I said I wasn't going to donate to ANYTHING this month. But FAFO. Please, if you can, help her out!

Being a teacher is hard, no matter the gender.

However...

Male teachers face a definite bias because of the image of teaching as a man. 'Why would he want to be around kids all day?' 'All he does is sit and talk and hand out tests!' and etc. I was one of the last male English teachers at my last school before I retired. I was successful and I loved my job - but if I had a behavior or attendance problem, it was perceived to be different from how it would have been perceived in a female teacher's classroom.

The problem isn't going to be solved until teachers are respected as professionals and their impact on their students' futures is valued. And I am not saying that teachers don't have a lot of work to do to make that happen! But unless and until that's done, a lot of men who would be great teachers and who want to be teachers are going to go elsewhere.

If the entire population of the United States became zombies, Rand Paul would still be shambling around, groaning about how tax hikes are the worst thing that could ever happen.

I taught the play in high school for about 20 years. The only 'dependable' film version I used was the 1953 production. It was in black and white, it was kind of clunky in spots, but I could use it. Fun story: I was enacting the fertility ritual from the second scene in class. I was demonstrating how infertile women would stand and wait to be whipped with the bloody goat and dog skins. I had girls lined up and I was acting it out... when the principal walked in. She was amazed. I thought I was going to be in trouble, but later, she said she had never realized what was happening in the play at that point. It led to a good discussion. She trusted me (she had before), but this only reinforced that trust.

Other things... I would talk about how good club DJs understand how to keep a crowd on a dance floor, managing the energy of the dancers by moderating/modulating the pace of the music through the night, giving people time to flirt and drink and freshen up before bringing them back in with a 'banger'. The point of a DJs work is to bring the crowd to an emotional state and use that control to get what everybody wants: the owner wants to sell drinks, the dancers want to look good and leave tired but happy and the DJ wants to be remembered. That's what Antony does with his eulogy. He creates tension, he gives the crowd time to think and feel and he rouses them to violence.

And there's more, but it's raining and I need coffee. If you want more, just let me know.

'Schroedinger's Douchebag' - they say the fucked-up thing and wait to see if you agree or scowl.

Kudos! Who makes the patch?

100%. I keep a separate Dopp kit with all the things I'll need for almost any trip. I keep attached to that an electronics bag with extra cables, wall charger, powerbank, earbuds, etc...

AND a fix-it bag attached to THAT (yep, I'm pretty nerdy) with mini sewing kit, duct tape, a few pens, post-its...

I'm looking for a blade-free light multitool.

This is the first time I have ever responded to a Found Paper post. I was originally freaked out, but then, when I saw 'probably a teacher', wow, what a relief.

I am not taking my benefits yet, but a lot of older people (meaning, my age) around me are. And a few of them voted for this. I am not going to take pleasure in their pain when they realize how fucked they are - but he JUST MAKES SHIT UP. Windmills killing birds, covid-19 is the flu, drawing a hurricane in with a Sharpie. I wouldn't trust someone like that with a pizza, much less my f-ing country.

Thank God for strangers who get it instantly. So sorry she had that happen.

There are 50 countries where the majority of the population identifies as Muslim. There is one country where Jews can be confident that they will not be persecuted for being Jews. After millenia of being hunted, culminating in a concerted effort to wipe them out, they were given a piece of land that multiple groups inhabited. Upon declaring its sovereignty, Israel was attacked THE NEXT DAY by FIVE COUNTRIES. For the last 77 years, it's been the same.

Do I agree with the policies of the government of Israel right now? No.

Do I sympathize with the people of Gaza? Yes, absolutely. If Hamas hadn't controlled the area and the people, Gaza could have taken the trillions of dollars it's received in aid and it could be a veritable paradise, with industry and education and jobs. I grieve for every innocent life lost. I hope the people can triumph over the literally fascistic group that executes its own people for even advocating for peace.

Now that I've said this, some of you will say 'gee, I never thought of it that way.'

Some of you will say 'well, I disagree, but it's a free country so far, I guess we disagree.'

It's the rest of you. The ones who are so dedicated to antisemitism and your preconceived opinions that you can't conceive of someone disagreeing with you. You've chanted 'from the river to the sea', and maybe you didn't notice the fact that you were supporting the murder of 9 million people.

So I'm expecting a lot of heat in my inbox. That's okay. I've lived in places where I was hated. This will be the electronic equivalent.

But I would ask you, before you send me the 'we heard you were thinking of ki11ing yourself' bot message, think about what that says about you. You're saying that because we disagree, I should die - but you're not willing to say it to me. You're sending a lame message to do it. It's the epitome of cowardice.

