I've already finished my undergrad, but stayed on a few mailing lists from my university anyways. I considered taking myself off, but after the following e-mails, I'm glad I didn't. As backstory, the person writing them is a 20 year old Asian transfer to my alma mater, majoring in math. He's fairly average academically, if you were wondering. Initial E-Mail Dear Housemates: I assumed it was above you to drink to the point of drunkenness or to smoke, to the point of getting high, or to bring whatever you smoke inside. But believe it or not, I have observed multiple such instances within the last few days. (not multiple in each category, but multiple in general. I would do much more than write an email if it were multiple in each category.) I came here to take part in an exciting academic experience, and expected to be surrounded by people of similar inhibitions and intellectual capacity. The latter hope has essentially been met, but I am highly discouraged by my findings in the former category. I am still 20. Most universities forbid students from drinking around underaged students within housing complexes, even if they themselves are of drinking age. It is obviously illegal to drink while under 21 years of age. Marijuana is always illegal, and smoking, while legal, is a terrible decision, and in any event highly inconsiderate to do around other people. I am disgusted that I have to be saying these things. Please do not do these things around me. Because I am so sick of these things, I will call the RA/other relevant authority if you do these things around me without further comment. If said thing is smoking, probably not too much will happen, but obviously if it's a legal issue there will be further action that I don't even initiate. If you decide to make stupid choices, please keep me out of them and let me just study in my "hole" as you must be thinking by now. I want nothing to do with these activities, nor the people that take part in them. Do not bring your cigarettes (especially lighted... seriously?) into the building, and especially do not bring them through alley 4. You're encouraged to reply with thought-out responses to my elevated hatred of these acts of disgrace, if it occurs to you to do so. If anybody is similarly disgusted with these things that should be below us as students, it would be good to know who you are. After receiving some fairly mild replies, he uncorked these gems; E-mail 2: Now, do you have anything to add? Perhaps something that would convince me that indeed, the people here are not quite as bad as they seem? My impression, especially of other houses, has always been negative within a month of being here, but it was within the range where I could look them in the eye and carry even a decent conversation, while not being afraid that I was talking to a criminal. I trusted students extensively, and much moreso than I trusted their UCSD counterpart. I leave my things wherever it's convenient, because I know they won't be stolen. Do I have to check "Free Food" now to make sure it's not infused with marijuana? Or is there a reason to believe that most all of the students here are this perverted? (I of course recognize this is not the norm, but if even 1% of students are into this kind of thing then trusting students with anything is a dangerous risk.) E-mail 3: I want nothing to do socially with anybody who does not recognize the facts stated in my last email. I will only talk about technical things with such people. In fact, I'll probably just only talk about math and science, since it seems to be the only thing that everybody at this school can agree on. If something is illegal, the legal authorities must obviously act on it. E-mail 4: The trouble is I should not *have* to talk to people individually to work these things out. People are legally bound from doing 2 of the 3 things I listed, at least barring corner cases, and this university obviously forbids smoking inside. Why do you assume all people are equal? No text, religious or not, has a proof of this statement. Why can certain people not be "beneath" others? I'm not advocating either way in the grand cosmic sense you seem to mean, but on purely philosophical grounds, I challenge you to justify thinking of people as equal. It is fact that most of the things I stated are illegal, and the rest are highly morally reprehensible, at the very least to force upon other people by bringing it inside/to my room, etc. E-mail 5: I state facts on this mailing list, and I never post in political forums because frankly politics do not interest me. I merely never want to see anything rated X nearby me ever again. I don't care if you do it, although I'll maintain you're mistaken in doing so, I won't do anything to stop it. The latter seems to be in the domain of politics, while the former is only in my own interest. I understand that you think that everytime someone refers to the law it has to be a political argument, but a moment's pause will convince you that this reasoning is flawed. However, right now, I need to study integration theory anyhow. Good night. *** Obviously, these e-mails are hysterically funny, but I'm curious if the rest of you can top it. Focus- What were the most hilarious and misguided examples of moral indignation you ever witnessed or read? Also, mods, can you put in BBCode for quotes where relevant? It doesn't seem possible to do on the Suggestions Board.
