Last Week's Most Active Threads

Today I'll look at the most active threads over the past week, but skip over any that I've already discussed. That leaves the most active thread being a thread in the "Schools and Education General Discussion" forum titled, "Why does no one acknowledge how overworked teachers are?" The original poster links to a video in which a teacher begins a monologue by responding to someone asking her about her day. She says that her day is not yet over because she has a stack of material to take home, that she couldn't deal with the papers during her planning period because a parent made an unannounced visit, and that she hadn't been able to eat lunch. She says that her job forces her to pit her students against her own children because she has to choose to either fall behind at work or take work home and neglect her kids. That's the most information you will find about the video unless you watch it yourself because I didn't see any indication that anyone that responded in the thread had bothered to watch the video. Instead, posters simply launched into screeds representing their previously-held views about teachers. Generally posters in the DCUM education forums hold very dim views of teachers and such opinions are well-represented in this thread. Teachers are portrayed as complainers who don't understand how good they have it. Posters claim that only unmotivated college students choose to become teachers. Some respond that teaching is an easy job and, hence, doesn't deserve better pay. There is a fixation on teachers having the summer off which apparently justifies any and all difficulties teachers face. In the midst of this negativity, a few teachers try to explain the hurdles they face. By almost all accounts, things have become significantly more challenging since the pandemic. Hence, teachers are stressed more than usual. Some of the teachers who respond have a somewhat less negative view of things and describe how they are able to manage their job successfully and don't feel overworked. In the end, this thread is simply another demonstration of what I think will coin as "The DCUM Paradox": teachers are lazy, incompetent, overpaid whiners with too much vacation and it is absolutely essential that they spend several hours a day teaching our children. To be clear, that is not my view, but it does appear to be the prevailing opinion among our posters.

Second was a thread titled, "Domestic terrorists attack the electrical grid to stop a drag show" and posted in the "Political Discussion" forum. The original poster links to a press account of widespread power outages affecting Moore County, NC that was caused by someone shooting up two electrical power substations. Power would ultimately be out for several days. There have been a lot of complaints about the title of this thread — indeed much of the thread itself is devoted to such complaints — so let me explain my position and why I haven't changed it. First, the title reflects the article to which the original poster links and was the predominate storyline when this event was first publicized. There was a drag show in process when the power went out. A prominent local drag show opponent who was visited by the police in the immediate aftermath of the sabotage authored social media posts saying that she knew why the power was out and cited the drag show as being the reason for God's mysterious work. So, while it is true as some posters have stated that links to the drag show or right-wing fanatics have not been proven, they have also not been disproven and there is certainly a basis for believing it. Basically, while I don't know if the title is correct, I also don't know if it is wrong and, hence, have chosen to do nothing. Most of this thread is devoted to arguing about who is responsible for the damage, a discussion made more difficult due to the authorities' inability to identify suspects. While many, like the original poster, suspect it is the work of conservatives opposed to the drag show, others suggest potential culprits such as eco-terrorists. Several posters argue that there is a wave of anti-trans antagonism including the recent mass shooting in Colorado and a Tucker Carlson segment in which a guest appeared to describe trans people as not being human and, therefore, this attack should not be viewed in isolation. A number of posters pointed out that vandalism to electrical substations is not new and similar attacks have actually taken place repeatedly going back at least a decade. One poster referenced a Department of Homeland Security report saying that just before the North Carolina sabotage there had been a heightened threat from domestic violent extremists to critical infrastructure "including assaulting power grids with guns". All in all, this was a very concerning event and, hopefully, not a harbinger for what is to come.

Third was a thread in the "Relationship Discussion (non-explicit)" forum titled, "A middle aged man's (actual) list of desired qualities". The original poster says that she is piggybacking off of another thread and wants to hear from middle-aged men. I read this at first as referring to the qualities that a middle-aged man should have but soon realized that the original poster was interested in what qualities middle-aged men prefer in, presumably, women. The lists of qualities that are provided may not be as superficial as one might expect, but they certainly come close. As any thread of this nature could be expected to do, this one fairly quickly went off course. By the second page many of the posts had turned to discussing what qualities women want in men and posts that were generally critical of men. The bulk of the discussion became simple debates about men and women's various desires in potential parters and the validity of those preferences. Everyone seems angry about everyone else's dating choices. Posters list the characteristics for which they are looking, only to be castigated due to their preferences. There is an absurd quality about it. If the original poster had asked what men like to order from restaurants, I think the equivalent discussion would have involved men who can only afford hamburgers saying they desire caviar and lobster while women tell them they would be better off with a side salad and a cucumber. Speaking of cucumbers, as I write this, the posts on the last page are focused on penis size. I am sure there is a logical explanation as to how a thread that begins with discussion of qualities desired by middle-aged men ends up talking about penis size, but I'm not sure I want to know it.

The last thread at which I'll look was titled, "The death of Allie Hart and the need for safer streets" and posted in the "Metropolitan DC Local Politics" forum. The original poster links to an article describing efforts by Jessica Hart, the mother of 5-year-old Allison Hart who was killed by a van while riding her bike in a crosswalk, to seek safer streets. Strictly speaking, because we prohibit starting threads with a post that contains nothing but a link, this thread violates our guidelines. But, before I learned of the thread, the original poster followed up with two embedded tweets that further explained the point of the thread. Most of those initially responding expressed sympathy for the family and concern about safe streets. But, by the second page posters had turned to debating the details of Allie's death, with some arguing that the driver of the van was not at fault. Exactly what occurred is still not clear, but it doesn't actually matter to the larger point. If current street design and driving practices result in children being killed, there is likely room for improvement. Jessica Hart's campaign is not to place blame, but to makes changes to prevent future tragedies. Videos included in the embedded tweets show cars driving erratically and dangerously in the exact intersection in which Allie was killed. Clearly, this is not a satisfactory status quo. Many of those responding are parents who say fear of their children being hit by cars is among their biggest concerns. Several describe dangers they've encountered from drivers as pedestrians in the city. Other posters focus on the lack of accountability for drivers who commit fatalities. Several recent high profile examples of people being killed by drivers in which there have been no legal consequences are described. Similarly, the failure to make safety changes in response to fatalities is decried. There are a few defenders of cars and their drivers and those who don't believe children should be anywhere near streets, but they are not very popular in this thread.