Don't sink to that level. Hold on to your human decency before you become the monster you hate.

Also, I disabled the bot.

It can be scary organizing or even discussing getting guys together, it seems/sounds like weakness. I'm trying to get guys together for ninja pothole-repair at night in my town and it's going to be a struggle.

Loneliness is a killer.

Excellent use of the word 'ostentatious'! Retired English teacher gives you an 'A'!

I taught ESL in Indonesia for 8 years. Things I did with teenagers:

-roleplays; put them in a situation where a response is needed. Flirting, responding to a compliment or complaint, asking for directions, etc. It helps if you have a 2nd native speaker to be the flirt/complainant while you either offer hints or show/give possible responses.

-Blank comics: I used Comic Creator, but that was 28 years ago (!) so I can only imagine how much better the choices are now. Kids see the situation, try to predict where it is going and fill in the dialog.

• cooking: they didn't know how to make a grilled cheese sandwich! We made some together (electric grill and it was my school, YMMV) and then they made one for me later.

I live in a free carry state. A lot of people carry as a matter of course, every day. I like to think that if this happened in my town, someone would have demanded at least a response, talked to the woman and found out who to call for her, etc.

Her political views, her legal protesting activities don't matter. This is wrong, and the fact that no one did anything bothers the fuck out of me.

That happens, it happened to me. I was looking for good people to shoot with and the Liberal Gun Club just doesn't do much. I basically joined SRA, came to an SRA meeting, said 'I have ammo, guns, safety training and an accessible place to shoot - who's in?' They vetted me after getting over the fact that I kinda look like a cop.

We went to an indoor range to see who would follow the safety procedures we set up; a few people didn't make the cut because they were too squirrelly or careless. Those that did pass got invited to the outdoor days.

We carpooled to a place near the spot, made sure only members got directions to the actual spot and kept a fairly low profile. Note that there ARE people who hate the idea/name/etc of the SRA, they will try to get invited to tag along and they could wreck a nice day or worse.

Over about 4 years, I helped a few dozen people learn to be more comfortable, confident and proficient with firearms. It cost me some money (a lot of people were too broke to bring any ammo) and that's fine, it was a good deed, a 'mitzvah'.

That's why you're a McMillan man.

Wow. I agree with a lot of these points. I've thought about these suggestions.

Remember what Krav was designed to do: get a bully off of you. Imi was figuring out what to do about brownshirts jumping him and his Jewish neighbors in the mid 1930s. He didn't want to get into a boxing match or grapple on the ground while the Nazi was yelling for friends to come and help him. Get him off you and either run away or break him so he won't chase you - that's Krav Maga in a nutshell.

It takes a long time to get good at boxing. Just reacting to the impacts, learning to keep fighting after getting your nose broken or losing some teeth, that takes time. New recruits in the IDF didn't have years to learn all that, especially in the early days. The Krav Maga curriculum we have learned is a distillation of that mindset. Sudden attacks, in the dark. No Marquis of Queenbury rules, put him down. If you have room to get away, get away, live to fight another day.

We worked on punching and reacting to strikes, but it was like 'stop this guy's punches and get close so I can use Krav'. Could a Krav instructor put down a trained boxer? You don't want it to get to that point, realistically.

I definitely see knowing how and where to punch is vital and I incorporate that when I do things with people. But that isn't what the central organizations teach, so it's not included in the curriculum at most schools (does BJJ teach punching?).

I predict that we're going to hear a lot about autism and Aspergers in the coming days and how they relate to his situation.

The Congressional Medal of Honor is... I don't even need to say it. Just reading the narratives attached to each record makes me feel shocked at the bravery and proud of our military. And nobody can lobby for it or 'buy' it. It's one of the things I cannot smirk at or be sarcastic about. And these POSs want to decide whose sacrifice and pain and death is 'worthy' of being recorded. Hegseth SHOULD be raising hell about this and the fact that he isn't will cause a huge rift in our military.

What kind of people do this? How can they even defend this?

I'm a big tall white guy and I have sympathy for anyone who feels like they're being judged as they walk into a store or a gun show. The urge to smack the guy selling Nazi flags or Klan tchatchkes... I need to go outside and breathe sometimes. Sometimes I get that their chatting is an attempt to feel me out and see if I want to take the conversation further.

Mao (not my favorite thinker) wrote 'the guerilla is a fish that swims in the populace'. You go in, you do your business and you get out. They don't know you, they don't need to know you. They're annoying as fuck.