He doesn’t necessarily have to be in on it. He can just be the kind of guy who views “leadership” as a sort of aura you have where you make issues about yourself personally and therefore by doing so you are demonstrating “leadership qualities.” Every CEO on the planet acts like this.
yeah the kind of assertions they offer are NOT good
and they speak in this kind of fashion precisely BECAUSE they are not good
they’re MANTRIC @-@
a good argument is something you really have to hear only ONCE — if you can deconstruct it, make sense of the moving parts, internalize it, tell it to a friend and they also understand it, that’s how you know it’s solid and can stand on it’s own, that’s how you know you’ve understood it
a bad argument by contrast cannot convince you on it’s own merits, so it will rely on affect. Commonly delivered are typical thought terminating clichés and of course the long-winded sermon which FEELS like it makes sense when you’re listening to it and exposed to the speaker’s charismatic “””aura”””, but later on will draw a blank when you try to recall what they were actually ABOUT.
“leadership is… aaaaah here just listen to these TED talks on facebook and it will all make sense”
point being, as convincing as this mode of argument is, it just doesn’t STICK with you the same way a coherent line of reasoning does — it NEEDS to be droned out and repeated over and over by these suits, the “””AAAURRAAA”””” (god replenished, because the words being spoken have just about ZERO power to convince you outside their delivery and tailor-made, charismatic packaging
there NEEDS to be a steady stream of confident voices all saying in succession, “we got this all figured out, and everyone else is naïve and stupid”, or else the followers are gonna notice the flaws
I feel like it’s more leaning towards this. Their stunt definitely isn’t what a good leader would do, but it did “inspire” others (fellow students in this strip, though that might be more due to his influence), it drew attention to themselves, and painted themselves as important. What they did is directly extremely harmful, but in terms of political science and leadership, well…that’s kind of the norm, isn’t it?
I tend to agree with the patreonistas that the upper strip is important. It makes the difference between O’ryan doing a bit and having some kind of coherent argument. It isn’t necessarily a good argument, but it’s also kind of hard to completely dismiss. What moves and inspires people isn’t necessarily directly related to what they’re motivated to do. It’s like the difference between politics and policy.
I think more than anything, the point of the strip in context is Dorothy coming to terms with the fact that being a Leader™ is not necessarily a shortcut to doing a lot of good.
anonymsly
I think you’re right. Leadership, as a skill, does not have moral value intrinsic to itself, and I think Dorothy hasn’t yet fully internalized that this is so. Dorothy seems to have kind of assumed that if she Leads properly, good will necessarily follow, and it won’t.
Patreon was right. Also, these work great together as a single piece, not just better than just the second would’ve by itself, though that’s also true. It’s got way more depth this way and good job Patreonistas.
I mean, it wasn’t really a stunt, they weren’t there for the protest, they were there to find Jocelyne, who was there for the protest, then they made a series of dumb, impulsive decisions that simply happened to take place at the protest but otherwise had nothing to do with it but were rather deeply personal matters that happened to be taking place in public, and that public setting happened to be the protest, and someone happened to take a picture of this deeply personal culmination of dumb, impulsive decisions and post it on the front page of the student newspaper.
None of that is a stunt, except maybe the decision to put the picture on the front page of the newspaper, depending on the motives of everyone involved in that decision. Knowing the editor lady, unless there were motives other than hers, that probably wasn’t a stunt either, she just likes the idea of two girls kissing and wishes one of them was her.
Leadership is others getting you. And not getting you as in “understanding you”, but getting you as in “that’s what they get whether they like it or not”.
Is it really Dorothy and Joyce’s fault? It’s not like they wanted the attention. I’d argue it’s more the fault of people signal-boosting it, like Daisy and this professor here. They were doing their jobs, acting deliberately, and really should know better.
He proceeds to spend the next 45 minutes listing other things that are not leadership, alphabetically. Makes it as far as “Abalone” then dismisses them until next time, reminding them that this WILL be on the final.
I’m not sure this class is a good thing for anyone. Also, I’m glad we’re getting a double strip today. It’s a nice bonus for the first day of December.
