she could leave.

“Ugh!!” Y/n screams before walking out of the room and slams the door behind her.

4 hours earlier….

After Pre-gaming at one of her friends’ house, they decided to bring her to some gig.

“Why is It so dark and sketchy? I didn’t bring my bodyguards for this.” Y/n reminds them.

“Relax, it’s just a small gig. Nothing bad’s gonna happen…. Well if you don't count the high level of screams you’ll be hearing.” Andy, her friend tells her.

“I don’t think that’s what you consider a small gig, Ands.” She chastises her.

“Y/n, you’re gonna be fine. In fact, you’ll probably like this one.” Mia, her other friend chimes in, handing the tickets to the guard standing by the door.

Sure enough, there were about hundreds of girls squealing in anxiousness, and a handful of guys just casually waiting for the concert to begin.

Y/n walks toward the crowd only to be stopped by Andy.

“We’re not standing there. There’s a balcony upstairs that we may have reserved using your name.” She states.

“Oh wow. Thanks for the heads up!” Y/n facetiously tells them.

“Come on.” Mia leads the way upstairs, the guards smiling down at Y/n, probably recognizing the daughter of the President of the United States.

“Wow Y/n even these bald, muscley men are scared of you. I forgot how fun it is hanging out with the first daughter.” Andy laughs.

“Well nobody asked you to move to California for college. We could’ve been enjoying New Haven together.” Y/n reminds her.

“Yeah! Or with me in Chicago.” Mia adds.

The three of them sit on the couch as the lights begin to dim, the screams growing louder than before.

The guy with curly, brunette locks walks out to the center of the stage, fans screaming his name in complete hysterics.

“You dragged me to watch him?” Y/n looks at Mia and Andy with a disbelief look.

“Oh come on!! You know how much we love him and the band, plus he has a concert here tomorrow. This is more of an exclusive gig with like less than a hundred people invited.” Mia states.

“Yeah but that doesn’t mean I wanted to come.” Y/n grumbles.

“He’s really good, Y/n. Just give it a chance.” Andy adds.

Harry begins to sing Kiwi, the crowd jumping up and down to the beat of the music.

Y/n could feel the floor shaking, as Mia and Andy stand up from their seats and jump along.

As soon as the song ends, Andy and Mia look at her with grins on their faces.

“God! That was so good!” Mia exclaims, grabbing her by the arm, forcing her to stand up.

“Don’t be such a Debbie downer and watch the cute curly-haired guy serenading us.” She reminds Y/n.

All the lights point at the brunette guy who was strumming his guitar.

I got a girl crush

Hate to admit it but

I got a heart rush

Ain't slowing down

As cheesy as it was, Y/n could feel her heart drop. His voice was raspy but it was just enough to make her tummy flutter a little.

Harry strums his guitar, looking around the crowd as if he was looking for the subject of the song.

I got it real bad

Want everything she has

That smile and that midnight laugh

She's giving you now

“Not gonna lie, he’s pretty good.” Y/n tells Mia and Andy who are all smiling down at Harry, not paying attention to her.

Y/n just rolls her eyes and continues to watch.

Yeah, 'cause maybe then

You'd want me just as much

I got a girl crush

I got a girl crush

The shout of the fans interrupts Harry from his reverie while playing the song. It was one of the first songs he learned in the guitar and always had a special place in his heart, but he also felt as if he was being watched by someone but he doesn’t know who it was.

Harry gives a flying kiss to the audience as he hands the guitar back to his friend backstage.

“That was great, Styles! Let’s get hammered after this.” His friend tells him.

“I’m holding you to that.” Harry points back at him before performing another song.

As soon as the gig was done, the three friends decided to go to a pub down the road to drink until someone will pass out of drunkenness.

“Listen, you’ve had a long year! A break up isn’t the end of the world, drink up!” Andy hands a shot to Mia.

“It wasn’t a breakup, he just finally came out of the closet and I was his beard. I was a beard.” Mia drunkenly grumbles.

“Well, we all warned you, that boy was more feminine than the three of us combined. You really didn’t realize until he decided to go to Parsons for a fashion degree?” Andy asks.

Mia shakes her head.

“He checked out my prom dress and told me I was a lucky girl bringing a Harvard man to prom.” Y/n reminds her.

“God, why did he have to be gay?!” Mia takes two shots before wiping her mouth.

“Now you.” Andy points her finger at Y/n who just laughs at Mia’s misery.

