Perkily Ironic

you always ask such provocative questions. also, AD's radicalism in that thread makes me think your institution is as different from mine as you thought it was when you analogized it all those years ago.

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arador.livejournal.com

The thing is, most people don't agree with AD. I'm not sure what you institution is, however.

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That's probably a good thing. I went to St. John's College in Annapolis... does that mean anything to you?

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arador.livejournal.com

The school with only one curriculum for all students, right? A friend from HS is a senior there now (Karolyn Walsh).

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That is indeed the place.

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What was my analogy, actually?

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the two boyfriends analogy - one place was a more conservative and poetic sort of fellow, and the other was more socially conscious and hip, if memory serves. I was hoping you would remember it perfectly so I wouldn't have to :/

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I remember that post!

I almost wrote a reply to it and then deleted it because I realized the analogy got creepier and creepier the more you stretch it out.

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... i'm so glad i graduated.

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sicksickcity.livejournal.com

SECRETLY YOU MISS IT

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living with sally and sarah is like having 60% of the good and none of the bad, tho.

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meddles.livejournal.com

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flats.livejournal.com

Surprised that it seems almost normative to be wildly pro-porn. How much of that is real 'sex positivity', and how much of that is really the result of 'raunch culture', the idea that one ought to be kinky and making one's own porn and so on... I wanted to see that questioned, and I wanted someone to make the bloody obvious point that Not All Porn Is Good. Much of the stuff emanating from the porno-industrial complex is super-demeaning towards women, or actually made unethically enough that watching/supporting it isn't morally neutral. Sure, what was showing was ethically made and kinda art (and I don't have a problem with that) - but the casual passerby can't tell that, and would have to question whether what they're seeing is potentially nasty exploitation or not... (Just because it was gay porn is no get-out-of-jail-free card on that, whatever hipster straight kids might like to think.)

Also, this idea that we "shouldn't" be affected by sexual images? Utter fucking bollocks - I know you called troll-boy on that, but not far enough. Not being affected by violent imagery gets called desensitisation, and that's recognised as a bad thing, a loss of empathy and compassion. And likewise with sex, unless one's advocating a position in which sex is no more interesting or remarkable than brushing one's teeth... Which'd be a hugely impoverished position to take.

Though he was a twat, so I'm sure he'd try and take that line! Pseudo-sociopathic little fuckwit.

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yeah, we actually had the "Is porn good or bad?" discussion a few weeks ago on a separate article, and that was wildly pro-porn as well... I was sort of arguing the point that a lot of Porn Is Bad, but then people were asking me if I was expecting them to pay for femdom porn and stuff, and I was saying yes, I like to pay for ethical enterprises that I want to keep in business...

it sort of petered out after a bunch of the guys started attacking the girl who said that if her boyfriend watched porn she would be terribly offended, and then Tristan Taormino (!!!) commented saying she would love to come give a lecture at Swarthmore.

which reminds me, I have to e-mail her this weekend.

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Tristan Taormino's already been to Swat...invite Shine Louise Houston! Or better yet, Bren Ryder. Or better yet, both!

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thecityofdis.livejournal.com

I am so glad I don't go to your school.

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sicksickcity.livejournal.com

Every time I talk to a politically (or, hell, even mentally) queer person now I have to remind myself that shit like this was why I didn't want to get involved with sexual politics at Swat. In retrospect, probably the onus should have been on me to get involved anyway, but there are some banners I'm just not very interested in waving.

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jackferd.livejournal.com

I have no idea who you are but I empathize with your sentiments and raise you a, "Didn't Bother Coming Out As Bisexual For Awhile For Many Reasons Including That It Felt As Though It Wasn't Worth the Effort at This Fucking Place." Y'know, one of those.

Edited Date: 2008-12-09 07:43 pm (UTC)

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sicksickcity.livejournal.com

In rereading my comment I realize I meant to say "politically active queer person," though the point still stands.

Swat's kind of amazing - first it paralyzes you with fear of action, then jabs you with eternal guilt for your inaction. (Full disclosure: I am wearing my "Contents Under Pressure" shirt as we speak!)

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jackferd.livejournal.com

FUCK
BOTH
OF
THE
GAY
THREADS
ahhhhhhhhhh

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In the olden days this thread would've been on the Daily Jolt, so it would've been derailed after the first ten posts by people posting memes or calling each other "faggots", and that would've pre-emptively ended a lot of the shit to follow.

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The fact that when AD finally leaves school and gets a real job nobody will give a shit about his/her (okay, let's be honest, almost certainly his) opinion again and he may very well get fired for leaving a rant about sex where his boss can see it gives me the warm fuzzies all over.

(By contrast, the fact that people like AD are the most likely candidates for never leaving school at all and plowing straight through grad school to become a professor and restarting the cycle gives me the cold chills. Then again, grad school is a fundamentally miserable enough experience that I still think the world is fair.)

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flats.livejournal.com

Loved this comment, bang on!

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Things to consider: AD is almost certainly someone who didn't live through the Great Chalkings Debacle of '0mumble, or they'd know that we've ALREADY DONE the whole argument about whether people can or cannot be compelled to accept public displays of pornography in the name of "diversity".

So...a frosh? God help us.

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arador.livejournal.com

Just checked. It is a guy from 2011 (so, sophomore).

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I kind of win!

But seriously, argh. I am reminded of the pre-frosh that wrote the screed on deer culling.

Okay, maybe we should all take a deep breath and ask ourselves what support we, as a loving, accepting community of friends and fellow travelers, can provide to this individual who clearly needs a bit of assistance relating to his fellow humans. (I mean that to be both ironically condescending and possibly completely serious.)

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I am reminded of the pre-frosh that wrote the screed on deer culling.

Dear God, pre-frosh pushing their way into Swarthmore political drama is almost as bad as pre-frosh pushing their way into Swarthmore relationship drama.

(Um, no offense meant to anyone reading this, of course.)

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I maintain that I had my own drama until I got to campus, thanks a lot! (After that, I make no such claims.) It's not my fault that the internet works. :-þ

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you had the good manners to bring your own casserole to the swarthmore drama potluck.

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(i tried to write this comment five times and it was either vulgar, not funny, or both)

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::tips hat::

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philthecow, on the other hand, forgot until the last minute so she just bought a bucket of Kentucky Free Culture on the way over.

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Now that was tasteless.

And wonderful.

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midge7227.livejournal.com

can i just say it's ridiculous that the entire thread didnt just end with the persuasian guy's apology?

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