Is “Leadership” a valid subject for a course? And if it is, how the fuck do you qualify that?
Slartibeast Button, BIA
If you aren’t assertive enough to get out of the class, obviously you need it.
Sentient Sandvich
First day of class, the professor demands each student to get out of his class as they enter, anyone who does immediately fails.
Deanatay
But aren’t those the ones who need the class the most? Seems counterproductive.
Sentient Sandvich
good question! good questions aren’t leadership.
Psychie
Leadership isn’t the subject for the course, it’s the subject for this section of the course, as for what this section of the course is, I don’t think we’ve been informed.
Pig
I had to take a leadership seminar at uni for scholarship reasons. Fortunately we weren’t graded on whether we were “good” leaders. We talked about the purpose and function of leaders and did exercises on skills related to leadership. Communication, organization, negotiation.
Minivet
My grad school had a “Leadership and [School Focus]” class in its core.
What I love is that Dorothy is bein forced to see what being a politician is gonna be like for he. She’s seeing what talking heads, the median voter, and pundits are gonna say about her every action.
Whatever gets publicized is gonna be scrutinized and analyzed, and made to fit a narrative or agenda. And worst of all, she’s seeing in real time what these kind of people like the professor will do when you challenge the narrative, and is being ignored for the better of the narrative.
Unfortunately we live in a society where the behaviors that are rewarded and the behaviors that would benefit society as a whole are pretty much two separated circles. If you’re explaining, you’re losing – etcetera.
Idk, I took a mandatory leadership class at a uni so far up corpo business rear that it shut down and sold its land for drilling rights and it was nothing like this dude lol. Neither did the profs at any of my other unis, and they literally were teaching us to commit actual white collar crimes and not to whistleblow (when I was a business major) lol. Even they would answer simple questions lol.
Throwatron
They answered the simple questions, and look what happened? Now they’re out of their jobs, but that would never happen to Professor O’Ryan.
eskimolos
Yeah, I’ve been deep into corporate white collar american nonsense – it’s not like this guy at all. Like for real I nearly failed a professional skills course because I was joking and gesticulating during my presentation – who knew? You’re supposed to be dry and monotone! It conveys a sense of authority!
I get what was trying to be accomplished here with this set of strips – I don’t agree that this would hit anywhere the way it’s being described though. I can’t imagine someone obsessed with leadership calling this leadership, I can imagine the left eating itself, either over intersectionality (“the kiss took away from the protest”/”it’s okay to support both the protest and the kiss because it’s gay and we’re still fighting for acceptance of that”/”the protest was gauche culturally West-aligned babies pretending to be political, the kiss was the only authentic part of it”), or the conversation devolving into whether it’s okay to dislike Islam actually because gay people are haram, etc.
Yes, this is mainly what I look at on Reddit, and yes that’s why I avoid social media in general.
noisy
Dorothy’s not asking a simple question, she’s shutting down his lesson plan.
This explains so many of the problems the US are facing. It could be solved through education, but that would take more time than the US has left, probably.
Leadership means you do anything it takes to be in charge, and then you’re in charge, so whatever you do from that point is, necessarily, leadership! /s
Leaders can fall into one of several groups:
– Statesmen (and stateswomen): the ideal that story books talk about. They work for the common interest of their nation and their people. In reality, they do not exist; or rather, they are not permitted to reach power at a national level.
– Politicians. One rung below. Although they still keep the interests of their nation in mind, they also follow personal and partisan interests.
– Politickers. Yet one rung lower. Those are purely partisan creatures, interested in power only for their own ends and not for the common good of the country.
– Communicants. The very lowest rung. They’re like politickers, except they’re not even good at politicking; they’re only good at making the masses believe they are.
This teacher is teaching the class how to be a communicant.
Fascinating to see Dorothy in a polo-sci class at this stage of her deconstruction. It’s fun to see the class drawing so many conclusions entirely out of Dorothy’s control. A microcosm of how actually being in the public eye would feel.
