"backstage at a live event" is perhaps my favourite human collective emotion ive ever experienced. From running through the creepy empty school hallways before a theatre show, to the staff only breakroom at a convention or event where youre running a stall, to the bridal suite getting ready before your bestie walks down the isle.

Theres a little wall between the guys who are 'in on it' with you, whatever it is, and your audience or customers or guests or just all those people who are *not* in on it. Youve got a wallkie talkie, or a backstage pass, or an exhibitor badge, and youve never felt more alive

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I think some people in the tags be inventing new types of being backstage

it's really funny teaching rhetoric to college freshmen because i explained ad hominem to them via example by arguing with a student over something silly (i kept insisting 25 minutes was a quarter of an hour, not 15) and then "insulted" her instead of addressing her argument (i said she doesn't have a college degree whereas i have two, so of course she'd be wrong - which the whole point is that it's a stupid insult but not something that's actually mean) but she got soooooo mad so even when i stopped the exercise and explained that she was indeed correct (15 minutes is a quarter of an hour). like she was still fuming. so i validated her feelings on that, complimented her, and even reminded the class that a college degree doesn't mean that a person is smart/right. and then i went on to explain that, yeah, dirty arguing techniques like that are meant to make you so unreasonably angry that you can't respond or that you lose your cool, so your opponent looks like they win by default. the student i was arguing with then just said that it seemed like professional ragebaiting and i was like. well yeah that's correct.

and then this kid, this one kid who is always very eager to answer questions and is always kind to his classmates, raised his hand looking a little bothered. now for context, i emphasize thinking for yourself in my classroom, even if that means disagreeing with something i say and he has echoed some stuff that his parents clearly have told him before. he's not a bad kid or an asshole, he's just an 18 year old with conservative parents who otherwise knows nothing about politics. but he just looks so bothered after i explain this about dirty arguing techniques. big frown on his face. looking unsure. when i nod at him to speak, he says, in a very quiet voice, "didn't -- didn't charlie kirk used to do that?"

and i was like. well yes. yes he was famous for stuff like this.

and then the kid looked down and was just like, "oh. i thought he was just really good at debating. i never watched his videos though, only clips. why would he do that?"

and that coincidentally lined up perfectly with the rest of the lesson, which was on propaganda

this? is why conservatives hate liberal arts education

A newspaper ad reading: Arlington. - Times have changed since we saw John, but the dog is not dead; on the contrary his exhausted energies have been recuperated. Beware of the dog. J_____Y.ALT
A newspaper ad reading: Bad Boy -- The little lady would like to see you at 8:30 this evening on the same spot.ALT
A newspaper ad reading: Lady, with the sweet, sad face and jaunty velvet basque -- Again we've met by chance. Forgive my earnest gaze. Love me, trust me. I am yours. Answer. Admiration.ALT
A newspaper ad reading: Possessor. - Have consulted owners; they only agree to one-half your proposition. Z. Q. Z.ALT
A newspaper ad reading: Fannie -- For God's sake come home; all will be forgiven and you shall have a new spring suit. Prairie Rose.ALT
A newspaper ad reading: Minnie H****tt -- Under the circumstances can't you find some one instead of poor Bob? Have you no self-respect? Park Avenue.ALT
A newspaper ad reading: Mrs. J. N. D. -- Yours received; meet me with $100 in pocket, opposite Myrtle avenue park to-morrow at 1; I will have the same amount; let us buy lots adjoining; don't tell your husband; keep mum; Sallie will be with me. Manetta D. B.ALT
A newspaper ad reading: Little Gem -- May our frail canoes float gently on to delightful proximity. Baby.ALT
A newspaper ad reading: 1865 and 1871. - To your farewell add forever. I am going to where I came from. I requested a favor of you; you refused. Think of me no more.ALT
A newspaper ad reading: Disgusted H. A. - In the language of the late lamented ---, Go to thunder.ALT

A selection of strange and cryptic personal ads from The New York Herald, 1850s-1870s. 20/?

Out of pure curiosity, do you know how people felt about these when they were obviously planning to do something frowned upon, e.g. Mrs JND and Manetta DE's apparent affair? Was there ever any push for newspapers not to supply advertising space for this kind of thing?

Oh they were absolutely controversial and a frequent target of morality reformers.

By the late-1880s the column had devolved from the personal messages of the mid-century to consist largely of scams, guerilla advertising, and young ladies seeking the "assistance" of wealthy gentlemen (read: sugar daddies) and vice versa, often under the barely-there guise of seeking a husband.

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A few ads abandoned discretion entirely...

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By 1906 the Herald had become the target of an large-scale investigation by then-district attorney Henry L. Stimson, which was very publicly backed by William Randolph Hearst (whose participation I'm sure had nothing to do with that fact the The Herald was a large competitor).

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The investigation, which included sting operations, concluded that "over two-thirds of the "personals" published have a hidden meaning which is harmful to the moral welfare of the community".

In the end the Herald was fined $31,000 for "improper use of the mails" - a favorite charge of morality crusaders used to prosecute the distribution of everything from erotica to information about contraception - and a much sanitized version of the personal column resulted.

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(For the record, I personally didn't interpret the Mrs. JND/Manetta personal as an affair, but as two women attempting to buy property without their husband's knowledge - possibly in an attempt to escape and unhappy or abusive marriage. Though they could very well have been buying that property because they were madly in love with each other.)