I can’t speak for Mr Cain either, but me thinks that this question of why I might question menstrual products in a boys bathroom, is either parody or so absurd that my time and breath simply cannot be wasted on such a thought/question. That’s just me…🤷♂️
Online confrontation is where people who are afraid to do IRL confrontation go to get their confrontation rocks off. And these platforms know it and incentivize it because rage is the best way for them to frack our brain stems in order to monetize us via "the attention economy." Good times! Don't agree? FIGHT ME. 😜
It’s interesting - your tenaciousness and tongue in cheek assholery (ew, those two phrases don’t work so well together) is part of what drew me to your comedy. They make you funny. But then I can see how, played out in that liminal space of Twitter/The Internet, which is somewhere between a performance and self-expression it all starts to get a little hazy and make you need to take stock and take ownership of what’s just kind of shitty behavior.
Thanks for sharing, I wonder what I’m doing that I need to stop doing…probably leaving long comments.
i love this! thank you for sharing your interactions with scott adams and dean cain and more! you're doing it so we don't have to! and also you don't have to, but you are!
some particularly meaningful and funny chunks that leapt out at me from your piece:
"Why am I like this?
The answer: because I’m one of those horrible people who chooses violence to make a point instead of choosing peace by letting it go. It’s a terrible quality and I need to work on it."
and
"The entire online world is filled with people DESTROYING each other, which leads to unnecessary confrontations made worse by people’s refusal to hear the other person’s point and try to understand them rather than simply trying to END THEM. It’s ridiculous, counter-productive, and very fun."
and
"For many years, Martha and I have rarely had the sorts of arguments that would end with her kicking my ass in the parking lot after school, but I still take too much delight in pedantic minutiae, and I need to do better."
and the "M*rry Chr*stmas" fun is VERY fun. (i put asterisks because i understand it's illegal to type the whole phrase out.)
That locker room talk question ("you get laid this weekend?") coming from a sophomore in high school is gonna keep me laughing all day. Thank you pubescent 14 yr old MIB.
I initially confused Scott Adams with Adam Scott, and for a moment, I was genuinely heartbroken thinking the guy from Parks & Rec told you to fuck off and never speak to him again....
The MAGA cult includes a strong element of sociopathy and this type of profane, irrational response is common among sociopaths.
Trump’s primary strategy (aside from lying) is “attack attack attack.” Sociopaths know that non-sociopaths seek to avoid confrontation and often engage in self-reflection following a conflict.
Adams likely believes he “won” your dispute because he never defended his position, took no responsibility for his behavior, and abused you.
I’m sorry this happened to you but, as you have no doubt surmised, there is no other possible outcome when you engage in a discussion with a member of the MAGA cult.
The sad, hard truth is, Mike....humans always learn faster from the hammer, not the rose. It sucks. But the only way up the ladder of sapience is the hard way. Humans are desperately stubborn creatures. More often than not, humans only change when they're forced to look in the mirror. Whether that comes about through alternative discourse or personal introspection, is up to the individual. In the end, change comes for us all whether we like it or not. I don't think confrontation need always be labeled a violent assertion. So I say, keep on keepin' on. Better to holler into the Void, than to go quietly. At least you might affect a ripple, and you know what they say about ponds. :)
We braved the apocalyptic weather on Saturday to see you in Burlington and loved it, but as someone who often has a hard time with social cues (if you could call it that) I did feel bad for the guy who felt compelled to yell out “I love the 80’s!” in the middle of it.
> Why does he think menstrual products in boys’ restrooms are a bad idea?
I can't speak for Mr. Cain but I'd argue it's a bad idea on economic grounds. "15 (Minnesota) K-12 schools and districts have joined the Menstrual Movement with Aunt Flow." I looked it up and the Aunt Flow dispensers retail for $500.
"With its passage, this bill ensures access for the approximately 300,000 menstruating students in Minnesota."
Okay, so we'd have to double the number of dispensers to include them in the boys restrooms as well. This is economically infeasible to support such a paltry number of trans male students, especially considering most schools have unisex bathrooms for such students.
Plus there is the issue of vandalism:
“A dispenser with menstrual products was installed in the boys bathroom near the [main office],” principal Marc Balanda emailed to students, according to CT Insider. “The installation was completed at 9:30. By 9:52, tampons were on the floor, the newly installed distribution box was ripped off the wall along with the masonry anchors and the distribution box itself was destroyed.”
It's taken me a long time to understand that I put myself in positions of conflict and stress because I do not accept people as they are. I push and push for a resolution, for someone to see it my way, for someone to "shake out of it." It sucks and it takes up so much energy and time when really I could just be... letting things be. It's really fucking hard when you believe so fervently that people are stupid, though. It's also a lot less funny.
Regardless, it all is inherently funny because he's the creator of Dilbert.
I can’t speak for Mr Cain either, but me thinks that this question of why I might question menstrual products in a boys bathroom, is either parody or so absurd that my time and breath simply cannot be wasted on such a thought/question. That’s just me…🤷♂️
My conversation with Dean Cain ended in a block.
Online confrontation is where people who are afraid to do IRL confrontation go to get their confrontation rocks off. And these platforms know it and incentivize it because rage is the best way for them to frack our brain stems in order to monetize us via "the attention economy." Good times! Don't agree? FIGHT ME. 😜
Admirable self-awareness.