Also fascinating to see a double-update. Live-updating webcomics are weird like that!
318 thoughts on “Distraction”
NGPZ
of frickin course he doesn’t understand (or care) why that stunt of theirs really wasn’t okay
is an expected but nonetheless unfortunate response (-_-)
*sighs heavily*
Charles Phipps
He works for the university. If the university can kill the story about Bulmeria, they will.
Puddinghead is in on it.
Pocky
ding ding ding
much easier to use the kiss as a way to distract from them being the ones letting the tear gas fly.
DashWallkick
He doesn’t necessarily have to be in on it. He can just be the kind of guy who views “leadership” as a sort of aura you have where you make issues about yourself personally and therefore by doing so you are demonstrating “leadership qualities.” Every CEO on the planet acts like this.
NGPZ
yeah the kind of assertions they offer are NOT good
and they speak in this kind of fashion precisely BECAUSE they are not good
they’re MANTRIC @-@
a good argument is something you really have to hear only ONCE — if you can deconstruct it, make sense of the moving parts, internalize it, tell it to a friend and they also understand it, that’s how you know it’s solid and can stand on it’s own, that’s how you know you’ve understood it
a bad argument by contrast cannot convince you on it’s own merits, so it will rely on affect. Commonly delivered are typical thought terminating clichés and of course the long-winded sermon which FEELS like it makes sense when you’re listening to it and exposed to the speaker’s charismatic “””aura”””, but later on will draw a blank when you try to recall what they were actually ABOUT.
“leadership is… aaaaah here just listen to these TED talks on facebook and it will all make sense”
point being, as convincing as this mode of argument is, it just doesn’t STICK with you the same way a coherent line of reasoning does — it NEEDS to be droned out and repeated over and over by these suits, the “””AAAURRAAA”””” (god replenished, because the words being spoken have just about ZERO power to convince you outside their delivery and tailor-made, charismatic packaging
there NEEDS to be a steady stream of confident voices all saying in succession, “we got this all figured out, and everyone else is naïve and stupid”, or else the followers are gonna notice the flaws
they are NOT well-hidden
NGPZ
re: “AAAURRAAAA”
god i fucking hate that word in this context, aaaaaaaa
Tequila Mockingbird
That was honestly my read of it, too.
Polar
I feel like it’s more leaning towards this. Their stunt definitely isn’t what a good leader would do, but it did “inspire” others (fellow students in this strip, though that might be more due to his influence), it drew attention to themselves, and painted themselves as important. What they did is directly extremely harmful, but in terms of political science and leadership, well…that’s kind of the norm, isn’t it?
CrimsonStorm
What does Chloe have to do with it?
/j
RassilonTDavros
Agh, apologies for accidental report!
Vulcanodon
Oh my, no, faculty aren’t usually that aligned with the university. This guy is just a jerk.
Minivet
Yes, professors and lecturers obediently follow the party line set down by university administration. You’ve described the internal politics to a T.
Clif
Good one.
Heavensrun
I mean, Les and Robin work for the university and were both *at the protest*.
Clif
I tend to agree with the patreonistas that the upper strip is important. It makes the difference between O’ryan doing a bit and having some kind of coherent argument. It isn’t necessarily a good argument, but it’s also kind of hard to completely dismiss. What moves and inspires people isn’t necessarily directly related to what they’re motivated to do. It’s like the difference between politics and policy.
NGPZ
I think more than anything, the point of the strip in context is Dorothy coming to terms with the fact that being a Leader™ is not necessarily a shortcut to doing a lot of good.
anonymsly
I think you’re right. Leadership, as a skill, does not have moral value intrinsic to itself, and I think Dorothy hasn’t yet fully internalized that this is so. Dorothy seems to have kind of assumed that if she Leads properly, good will necessarily follow, and it won’t.