I wish he was "beneath" my foot as I stomp his teeth into the concrete curb. This guy has to be hanging from his underwear waistband somewhere at this moment. And absolute iconoclastic anthem on every aspect to being a loser. How badly did this guy's parents kick his ass every day? They probably used "Rule Of Thumb" on him whenever he got less than an A-. Look out, ladies.
We had 'that guy' on my old dorm floor. He would call in noise complaints at 9:30 on Saturday nights. As in, when people are still pre-gaming. He conversed with virtually no one other than to bitch about how he needed to get his sleep, often using excuses like 'I have two tests next week.' Everyone was cool about it for a couple of months, they'd turn down their music, head to another dorm, whatever. After that people just started telling him to fuck off and when our RA finally did the same he had a mental breakdown. It was awesome. Probably the most confused moral indignation I've ever seen is the crazy flock of man haters that perform the vagina monologues on campus every year. Every time they show up they cover the campus in 'stats' like 1 in 9 college males have raped a woman, 87% of women have been molested, 28% of victims are raped by their husbands or boyfriends, etc. I think the movement is criticized more by their own gender than men. It's that bad.
I think this fits more into the category of "social reject and huge creep" than "obnoxious social reject and huge creep," but alas I've told this story to two people just yesterday so it's fresh in my mind. Fuck it, i'll just quote myself in conversation. Oh, and for the record according to skype my real name is "Chocolateface Assclown". True story. Focus: Misguided moral indignation? I gotta refer back to one of my first posts.
All doucheiness of this kid aside, at my stoner college this was a serious concern for someone who didn't touch weed like me (my family has serious problems with addiction). I never ate anything that was a baked good outside of the dining hall, as I had a few friends who made that mistake.
Simply put- this kid has to go. The entire floor needs to come together in a wave of hazing and pestering that leaves him with no choice but to leave. The whole floor needs to come together and they need to push him until he caves for two reasons. 1- He really has to believe that everyone hates him. Everyone. 2- He's clearly a tattletale and it's not worth the cops' time to try and take everybody down. They would find the time if 1-5 people were involved. 3- Fuck him. Here is what I would do first- I would collect up all of these emails and go to psych services. I'd point out the similarities between this asshole and the Va. Tech shooter. Asian? Check. Angry? Check. That's all I'd need to fear for my life. At least, I'd be very concerned for his safety and wellbeing when I spoke with psych services. Next, I'd bump the loudest music I could up until the very minute that posted "quiet hours" start. I'd choose the most obnoxious music I could find. Third, I'd try and set myself up. Not my fault if he calls the cops because there are bags of oregano in the bathroom. Let campus police waste their time on that kind of stuff for a few hours and piss everybody off. Fourth, I'd allude to all kinds of scandalous shit. I'd ask him if his car was running alright, if he ever wondered if anybody could hack into his computer. If he was ever scared that somebody would lace his food with drugs. It's the little things, and they wouldn't stop until he left. Fuck. Him.
But wait! There's more! I would have a friend, preferably a woman, hand write a letter to his parents saying basically what someone else said to psych services. - He's angry - He's withdrawn - He's threatened his roomates - He's said that he's better than his peers - I am afraid that he is going to do something drastic As far as I'm concerned, he would be out to get me and I'd want to get him first. By contacting psych services and his parents, the powers that be are forced to act on these letters. If he does go all Charlie on them and the school did nothing, they'll be under far more scrutiny than if he went kamikaze without prior warnings. They would basically have to do something whether they knew that folks were trying to get him out or not. At the very least it will get him out of that dorm. At the most it would get him expelled. Ideally it would get him thrown off of on-campus housing.
Putting in scared little specific details would help things. For instance: He keeps on telling us he is so superior to us. Yesterday he told me he just finished reading Crime and Punishment, he said he reallly liked the first half, but the second half was just too unrealistic. I'm scared I'm going to get killed like the landlady and her sister!
