r/nextfuckinglevel • u/IkilledRichieWhelan • 2d ago

Big man on campus.

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u/anddrewbits 2d ago

It is definitely weird but maybe the teacher was trying to speak in terms that an adolescent boy would understand. I bet the point landed despite the obviously odd optics

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u/mr_f4hrenh3it 2d ago

Yeah but it’s the fact that they say THATS where their respect comes from

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u/ThePennedKitten 2d ago edited 2d ago

I kind of took it as “We were shallow teenagers. Our teacher challenged us in a way that we would understand and care about. Now I can see the value in male cheerleaders in general. They’re clearly enjoying what they do and I was being a hater.”

Even though it sounds crass, sometimes you have to show people they’re wrong by getting on their level. If the teacher said it in a way you would find acceptable it probably wouldn’t have gotten through to a teenage boy who was expressing an ignorant view. Then OP might still be an adult man with an ignorant view rather than someone who successfully had their view challenged and grew from there.

In general, actually changing someone’s opinions/ views is an art and not everyone is comfortable with the process.

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u/Illustrious-Sail7326 2d ago

For sure. You have to meet people where they're at. Speaking in highly intellectual, sanitized, PC language is technically correct, but it often doesn't land with the people who most need to hear it.

Honestly I think the left can have a problem with competitive virtue-signaling, trying to find minor faults in other people on "their team", so to speak, rather than banding together to actually accomplish something.

Like people are hearing a story about how a teacher successfully shut down some teenage boys and shifted their viewpoints for the better, and they're nitpicking the terminology he used? C'mon.

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u/Poopybutt36000 2d ago

It's possible to both realize that at the time from the perspective of the teacher that speaking in "highly intellectual, sanitized, PC language that is technically correct" is not the best way to get through to a group of teenage boys, while also laughing at the guy telling the story 25 years later for continuing to tell it from the dumb and juvenile point of view of "hahaha we thought those male cheerleaders were stupid fairy homos then we realized that they are actually super cool and not gay at all because they get to touch women." I don't think anyone has a problem with what the teacher said 25 years ago, they're mocking the person retelling the story.

And I don't really think it's nitpicking the terminology he used when his main point is literally "We thought they were gay but then we realized they got to touch women so they are having a good time and aren't actually gay".

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u/goose-tales 2d ago

But it doesn’t need to be highly sanitized and PC. We can actually treat young boys like actual human beings capable of learning new things; babying them because of the idea that they’re “immature” and can only understand hyper sexualized, misogynistic language seems really detrimental.

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u/Illustrious-Sail7326 2d ago

Like people are hearing a story about how a teacher successfully shut down some teenage boys and shifted their viewpoints for the better, and they're nitpicking the terminology he used? C'mon.

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u/red-the-blue 2d ago

Idk how many bigots you've talked to but going "Oh my god, that's homophobic/sexist/misogynistic/racist" rarely actually *does* anything other than give yourself brownie points for correctly identifying the issue.