Dara
Patreon was right. Also, these work great together as a single piece, not just better than just the second would’ve by itself, though that’s also true. It’s got way more depth this way and good job Patreonistas.
eh, whatever
seconded
Psychie
I mean, it wasn’t really a stunt, they weren’t there for the protest, they were there to find Jocelyne, who was there for the protest, then they made a series of dumb, impulsive decisions that simply happened to take place at the protest but otherwise had nothing to do with it but were rather deeply personal matters that happened to be taking place in public, and that public setting happened to be the protest, and someone happened to take a picture of this deeply personal culmination of dumb, impulsive decisions and post it on the front page of the student newspaper.
None of that is a stunt, except maybe the decision to put the picture on the front page of the newspaper, depending on the motives of everyone involved in that decision. Knowing the editor lady, unless there were motives other than hers, that probably wasn’t a stunt either, she just likes the idea of two girls kissing and wishes one of them was her.
geno
Nah Dorothy going back, and Joyce chasing her was definitely a stunt.
Inahc
I suspect people are using different definitions of “stunt” here.
Jon
You know that, and I know that, but this “Leadership” prof hasn’t got a clue what was going through their heads at the time.
anonymsly
Dorothy running back in specifically to hold a sign very publicly on a rises of ground was absolutely a stunt.
Needfuldoer
He really, really does not get it.
someone
Getting it is not leadership.
Leadership is others getting you. And not getting you as in “understanding you”, but getting you as in “that’s what they get whether they like it or not”.
Facelessdeviant
Getting it isn’t leadership.
Miafillene
This teacher is a turd. Withdraw from class, get full refund.
Hexx
He’s teaching “Leadership” Or how to be a strongman. Bad Teacher. Good lesson if you spot it, but that’s not what he want’s out of you.
noisy
Is it really Dorothy and Joyce’s fault? It’s not like they wanted the attention. I’d argue it’s more the fault of people signal-boosting it, like Daisy and this professor here. They were doing their jobs, acting deliberately, and really should know better.
Doctor_Who
He proceeds to spend the next 45 minutes listing other things that are not leadership, alphabetically. Makes it as far as “Abalone” then dismisses them until next time, reminding them that this WILL be on the final.
shadowcell
sort of equivalent to laughing at something just before mike runs up and kicks it
darkoneko
ah.
darkoneko
…so in the end, she’s the only one he knows by name
Ray Radlein
That’s LEADERSHIP!
eh, whatever
It is.
Embe13
have an A!
AbacusWizard
oooooooh good noticing
ZombieKyrik
I’m not sure this class is a good thing for anyone. Also, I’m glad we’re getting a double strip today. It’s a nice bonus for the first day of December.
Doctor_Who
Not sure what class this is exactly, but if it’s poli-sci then I think I might actually prefer Robin’s lessons.
ZombieKyrik
Is “Leadership” a valid subject for a course? And if it is, how the fuck do you qualify that?
Slartibeast Button, BIA
If you aren’t assertive enough to get out of the class, obviously you need it.
Sentient Sandvich
First day of class, the professor demands each student to get out of his class as they enter, anyone who does immediately fails.
Deanatay
But aren’t those the ones who need the class the most? Seems counterproductive.
Sentient Sandvich
good question! good questions aren’t leadership.
Psychie
Leadership isn’t the subject for the course, it’s the subject for this section of the course, as for what this section of the course is, I don’t think we’ve been informed.
Pig
I had to take a leadership seminar at uni for scholarship reasons. Fortunately we weren’t graded on whether we were “good” leaders. We talked about the purpose and function of leaders and did exercises on skills related to leadership. Communication, organization, negotiation.
Minivet
My grad school had a “Leadership and [School Focus]” class in its core.
Thag Simmons
I’m pretty sure he’s a Law professor?
Dot
I like this strip. Glad these criticisms are being acknowledged and internalized. I’ll always give credit where it is due.
apocryphascribe
It’s a great strip and I can’t wait to see more.
Pocky
What I love is that Dorothy is bein forced to see what being a politician is gonna be like for he. She’s seeing what talking heads, the median voter, and pundits are gonna say about her every action.
Whatever gets publicized is gonna be scrutinized and analyzed, and made to fit a narrative or agenda. And worst of all, she’s seeing in real time what these kind of people like the professor will do when you challenge the narrative, and is being ignored for the better of the narrative.