Somewhat on Point, but drifting afield: College is great-- you get a bunch of young people who've never lived on their own and see what happens. Unfortunately, that also means that fuck-ups who are now on their own go out in the world and continue their fucked-up ways. My sophomore year I lived in a dorm where most of the rooms were single rooms. I didn't interact with the guys on my floor-- they were all in the same fraternity and I had my own friends off campus. Whatever. Unfortunately, there was one other guy on the floor who a "little" more unhinged than me. He started out the first semester whacking off in the bathroom stalls, and by the end of the year he was smearing his shit all over the walls in the middle of the night. However, for the first couple of weeks, apparently everyone on the floor thought I was the one doing it until they caught the guy (not exactly red-handed, but he had something in his hand, that's for sure). I didn't even have a clue until the guy was kicked out of the dorms. Not exactly moral indignation, I guess, but still funny. Focus: As to the Poindexter writing these e-mails, it's painful to read. Either he's just socially maladjusted, or he's on his way to being another Cho. This day and age, I would think twice about writing stuff like that, because after the bunch of shootings that have happened in the last couple of years, Universities will bounce you out first and then sort out the details.
Somewhat on topic, or at least in light of the topic post, what about that this professor that went ape shit over tenure and killed three of her colleagues? How the hell do those emails not immediately set off red flags on their own? Maybe it's just my general paranoia because I work in a school-setting, but fucking shit. In the post-911, post-Columbine, post-Virginia Tech era, you have to be careful what you say, and what you do, no matter your race, or setting/medium for the message you send. You just can't say shit like that anymore, and if you do, you better be damn well prepared when we start profiling you and asking questions your attorney wouldn't want you to answer. That's someone that clearly needs some sense knocked into him, or at least the shit scared out of him.
So these e-mails are ridiculous. But on the flip side, smoking around non-smokers is a complete asshole move. If you want to poison yourself, have a day, but don't make me have to also. Suck it up and go outside if you live in a non-smoking dorm. Same goes with weed. Smoking up around non-smokers is bullshit. But really? He was that incensed over the drinking? Unless people were forcefeeding him shots, other people drinking isn't his problem.
I'd admire this punk a lot more if he wasn't sending fuckin' e-mails. I've dealt with angry neighbors and roommates before, and the ones I actually listened to were the ones who didn't just phone the cops right off the bat or leave notes around the house. The ones that came and spoke with me instead. More often than not, even if they were freaking out over the problem, yelling and babbling insanely, I'd still turn the music down and/or kill the party. I figure if they had the balls to come and give me shit, they've earned their dues. Far too many people today just cling to a passive-aggressive mentality, and it's nice to see someone stand up for themselves face to face with the issue. Now, I'm not an unreasonable guy, but I'd flat out refuse to listen to this tool if he did nothing but send e-mails like the world owes him something. Get fuckin' real, would you please? Yeah, he's right. You shouldn't have to deal with this shit, just like you shouldn't have to dodge bullets when some high school kid brings his dad's gun to school, but sometimes those things happen. Just because this prick choose to lock himself in his room all damn day doesn't give him the right to be an ignorant fuck. On another note, don't most universities have special dorms that are quiet 24/7? I know that the Universities of Saskatchewan and Alberta have them. They're called the Morgues, and they're for the students who want to avoid all the partying, and drinking, and drugs, and fun.
I am now closing any and all arguments with "However, right now, I need to study integration theory anyhow. Good night." It's the new "Q.E.D." or "I say good day, sir!" "OK, but how are his math grades?"
Jesus Christ. Not exactly sure how I came upon this and didn't check the date, but I legitimately apologize for the zombie-thread. My bad.
What a fucking disgraceful act. I will not stand for it. Somehow appropriate in action, not just words, though, and in the spirit of the thread, so we'll let it slide. This time. So I guess I will stand for it.