“Do one more, Y/n!” Andy screams as she hands Y/n  a shot of pure vodka.

“I’ve had like 8 now! I can’t.” Y/n pushes the shot glass away.

“Come on! I know you’ve had more than that back in high school.” Mia giggles.

“That was high school. I’m a changed woman.” Y/n smiles her friends.

“Changed woman, my ass. You may go to Yale but we all know you have the social skills of a girl from a party school.” Andy retorts.

“I don’t want to drink anymore.” Y/n moans.

“I’ll take that then.” A voice interrupts the three girls as the sound of a ring clinks with the shot glass.

The three friends look at one another before moving their heads to where the guy is standing.

“Hi. I’m Harry.” He smiles at them before chugging down the vodka shot.

CHAPTER 1 , CHAPTER 2, CHAPTER 3

[petersontoscano]

Talk about climate change and please insert some comedy when possible

New Post has been published on https://climatestew.com/talk-climate-change-total-downer/

How to Talk About Climate Change Without Being a Total Downer

I don’t know about you, but it is easy to be that person at the party who brings the festivities to a halt. “Hey Peterson, what’s going on in your life and work?” I straighten up, smile, and say, “I’m really excited about my presentations about climate change.” People tense up. They expect the prophet of gloom and doom and shame and blame to start spewing forth.

It is easy to do. Climate change is downright dire and scary. I learned a long time ago though when talking about sexuality and the Bible, people need help to come close to these hot topic issues that stir up strong, negative emotions.

via GIPHY

Sara Peach at Yale Climate Connections asked me about the role of comedy and climate change communication, so I told her about the Homo No Mo Halfway House.

Toscano said in a recent interview that comedy can be an effective strategy for engaging people in difficult topics. Toscano, who is gay, spent nearly two decades undergoing conversion therapy, the discredited practice of attempting to alter a person’s sexual orientation. After abandoning the therapy and coming out, he struggled to talk about the harm he had experienced.

“I needed to tell that story, but telling it directly was too overwhelming for me and my audience,” he said. “It was too heavy, and it was bringing in hot-topic issues of faith and sexuality that provoked people. I realized I needed a different way.”

He tried comedy, eventually writing and starring in a 90-minute satirical play called “Doin’ Time In The Homo No Mo’ Halfway House: How I Survived the Ex-Gay Movement!”

Toscano said sharing his experiences in this way made the topic more approachable.

“The problem is, when people are tense, particularly when they’re afraid or ashamed or angry, they don’t think as clearly,” he said. “So comedy helps, because it can address a lot of those things. It relaxes the audience physically and mentally so they can hear what you’re saying.”

To read more of the article (and see delightful gifs of Debbie Downer from Saturday Night Live) check out Yale Climate Connections’ Advice Column.

via GIPHY

[qyqbernadette-blog]

Remaining in U.S. Regions.