DashWallkick
Yep. Actual morality isn’t the point, the job is about repurposing headlines and stories into whatever helps your career.
Holly
In that sense, she’s learning a lot in this lesson! Good job, Professor O’Ryan?
Adept
I like it as well. The story finally got to the interesting part for me.
Joyce and Dorothy swooning over each other was cloying (again, to me), but this is actually interesting, and much more complex.
katerly
What is this class? how to be insufferable??
TheMormegil
Unfortunately we live in a society where the behaviors that are rewarded and the behaviors that would benefit society as a whole are pretty much two separated circles. If you’re explaining, you’re losing – etcetera.
Bittersweet
Idk, I took a mandatory leadership class at a uni so far up corpo business rear that it shut down and sold its land for drilling rights and it was nothing like this dude lol. Neither did the profs at any of my other unis, and they literally were teaching us to commit actual white collar crimes and not to whistleblow (when I was a business major) lol. Even they would answer simple questions lol.
Throwatron
They answered the simple questions, and look what happened? Now they’re out of their jobs, but that would never happen to Professor O’Ryan.
eskimolos
Yeah, I’ve been deep into corporate white collar american nonsense – it’s not like this guy at all. Like for real I nearly failed a professional skills course because I was joking and gesticulating during my presentation – who knew? You’re supposed to be dry and monotone! It conveys a sense of authority!
I get what was trying to be accomplished here with this set of strips – I don’t agree that this would hit anywhere the way it’s being described though. I can’t imagine someone obsessed with leadership calling this leadership, I can imagine the left eating itself, either over intersectionality (“the kiss took away from the protest”/”it’s okay to support both the protest and the kiss because it’s gay and we’re still fighting for acceptance of that”/”the protest was gauche culturally West-aligned babies pretending to be political, the kiss was the only authentic part of it”), or the conversation devolving into whether it’s okay to dislike Islam actually because gay people are haram, etc.
Yes, this is mainly what I look at on Reddit, and yes that’s why I avoid social media in general.
noisy
Dorothy’s not asking a simple question, she’s shutting down his lesson plan.
Yun Yi Zhang
This explains so many of the problems the US are facing. It could be solved through education, but that would take more time than the US has left, probably.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
Isn’t running roughshod over people with BS the essence of practical politics?
StClair
Good question – but not leadership.
Throwatron
Leadership means you do anything it takes to be in charge, and then you’re in charge, so whatever you do from that point is, necessarily, leadership! /s
Steamweed
An Intro To Poli-“Sci” course. How to get and keep power. Not at all about ethics, morality, or progress.
Veronica
I’m pretty sure this is “Making A Strawman So Your Protagnost Can Have A Moment of Self Reflection” 101
Or maybe 102 seeing as it’s second semester now
someone
Yes, basically it is how to be insufferable.
Leaders can fall into one of several groups:
– Statesmen (and stateswomen): the ideal that story books talk about. They work for the common interest of their nation and their people. In reality, they do not exist; or rather, they are not permitted to reach power at a national level.
– Politicians. One rung below. Although they still keep the interests of their nation in mind, they also follow personal and partisan interests.
– Politickers. Yet one rung lower. Those are purely partisan creatures, interested in power only for their own ends and not for the common good of the country.
– Communicants. The very lowest rung. They’re like politickers, except they’re not even good at politicking; they’re only good at making the masses believe they are.
This teacher is teaching the class how to be a communicant.
Jon
To quote Opus’ reflection from one Bloom County strip: “A statesman… is a dead politician. Lord knows we need more statesmen.”
Jon
Fascinating to see Dorothy in a polo-sci class at this stage of her deconstruction. It’s fun to see the class drawing so many conclusions entirely out of Dorothy’s control. A microcosm of how actually being in the public eye would feel.
Also fascinating to see a double-update. Live-updating webcomics are weird like that!
Slartibeast Button, BIA
The Polo-sci class is out at the horse track…
RassilonTDavros