Bertrand Hustle posted:

racists who are just itching for a chance to shoot some minorities.

CannedMacabre posted:

Oh boy!

CannedMacabre posted:

It's literally the same mindset.

Mamma bear can only protect herself and her cub from perverts by being armed. [EDIT] and not just regular, gun in the nightstand armed, but hanging out on your front porch strapped. This story is so cliche I'm surprised she didn't make the creeper black too.

St Evan Echoes posted:

True or not, flashing a gun in your waistband at someone only 5 yards away is not a great idea surely? He could easily cover that distance and overpower her long before she got ready to shoot

Ein cooler Typ posted:

A trained swordsman with a katana could defeat someone with a gun from twenty yards away

CannedMacabre posted:

Oh boy!

Haifisch posted:

If only it were possible to go inside and lock the door. If only.

And coincidentally, the Bad Man(tm) isn't armed himself, so Mama Bear has nothing to fear by showing off her gun & escalating the situation. Because you never have to worry about your attempts at badassery backfiring in a heroism fantasy.

See also: The guys who think they'll have perfect aim and won't be mistaken for another hostile shooter if they ever try to be the good guy with a gun.

Ein cooler Typ posted:

A trained swordsman with a katana could defeat someone with a gun from twenty yards away

CannedMacabre posted:

Oh boy!

quote:

This troper's college had an 'Alcohol Awareness Week', and in the cafeteria they were serving free "Mocktails", mixed drinks that were basically orange soda and Sprite with splashes of fruity syrup and a lime wedge. This troper got into a debate with the people serving them over the logic of demoting one drug (alcohol) while promoting another, more addictive drug (caffeine). The argument ended like this:
Teacher: Well, you don't endanger the lives of others every time you drink a Mountain Dew.
This Troper: Maybe YOU don't.
Wait, which one of thosse items has caffiene?
The Mountain Dew, of course.

Zero One posted:

Neither Orange soda nor Sprite has caffeine.

Zero One posted:

Neither Orange soda nor Sprite has caffeine.

WrenP-Complete posted:

Is that maybe what the last few lines were trying to express? Not that any of this happened.

Say Nothing posted:

Zero One posted:

Neither Orange soda nor Sprite has caffeine.

sweeperbravo posted:

Non Serviam posted:

Is this even something you'd encounter in a college? You know, as opposed to middle school.

quote:

(One of the most common substitutions I do is swapping out dairy for soy milk. Most of the time it’s just a taste preference, but it can also be because of allergy. The customer here is about ten or eleven, with a number of other kids around.)

Girl: “…and can I have my milkshake with soy milk? I’m very allergic to dairy.”

Me: “Sure, that’s not a problem. We even have a separate blender, okay?”

Girl: “Oh, good, thanks!”

(A minute later, as I’m handing off her drink.)

Girl: “Wait, can I get whipped cream on mine?”

Me: “Sorry, I— You said you have a dairy allergy? The whipped cream is made from milk.”

Girl: “No, it’s not! It’s whipped CREAM, not milk!”

Me: *thinking quickly* “Is your mom or dad here with you?”

Girl: “Yeah, why?”

Me: “If they say it’s okay, I’ll put whipped cream on your milkshake.”

(A few minutes later, with her mother:)

Girl’s Mom: “Why would you embarrass her in front of her friends like that? That was cruel of you to do!”

Me: “I’m very sorry, but I didn’t want to give her anything that might make her sick.”

Girl’s Mom: “Well, she swells up and stops breathing, but she’s got an Epi-Pen for that. I just can’t believe you would humiliate my daughter. It’s hard enough for her to have allergies. You need to be more sensitive!”

(This went on for about five minutes. The girl’s friends didn’t notice a thing until her mother started carrying on. Best part? I’m also allergic to dairy, and generally consider airways closing up a lot more embarrassing than checking with my mom!)

WrenP-Complete posted:

From our favorite website...

ThePlague-Daemon posted:

This reads like somebody updated a STDH from the '70s.

A book published in 1917, via snopes.com posted:

A young woman in Central Park overheard an old negress call to a pickaninny: "Come heah, Exy, Exy!"

"Excuse me, but that's a queer name for a baby, aunty?"

"Dat ain't her full name," explained the old woman with pride; "dat's jes' de pet name I calls for short. Dat child got a mighty grand name. Her ma picked it out in a medicine book — yessum, de child's full name is Eczema."

Pththya-lyi posted:

'70s, nothing, this STDH is nearly a full century old:

WrenP-Complete posted:

Is that maybe what the last few lines were trying to express? Not that any of this happened.

Non Serviam posted:

I'm not kidding. I didn't attend college in the US, so I don't know if this childish anti alcohol things are something that actually exists, or if the author couldn't even get THAT right.

Xen Tricks posted:

That's incredible, I knew it stretched back a while but I can't believe it's literally the exact same racist joke 100 years ago

quote:

Richard Muller, Prof Physics, UCBerkeley, author "Now-The Physics of Time" (Norton, 2016)
Updated Jul 3

I got a message saying “I wouldn't drive tomorrow morning...lest you be blown to bits.” It had been sent the previous day, but I was reading it in the morning. Just as I got that message, I heard my wife starting the car outside. It did not blow up.

It was an email threat, the third email I had received from that person. The Berkeley Police politely looked at it, and told me there was no way to trace it. So I asked my class if there were any hackers who might do better. (At that time I was teaching the class for physics majors and engineers.) After class, about six students came up to help. Indeed, they were able to trace the email, and I got the name of a registered student. I gave it to the police; they went to his apartment, he confessed, and he was arrested.

quote:

I asked to meet with him, and against the strong advice of the police I did. I spoke to him, and learned that he did it because he thought I might be “vulnerable” (actually, because of my novel about Jesus!). He seemed to feel lost in the world, and doing things like that made him feel that he had some power over others.

I asked him whom else he had threatened (remarkably, the police had not done that!), and he named another student, and then added, “and President Clinton.” So I told the police, and they contacted the other student, and the US Secret Service. The Secret Service came to investigate, and the perpetrator will be watched by them for the rest of his life. I did not press charges, and he did not go to prison.

quote:

The incident happened in December 1996. I just dug out the old messages. It turns out that the worst threat was made by email. His “explanation” for the threat was my novel The Sins of Jesus (now available on Amazon Kindle).

hyperhazard posted:

Quora: What is the creepiest phone call or voice message you've ever received?

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-creepiest-phone-call-or-voice-message-youve-ever-received/answer/Richard-Muller-3?srid=TBt8

Highlights:




A person was angry about my novel (now on Amazon!) but I got my hacker students to find him and he confessed to me that he did it because I was an atheist and he was also out to get the president. New book available from Norton!

WrenP-Complete posted:

Is this really that implausible? I have done too much police liaison work.

DragQueenofAngmar posted:

quora is like the dunning-kruger effect crystallized into a forum

WrenP-Complete posted:

Is this really that implausible? I have done too much police liaison work.

goose willis posted:

goon posted:

I heard a story from the guys a couple classes above me. One time they put on 3 hats, and wrote on them 1, 2, 4. Teachers were all like "No you can't wear hats in class!!" so they took the hats off, but the teachers could'nt stop thinking about hat number 3. Who was wearing it and where. I think at least one teacher had to take early retirement over that.