Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Satire outbreak

The piece of satire below has come into my hands.

Surrender Now

17 comments:

  1. You guys are becoming masters of shooting yourselves in the foot!

    Carry on!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not really. Mike will need a strong stomach if he mistakenly attends this event composed of the "usual suspects" of conservatives and reactionaries on this campus - that is, unless he really intends to throw up on the lot of them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The funny thing about this is that you think mocking those that oppose you because of your tactics is a good idea. Good luck with that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The funny thing about this is that you think pious sanctimony with a pinch of sarcasm is an effective rebuttal to satire.

    ReplyDelete
  5. From the perspective of those who support the FA, the difference between satire and mockery is:

    Satire is mockery you direct at others, and mockery is satire directed at you. So the question now is, is this satire, or is this mockery?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Again, this is "Kidding on the Square." It is myopic in the extreme to dismiss all uses of humor as non-serious. There is a very serious message in this piece of satire. Dismiss it or imagine that it is unwarranted argument ("foot shooting," even) at your peril. Perhaps, more productively, FSN supporters could address the concerns it raises, directly or indirectly.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Please stop. If a student ever reads this you'll ruin all the weeks I've spent on this subject in the Brit lit survey: mockery is an instrument of satire. Now if you want to argue that the satire is poorly executed, the mocks not adequately cutting, or too broad that's fine, but don't introduce utterly false distinctions into the discussion.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cheng must be very happy watching all this. You are witnessing “divide and rule” playing live. Faculty is fighting with each other, administration is watching, faculty senate is smiling, Cheng and Poshard are laughing, FSN is having a picnic, and I am worried because at the end it is going to hurt me. Wake-up you Id….. See behind the curtain.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I find this satire and particularly the last comment to be appalling.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Since Dave has removed it you need not worry since you are obviously unfamiliar with Jonathan Swift's excremental humor!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yes, I'm to blame for being offended at your comment. Obviously, Dave also thought it was offensive or he wouldn't have removed it, regardless of its literary reference. We need open dialog, not personal attacks. Not many things are less funny to me than the decline of this university.

    ReplyDelete
  13. While I think satire is fine & dandy, I've obviously got a sensitive spot for profanity, so hastily removed the 9:10 pm post, whose target was a prominent campus administrator. I also seem not to be terribly fond of lyrics. The number of comments removed now totals TWO.

    I knew that passing along this satire would prove controversial, but I have, after all, passed on lots of stuff, including full texts of the Chancellor's emails, the FSN emails, and rather biting cartoons (though our culture seems to allow more bite in cartoons).

    Those who think that there's no place at a university for satire will obviously be disappointed, to say the least, in my decision to post this thing. I found it made a very serious point (essentially in keeping with that I've tried to make in a less satirical mode), and I found it pretty damn funny.

    While I shall not submit to contractually binding language obliging me to post even high-quality satire aimed in the other direction, I will certainly accept submissions in that line and will, as the administrators say, "consider" them for their humorous, literary, and substantive quality. Surely I've been sanctimonious enough on occasion to provide fodder for satire. I do promise prompt if unappealable decisions on submissions. And if I reject you, you can always post it on the Faculty for Sensible Negotiations Website.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Well done, I surrender.

    Someone from the FA please extend an invitation to Mike and his tribe, approx 150 unidentified individuals to be active within the organization as it would only add(+)pressure.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I think the Iranians are behind all this brouhaha. But we really know Mossad is behind Iran is behind the USA is behind Cheng. OK, I've been watching you all drink the Kool-Aid here (sorry, Jim Jones) and that came out...

    ReplyDelete
  16. But there might be "factions" or a "rogue element." So the MSM says. So I believe.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I hope no one takes you up on your offer to post more venom. It would only be allowing others to be dragged down to the same level.

    ReplyDelete

I will review and post comments as quickly as I can. Comments that are substantive and not vicious will be posted promptly, including critical ones. "Substantive" here means that your comment needs to be more than a simple expression of approval or disapproval. "Vicious" refers to personal attacks, vile rhetoric, and anything else I end up deeming too nasty to post.