The StickMonkey Asks You To Respond, Rather Than React
Almost 50 people were killed this weekend in Orlando, Florida.
They didn’t share the same beliefs as Omar Siddiqui Mateen.
So he killed them.
It has been reported that Omar Siddiqui Mateen used an AR-15 assault rifle. Did you know that more than 3 million of these assault rifles are estimated to be in circulation in the United States? I read today in the New York Daily News that the AR-15 assault rifle is the same style of weapon used to end the lives of 20 children and six adults in Newtown, CT. It also was used to slay 12 people and wound 70 in a movie theater in Aurora, CO.
The National Rifle Association claims the AR-15 is “America’s most popular rifle.” You can read more about it in their blog post, where the organization also clears up a misconception. No. You can’t just pull the trigger and spray death until you exhaust a standard cartridge holding at least 30 bullets. “In order to fire a semi-automatic firearm,” says the post, “you must pull and release the trigger after each shot. You cannot hold the trigger for rapid fire.”
As if that makes much of a difference to those killed this weekend.
The NRA wants you to believe that banning the sale of guns such as the AR-15 is an attack on the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gives us the right to “keep and bear arms.” They are “tireless defenders of your Second Amendment rights.” Because those rights are “under attack like never before.”
Here is the Second Amendment, exactly as it was written into our constitution.
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
The men and women in our armed forces form this “well regulated militia.” The Defense Manpower Center calculates that 0.4 percent of the American population is active military personnel. That’s about 1.4 million American men and women.
Let’s pretend — because it’s not true — that every member of our military armed forces has one of these AR-15 assault rifles. There remain 1.6 million people who are not members of our well regulated militia with an AR-15 assault rifle in their possession.
Are they all just like Omar Siddiqui Mateen, identified as the gunman responsible for the deadliest mass shooting in the history of our country? That would be just as absurd as the NRA’s claim that banning the sale of assault rifles is an attack on our Second Amendment rights.
How does this prevent us from having “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state”? Unless you are in the military or a member of law enforcement, why do you need an AR-15 assault rifle? Why should such weapons be available for ordinary people to buy?
One of them was used to kill almost 50 people this weekend.
So sayeth the StickMonkey.
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The StickMonkey asks you to respond, rather than react
Almost 50 people were killed this weekend in Orlando, Florida. They didn’t share the same beliefs as Omar Siddiqui Mateen. So he killed them. It has been reported that Omar Siddiqui Mateen used an AR-15 assault rifle. Did you know that more than 3 million of… read more
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Tribune Publishing changed its name yesterday. The company now wishes to be known as tronc. Why? Tribune is the third largest newspaper publisher in the United States. But it doesn’t want us to think of it as newspaper publishing company anymore. Tribune wants… read more
The StickMonkey hands a banana to Grey Goose
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The StickMonkey flings poop at the growing trend of gratuitous profanity in article headlines
It’s like getting poked in the eye as I scroll through my the Medium Daily Digest. Blam! There’s another “Shit.” Doink! “There’s “Fucking” again. I’m not prude. Profanity doesn’t offend me. I’ll use… read more
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The StickMonkey says, “Hey, wait a minute…”
That name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before? Lapka. It’s one of those names you’re likely to remember. Which is why a few weeks, it rang some vague bell in my memory while I was catching up on the latest tech news. The context just didn’t… read more
It’s like getting poked in the eye as I scroll through my the Medium Daily Digest.
Blam! There’s another “Shit.”
Doink! “There’s “Fucking” again.
I’m not prude. Profanity doesn’t offend me. I’ll use both of these words today. But it won’t be in a headline.
Hey, pay attention!
“Shit” or “Fucking” captures your attention. It sure captures my attention. If you put it in a headline, I assume you have something important to say.
Alas, it turns out you are just regurgitating a tired subject. You punctuated your headline with profanity because it extracted your signal from the noise.
You just shot your wad and I hope you got something out of it. I won’t fall for it a second time. Profanity is not a cure for mundaneness.
I’ll say it again. I have no issue with the use of profanity when it’s appropriate. When is that?
Guy Kawasaki summed it up best in his book Enchantment. In Chapter 2, he writes that you can achieve likability by swearing. But, then he clarifies what he means. He observes that, “…when used regularly, profanity loses its effectiveness.”
Trending
I’ve seen a growing stream of “Shit” and Fucking” show up in my Medium Daily Digest emails. Is this a reflection of Medium?
Hardly. Medium is currently the hot spot for anyone who wants to get their writing in front of a lot of people. The website’s About page describes it as “a place where everyone has a story to share…” and assures you that it “sifts the best of these for you and delivers them directly onto your home page.”
Last month, that was almost 63 million visits.
You might need some help to amplify your signal through that noise. “Shit” or “Fucking” could help you there. Especially if you don’t have anything new or interesting to say. You need all the help you can get.
Profanity in your headlines to grow readership isn’t a sustainable marketing strategy. As Guy Kawasaki says, “Swearing is bullsh*t.” I agree with him — especially when he adds that, “Profanity is a sign that you’re inarticulate, if not clueless, so rarely use it…”
(To be clear, Guy Kawasaki made these last two remarks in reference to social media. Feel free to fling poop at me if you fail to see the relevance.)
Pump up the volume
We all want what we write to resonate. We want it read by everyone. As many people as possible. “Shit” and “Fucking” turns up the volume on your megaphone. But how many readers will tune you out forever when they discover that you tricked them with some psychological napalm?
You’ll see me put “Shit” or “Fucking” in a headline about as often as you see Halley’s Comet in the night sky.
I’m not offended by your use of profanity in headlines, but I do find it offensive. It’s gratuitous. It’s stopped being novel. It’s fast becoming just another flavor of noise.
So sayeth the StickMonkey.
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Originally published at stickmonkeystudios.com on June 13, 2016.