While kids may want to watch late night tv as well as terrible flicks, most of the ones with suitable parents never ever get the possibility. Of this constitution", he revealed near the start of the Constitutional Code, the all-comprehensive object, or end in sight, is, from very first to last, the best happiness of the best number; namely, of the individuals, of whom, the political area, or state, of which it is the constitution, is made up" (1983b, 18). Activity for Joy in Greece is a movement of individuals acting to create a happier society. The argument of this second task does commonly show up to attempt to reach out to a metaphysical reality concerning our wills. Researchers of the Framingham Heart Research study that investigated the spread of happiness over Two Decade located that those who are bordered by delighted people are most likely to become delighted in the future" This is factor enough to discard the Debbie Downers and also invest even more time with uplifting people. Learning how to be comfortable with on your own will certainly help you project confidence to others and live a happier life. Sigh, so the giants on the web additionally believed in spreading joy rather than suffering. Yet current explorations in psychology as well as neuroscience show that this formula is in reverse: joy gases success, not vice versa. Though he currently takes a trip extensively for his work, Shawn continuouslies perform original psychology research on joy and organizational success in partnership with Yale University and the Institute for Applied Positive Research. Just what I have actually learnt more about finding joy is that initially we have to stop doing We need to begin by concentrating on who we are at our core, on our being; just then could we begin to figure out exactly what we should be doing to totally understand this gorgeous person, to allow the celebrities that are currently in us shine brightly. Taking time daily to think about, or jot down, whatever you are grateful for is a fantastic method to increase your joy and also see the world in an extra favorable light. Yet if Timberlake's choice caught some flat-footed, they remain in for an even larger shock when they see the motion picture itself. For this reason he mentioned the basic propensities of activities to boost joy (recommended by previous experience) as an adequate guide in many scenarios. Joy och Drupalföretagen ställer ut gemensamt på Webbdagarna den 6-7 mars för att ge den intresserade chansen att lära sig mer om möjligheterna med Drupal. Moreover, while Sextus discuss completion of life, words for happiness is conspicuously lacking from his account. One might well suggest, for example, that to include in the happiness of the currently material or the undeserving is not to contribute to the general efficient the same level as including in the happiness of the discontent or deserving: that the value of joy remains in component figured out by where it happens. Just as a fulfillment of reaction spells joy for us, so serious suffering is caused us if the exterior world allows us starve, if it chooses not to sate our demands. An earlier message on 10 Directional-Sign Calamities" had a superb definition of the term, by example, in the initial entrance in that article of April 11th. There is a popular idea that the manner in which individuals check out the world ought to influence their happiness. Find out science-based pointers to raise joy with sociologist and performance professional, Christine Carter. The acquisitions we make fall into four groups-- a few of which bring more happiness than others. It digs in more information into the evaluation of the international happiness data, examining patterns over time and damaging down each country's score into its part, to make sure that citizens as well as policy makers can understand their nation's ranking. This alone, he says, brings continual and also total happiness since it is the task of the greatest part of male's total nature, and also of that component which is least depending on externals, particularly the intelligence of user-friendly factor. To comprehend whether pet dogs could figure out facial expressions, Huber as well as his team trained the pups to identify either joy or rage by examining images If you have any issues regarding wherever and how to use now2sport.info, you can get in touch with us at our own web-site. .

[anxiouspotatorants]

I found a new thing in Gilmore Girls that would be so much better if Palladino and company had just had the guts to be more explicit about class on the show. And it’s Marty’s storyline.

So I’m one of those few people out there who really liked season 5! Marty, and even though I hate that he was written to crush on Rory I also think his confession scene and departure was well written (it was just ruined by season 7 hindsight). The thing is, I’m fully convinced that you could’ve had a big conflict between Rory and Marty that would cause a rift so big he wouldn’t come back for a full season without that conflict being Marty’s feelings for Rory. And you see what it could be in the same episode as Marty confesses. 

It’s the Life and Death Brigade.

So hear me out. In LDBs introductory episode we are not just introduced to the main trio (Logan, Finn and Colin) as womanizers and pranksters, but as people who pick on Marty because he has worked in their functions. Logan even explicitly states that he thinks he’s better than Marty, and it’s implied (if I’m remembering right) that he thinks so because he’s wealthier and has been in a position where he pays Marty. Then as we get to the confession episode, Marty gets dragged along to a dinner with the LDB gang where they frivolously spend money and then mock Marty for struggling to pay for things he didn’t even want to purchase. The LDB gang - Logan included - is shown multiple times to look down on Marty for his lack of wealth. Marty can’t socialize with these people because of that, but also because he literally cannot afford to spend time with them when all of their gatherings and events are money pits. But Rory’s dating one of them. To Marty, she’s actually dating the worst one. 

How do you think that would make Marty feel as her friend? 

He really doesn’t have to be into Rory or in love with her, his close friend dating one of his bullies is more than reason enough to cause a rift between Marty and Rory. And the thing is, this conflict could’ve been an impactful addition to Rory’s thematic storyline if the writers had just gone for it. Rory is financially and socially stuck between worlds. She will never fit into Logan’s world because of her upbringing, but she will always have more access to that world and resources than someone like Marty. And Rory “chosing” Logan’s world in season 5 before she hits rock bottom, and then returning to her roots (her mom, studying, Lane and Paris) and standing up for herself against Emily can be seen as a step in her journey of coming to terms with never being able to truly choose one world. And then Marty could’ve come back, not as a bitter former crush, but as a hurt friend who sees the change Rory is going through, and might help her along as she continues on this journey. 

We could’ve had a great storyline about the highs and lows of a friendship that’s affected by class, and instead we got a half baked nice guy plot.

[anxiouspotatorants]

Out of the three active WIPs I have going on two of them heavily feature Glenn Babble and different headcanons I’m making up on the spot about him.