It’s interesting - your tenaciousness and tongue in cheek assholery (ew, those two phrases don’t work so well together) is part of what drew me to your comedy. They make you funny. But then I can see how, played out in that liminal space of Twitter/The Internet, which is somewhere between a performance and self-expression it all starts to get a little hazy and make you need to take stock and take ownership of what’s just kind of shitty behavior.
Thanks for sharing, I wonder what I’m doing that I need to stop doing…probably leaving long comments.
dear michael,
i love this! thank you for sharing your interactions with scott adams and dean cain and more! you're doing it so we don't have to! and also you don't have to, but you are!
some particularly meaningful and funny chunks that leapt out at me from your piece:
"Why am I like this?
The answer: because I’m one of those horrible people who chooses violence to make a point instead of choosing peace by letting it go. It’s a terrible quality and I need to work on it."
and
"The entire online world is filled with people DESTROYING each other, which leads to unnecessary confrontations made worse by people’s refusal to hear the other person’s point and try to understand them rather than simply trying to END THEM. It’s ridiculous, counter-productive, and very fun."
and
"For many years, Martha and I have rarely had the sorts of arguments that would end with her kicking my ass in the parking lot after school, but I still take too much delight in pedantic minutiae, and I need to do better."
and the "M*rry Chr*stmas" fun is VERY fun. (i put asterisks because i understand it's illegal to type the whole phrase out.)
thank you for sharing as always!
love
myq
That locker room talk question ("you get laid this weekend?") coming from a sophomore in high school is gonna keep me laughing all day. Thank you pubescent 14 yr old MIB.
HAH.
I initially confused Scott Adams with Adam Scott, and for a moment, I was genuinely heartbroken thinking the guy from Parks & Rec told you to fuck off and never speak to him again....
No no. Adam Scott said that to me YEARS ago.
Happy Birthday Mike!
I needed this today. Thank you. 🤣🤣🤣
The MAGA cult includes a strong element of sociopathy and this type of profane, irrational response is common among sociopaths.
Trump’s primary strategy (aside from lying) is “attack attack attack.” Sociopaths know that non-sociopaths seek to avoid confrontation and often engage in self-reflection following a conflict.
Adams likely believes he “won” your dispute because he never defended his position, took no responsibility for his behavior, and abused you.
I’m sorry this happened to you but, as you have no doubt surmised, there is no other possible outcome when you engage in a discussion with a member of the MAGA cult.
The sad, hard truth is, Mike....humans always learn faster from the hammer, not the rose. It sucks. But the only way up the ladder of sapience is the hard way. Humans are desperately stubborn creatures. More often than not, humans only change when they're forced to look in the mirror. Whether that comes about through alternative discourse or personal introspection, is up to the individual. In the end, change comes for us all whether we like it or not. I don't think confrontation need always be labeled a violent assertion. So I say, keep on keepin' on. Better to holler into the Void, than to go quietly. At least you might affect a ripple, and you know what they say about ponds. :)
We braved the apocalyptic weather on Saturday to see you in Burlington and loved it, but as someone who often has a hard time with social cues (if you could call it that) I did feel bad for the guy who felt compelled to yell out “I love the 80’s!” in the middle of it.
I paid him!
I know, we saw!
The Biden Merry Christmas bit made me laugh out loud in the parking lot. I don’t think anyone saw me. Thanks!
> Why does he think menstrual products in boys’ restrooms are a bad idea?
I can't speak for Mr. Cain but I'd argue it's a bad idea on economic grounds. "15 (Minnesota) K-12 schools and districts have joined the Menstrual Movement with Aunt Flow." I looked it up and the Aunt Flow dispensers retail for $500.
"With its passage, this bill ensures access for the approximately 300,000 menstruating students in Minnesota."
Okay, so we'd have to double the number of dispensers to include them in the boys restrooms as well. This is economically infeasible to support such a paltry number of trans male students, especially considering most schools have unisex bathrooms for such students.
Plus there is the issue of vandalism:
“A dispenser with menstrual products was installed in the boys bathroom near the [main office],” principal Marc Balanda emailed to students, according to CT Insider. “The installation was completed at 9:30. By 9:52, tampons were on the floor, the newly installed distribution box was ripped off the wall along with the masonry anchors and the distribution box itself was destroyed.”
Sources:
Stats: https://goauntflow.com/blog/tampon-tim-the-impact-of-accessible-period-care-for-students-in-minnesota/
Dispenser Cost: https://shop.goauntflow.com/products/model-o-dispenser
Vandalism: https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/tampon-dispenser-in-boys-school-bathroom-destroyed-by-connecticut-students-report-says-brookfield-high-school-marc-blanda-john-barile-menstrual-products-crisis-in-the-classroom
Those points may be valid, but I'm guessing they have nothing to do with his objection.
This post seems to be a transparent attempt to distract from the main issue, which has more to do with hate and misogyny than school budgets.
Crisis in the boys room.
It's taken me a long time to understand that I put myself in positions of conflict and stress because I do not accept people as they are. I push and push for a resolution, for someone to see it my way, for someone to "shake out of it." It sucks and it takes up so much energy and time when really I could just be... letting things be. It's really fucking hard when you believe so fervently that people are stupid, though. It's also a lot less funny.
Regardless, it all is inherently funny because he's the creator of Dilbert.
Hahahaha