In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 every MAJOR comic in New York City was doing NOTHING but 9/11 jokes and crushing.

Patrice O'Neal did a bit about how he kept buying cheap leather jackets because the Arab vendors were having an "I didn't do it" sale.
A Syrian comic named Hood would go onstage, announce that he would like to open his set by doing something in the name of ALLAH, and he'd open his jacket to reveal a DYNAMITE VEST strapped to his chest.
The joke KILLED, figuratively. And it showed me how comedy has the ability to take the power away from unimaginable torments for a few seconds at a time. It unites people who don't agree on an issue by pointing out universal truths we HAVE accepted on the issue.
Patrice's joke about Arabs feeling persecuted spoke honestly about the mood at the time. Hood's dynamite vest joke, however insane, played on a suspicion that nobody would ever admit to feeling today because they'd be called racist.
Regardless of how you feel about those jokes, they helped THOUSANDS of New Yorkers muscle through the biggest disaster they'd ever witness. (Outside of the De Blasio administration)
Today, those jokes aren't tellable in most forums because the language crackdown in this country over the last 20 years has seen hundreds of comics have their jokes treated as hate crimes. People who kid and pretend, held to the same standards as our Government leaders.
Here's the thing you need to understand before you post a hateful comment about me, Trump, or Fox News:
Big Institutions don't change speech rules because they care about decency, they change speech rules because they care about control.

They ban ideas they don't agree with because it gives them more control on society and their political opponents.
Seeing as comedy is an industry that's 99% LIBERAL, most comics adopt whatever the bigger names tell them because they're afraid if they don't, they won't get booked at New York's Funniest Plumber Night. (Talk about cracking jokes)
I get a lot of you hate Trump. I agree Twitter is a private company that can do what it wants. But in the end speech censorship ALWAYS makes it back to comics because we TALK FOR A LIVING.
And if they can silence the PRESIDENT what chance do folks who get paid in drink tickets have?

My point is, call yourself a Democrat, call yourself a Republican, but if you're out here cheering censorship, DON'T call yourself a comic, because you're killing our industry.

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So, as the #MegaMillions jackpot reaches a record $1.6B and #Powerball reaches $620M, here's my advice about how to spend the money in a way that will truly set you, your children and their kids up for life.

Ready?

Create a private foundation and give it all away. 1/

Let's stipulate first that lottery winners often have a hard time. Being publicly identified makes you a target for "friends" and "family" who want your money, as well as for non-family grifters and con men. 2/

The stress can be damaging, even deadly, and Uncle Sam takes his huge cut. Plus, having a big pool of disposable income can be irresistible to people not accustomed to managing wealth.
https://t.co/fiHsuJyZwz 3/

Meanwhile, the private foundation is as close as we come to Downton Abbey and the landed aristocracy in this country. It's a largely untaxed pot of money that grows significantly over time, and those who control them tend to entrench their own privileges and those of their kin. 4

Here's how it works for a big lotto winner:

1. Win the prize.
2. Announce that you are donating it to the YOUR NAME HERE Family Foundation.
3. Receive massive plaudits in the press. You will be a folk hero for this decision.
4. Appoint only trusted friends/family to board. 5/
Like most movements, I have learned that the definition of feminism has expanded to include simply treating women like human beings.

(A thread for whoever feels like reading)


I have observed feminists on Twitter advocating for rape victims to be heard, rapists to be held accountable, for people to address the misogyny that is deeply rooted in our culture, and for women to be treated with respect.

To me, very easy things to get behind.

And the amount of pushback they receive for those very basic requests is appalling. I see men trip over themselves to defend rape and rapists and misogyny every chance they get. Some accounts are completely dedicated to harassing women on this site. It’s unhealthy.

Furthermore, I have observed how dedicated these misogynists are by how they treat other men that do not immediately side with them. There is an entire lexicon they have created for men who do not openly treat women with disrespect.

Ex: simp, cuck, white knight, beta

All examples of terms they use to demean a man who respects women.

To paraphrase what a wise man on this app said:

Some men hate women so much, they hate men who don’t hate women

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1/“What would need to be true for you to….X”

Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?

A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:


2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to

- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal

3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:

Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.

Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.

4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?

To get clarity.

You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.

It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.

5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”

Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.