I really am on the world wide web treating a barely there minor character on 2 seasons of Gilmore Girls like free real estate

[anxiouspotatorants]

“Coffee?” “Check,” Rory replied and held the can up. Marty nodded in acknowledgement. “Great, I got snacks covered with leftovers from last night’s alumni event. Glenn what have you got?” Glenn passed the threshold into the dorm and collapsed on the sofa with a frown: “Designated curriculum and despair.” “That’s everything, then?” Rory asked Marty. “Looks like it.”

The Yale Debbie Downers: a friendship ship

(Raw images: not mine)

[anxiouspotatorants]

Time for some Yale Debbie Downers headcannons:

Their most common form of social gathering is movie nights at Rory’s accommodation that quickly dissolve into borderline group therapy.

The second most common is panicked study sessions whenever Glenn is behind on something or right before exams for one last hurrah. There’s a lot of coffee, a little screaming, and a tragic lack of sleep.

Due to his job, Marty tends to bring very fancy finger food to their meets, which is always paired up with whatever was on sale at the supermarket... It makes for interesting combos.

Rory gets the guys into ‘chick flicks’ (emphasis on the air quotes). Rory convinced Marty by starting with critically acclaimed romcoms, and Glenn wasn’t really given a choice. Glenn is a sucker for tragic soulmates (think Nicholas Sparks, City of Angels) and Marty’s fond of the witty but sincere (think Mystic Pizza, The Last Days of Disco)

Paris wants absolutely nothing to do with any of this. She is judging really hard. And no she is totally not jealous and she is never going to get on surprisingly okay terms with Glenn and form a weird friendship with Marty no no of course not-

Because of their bond and knowledge of each other’s love lives and insecurities, each person becomes incredibly protective of the other two. This means Glenn and Marty being unapologetically hostile towards frat bros and snobs who make a move on Rory (regardless of how fair it is they do not like Logan (but will tolerate him for Rory)). This also means Marty and Rory getting into fightmode whenever somebody is demeaning towards Glenn or his ex tries to get him back.

Their bond also makes them each other’s cheerleaders! Like how Rory and Glenn encourage Marty to explore and gush about what he’s attracted to in people, and Rory and Marty giving Glenn tips for approaching new girls.

If Glenn and Marty ever get to meet Dean or Jess they will freeze completely. Infinite staring and awkward tension. They know so much about these guys who are just now learning their names. Glenn and Marty could publicly ruin these guys’ images and Marty is really uncomfortable with that power. Glenn wants to use that power for some light bullying but inevitably chickens out.

Rory brings the boys back to Stars Hollow one time and Lorelai is confused about it (to be fair Rory doesn’t seem to have had any close male friends before the show). The boys decide to pull a prank on Rory and pretend to be in a polyamorous relationship with her. They come across Mrs Kim who almost gets a heart attack. Both of them go back to Yale with the experience of Rory’s withering stare and a month’s worth of coffee bills to make up for the embarrassment they put her through. 

To spice things up and also push themselves into the social sphere, the three of them go to see student productions of plays/dances/musicals/etc. Marty puts on a fancy scarf, Glenn and Rory ‘play’ at being snobby critcs, and Rory forces Paris to make a collage of the programs as a sentimental token around gradution.

After graduation they drift a little apart at the start due to different jobs in different places, but manage to keep in touch by email. At one point Rory and Glenn work at the same paper and become attached at the hip at work. It spurs them to more actively keep up with Marty, and they arrange to meet at least twice a year for weird finger food and ranting about life.

They might also occasionally go to stage plays together as adults, which leads to some very weird reunions. Sometimes they come across other Yale alumni (usually LDB people with box seats if they go to something fancy), and sometimes it’s Broadway star and Chilton alumnus Brad Langford.

[anxiouspotatorants]

I Need To Start A Garden: A Yale Debbie Downers fic by Ava_Was_Right.

Any second now, Marty was going to walk in with whatever leftovers he’d gotten from whatever luncheon he’d waited at the bar, and Rory would have to sit him down and explain that Glenn Babble was going to crash their Coen brothers marathon. That is if Glenn didn’t arrive first, red-faced and with teary eyes begging for a shoulder to cry on and her annotated copy of A Farewell to Arms.

She was screwed.

Read here.

(Image source: x)

[anxiouspotatorants]

Me: spent almost a year watching season 5

Me: did not watch the entirety of season 6 or 7 as a kid and probably didn’t understand what she did see

Still me: One shot AU where Rory and Glenn and Marty were friends without romance drama but they stopped hanging out when she got together with Logan but after The Real Paul Anka Rory shows up at Glenn’s in the middle of the night crying and he comforts her and asks if she’s talked to Marty yet because Marty never liked Logan but Rory is afraid and when she goes to see Logan at the hospital Marty shows up (with Glenn) to tear him a new one because fights be damned that is his friend and she did not deserve to be treated like that and Rory gets motivated to not get back with Logan and her and Marty and Glenn go to Glenn’s place and spend hours catching up and crying and hugging and laughing and also there’s a lot of weird food for some reason.

