Your tongue is a vandal

YOUR TONGUE IS A VANDAL Alexander Chung

The tongue is the most treacherous organ.

It’s constantly disobeying orders.

And it gets away with so damn much.

Imagine the social damage that a Freudian slip of the bladder would cause.

All we want from our tongues is cooperation. A reliable partner that allows thoughts to leave the body gracefully.

But all we get is unruliness.

We’ve tried so hard to contain our tongues. Some bite lips, while others prefer the muﬄing eﬀect of socks.

But, what are we holding back?

What if we gave the tongue more opportunities to explore its rouge side?

An opportunity to be uncooperative.

An opportunity to “rock out like you’ve been paid to disturb the peace.” Anis Mojgani

Should every conversation unravel like a thread on 4Chan? No. But, there are ways we can modify the ‘cooperative principle’

“” such as it is Make your contribution required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. Paul Grice

There are ways to subvert the accepted purpose of a conversation or the intended meaning of a person’s words.

Debates are perfect examples. ALEXANDER CHUNG

I listened carefully to the debate: “The Catholic church is force for good.” For Against John Onayekan VERSUS Christopher Hitchens Ann Widdecombe Stephen Fry ALEXANDER CHUNG

I was most compelled when a speaker served an opponent’s point back to them after defacing it with some light graﬃti. I visualized a few examples ALEXANDER CHUNG

John Onayekan 26% of health institutions that treat HIV are run by the Catholic church. ALEXANDER CHUNG

Christopher Hitchens The Catholic church is 100% responsible for condemning condoms. ALEXANDER CHUNG

Christopher Hitchens’ a View of the church as clutch of hysterical dominated by hierarchy. & sinister VIRGINS who are the only owners of THE TRUTH Followers & Victims ALEXANDER CHUNG

John Onayekan’s the CHURCH View of the church as a is not about global community. PRIESTS in costume its about a LARGER Community ALEXANDER CHUNG

Joseph Ratzinger on the institutionalization of rape in Catholic churches : “ a severe crisis. We need to It’s apply the most loving pastoral care to these victims. ALEXANDER CHUNG

“ a severe crisis. We need to It’s apply the most loving pastoral care to these victims. Christopher Hitchens d that? I’m sorry, haven’t they already ha ALEXANDER CHUNG

In all these examples, it’s clear how the speaker uses an idea against itself.

Kind of like that guy who fucks with the subway ads.

Some hypotheses

Good vandals are ironic. Whether debaters or culture jammers.

Good tongues are not held back by bitten lips but, rather, placed ﬁrmly in cheek.

Good communication environments treat vandalism as sense making not insolence.

Good conversation is not about saying the right or ‘nice’ thing.

Good decks shouldn’t need further explanation.

But then again, interesting things happen when ideas are lost in translation.

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Your tongue is a vandal

by Alexander Chung on Nov 21, 2010

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