[anxiouspotatorants]

“Don’t let your dogs pee on the floor.” Paris left the room with a grimace. “What’s her deal?” Marty asked, briefly distracted from movie number two in their Whit Stillman trilogy marathon. “I think she might be jealous,” Rory admitted and grabbed another canápe. Glenn faked pity: “Aw, does Lady want to be a stray too?” 

Dorm Room Blues: a Yale Debbie Downers concept

(raw images: not mine)

[anxiouspotatorants]

Rory, Glenn and Marty all in the same scene did I accidentally manifest the trio over a decade after the show finished??

[anxiouspotatorants]

No but I think you have a point here! All of them obviously love movies and what can be referred to as film, but they’re more likely to study the stories or the in-universe logic of each film than the medium itself. Lorelai and Rory have probably made a habit of learning about behind the scenes gossip, and Paris would most definitely try to draw comparisons to literary movements and philisophies to say how f ex Mary Shelley did the creature feature better than The Fly. But if anyone would have a passion for the medium of film it would probably be someone outside of (what I consider my) core four.

Since Halloween is almost upon us, how do we think Rory, Jess, Lane and/or Paris feel about horror movies?

[petersontoscano]

Conversion Therapy Sucks but It Does Inspire Comedy

New Post has been published on https://petersontoscano.com/homo-mo-halfway-house-helped-talk-climate-change/

How the Homo No Mo Halfway House Helped Me Talk About Climate Change

Trauma is no joke. Conversion therapy was no picnic. Yet, I learned so much about comedy and the power of storytelling through my own experience of trying to become straight through a variety of “Ex-Gay” programs. Now that I talk about climate change, I find I keep returning to the Homo No Mo Halfway House and the techniques I developed to help people give a damn about the the harm of conversion therapy. Yes, they needed to hear just how awful it was, but they also needed to see how ridiculous it was.

For instance in the gay rehab I lived in for two years, they had over 275 rules. But one time they added a new rule–No Bananas in the House. Apparently a fellow participant had a PFF–a Phallic Fruit Fetish. As a result, we were forbidden to bring into the facility any phallus shaped fruits. The condition though extended into the vegetable world–so no cucumbers, no zucchinis, no carrots–oh, except the mini carrots; they didn’t bother him.” Horrible and hilarious all in one.

via GIPHY

I don’t know about you, but it is easy to be that person at the party who brings the festivities to a halt. “Hey Peterson, what’s going on in your life and work?” I straighten up, smile, and say, “I’m really excited about my presentations about climate change.” People tense up. They expect the prophet of gloom and doom and shame and blame to start spewing forth.

It is easy to do. Climate change is downright dire and scary. I learned a long time ago though when talking about sexuality and the Bible, people need help to come close to these hot topic issues that stir up strong, negative emotions.

via GIPHY

Sara Peach at Yale Climate Connections asked me about the role of comedy and climate change communication, so I told her about the Homo No Mo Halfway House.

Toscano said in a recent interview that comedy can be an effective strategy for engaging people in difficult topics. Toscano, who is gay, spent nearly two decades undergoing conversion therapy, the discredited practice of attempting to alter a person’s sexual orientation. After abandoning the therapy and coming out, he struggled to talk about the harm he had experienced.

“I needed to tell that story, but telling it directly was too overwhelming for me and my audience,” he said. “It was too heavy, and it was bringing in hot-topic issues of faith and sexuality that provoked people. I realized I needed a different way.”

He tried comedy, eventually writing and starring in a 90-minute satirical play called “Doin’ Time In The Homo No Mo’ Halfway House: How I Survived the Ex-Gay Movement!”

Toscano said sharing his experiences in this way made the topic more approachable.

“The problem is, when people are tense, particularly when they’re afraid or ashamed or angry, they don’t think as clearly,” he said. “So comedy helps, because it can address a lot of those things. It relaxes the audience physically and mentally so they can hear what you’re saying.”

To read more of the article (and see delightful gifs of Debbie Downer from Saturday Night Live) check out Yale Climate Connections’ Advice Column.

via GIPHY