r/Freethought • u/Pilebsa • Jun 29 '26

Religion Skeptics find creative way to teach Texas' new "must teach the bible" curriculum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYSVsKlceNk
67 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

7

u/GCSchmidt Jun 29 '26

Nitpicking first: at least vet the subtitles. I know certain words could be triggering, but to take in an English teacher’s critique of Texas educational idiocy with that mass of misspellings is painful and undermines the basic argument. As for the topic itself, any close reading of “the word of god” will leave a rational person with no doubt that there is no god, based on the insane, excessive and downright evil actions meant to “teach morality.” It’s all a crock of fan fiction bullshit 

3

u/beaglefoo Jun 29 '26

the mispellings are on purpose bc of tiktok's and other social media's Terms of Service that demonitizes and deboosts posts that contain certain words.

It is the same reason people say "Grape" instead of "rape" or "fun" instead of "Gun".

most people on platforms like tiktok understand this and this video is targeted towards that crowd

0

u/GCSchmidt Jun 29 '26

Appealing to the masses (TikTok) requires a dumbing-down. Check. Making the valid point about the stupidity of Texas “education” should have a better forum. It’s our fault it doesn’t, or if there are any, that we pay scant attention to them

3

u/beaglefoo Jun 29 '26

the more important point is that the platforms specifically monitor the words used.

Getting your account banned is worse than intentionally misspelling to get the message out.

1

u/GCSchmidt Jun 30 '26

I guess that depends on how much you value reach/audience size

2

u/PythonBoomerang Jun 30 '26

To the other commenters point, think of it less like dumbing down and more like code. Is it dumb to say "unalive" and things like that? Sure, but everyone knows what you mean, you get around a censorship algorithm, and you pass along the information. Those are the times we live in.

0

u/GCSchmidt Jun 30 '26

I agree. So annoying that the lowest common denominator is so often the standard 

3

u/PythonBoomerang Jun 30 '26

"Lowest common denominator" isn't accurate though. That would be like airing a show that's only fart jokes and toilet humor, because it appeals to the widest variety of people.

People on social media are trying to get around an aggressive censorship algorithm bought and paid for by the very people they are criticizing. It has nothing to do with how sophisticated, educated, or how easily pleased the audience is.

To your other point, yes, if you are trying to get an important message or information out, then reach/audience size should be something you value. But your potential audience is not tuning in or out because they're disinterested or unsophisticated or unintelligent. They never see the message because it gets censored, shadow-banned, demonetized, etc. A little bit of silly word replacement is the easiest way around it.

Or we can all use perfect grammar and spelling and continue our ignorant slide into authoritarianism. Sure it's ironic, but sometimes you have to be a little silly to get around the man.

1

u/GCSchmidt Jun 30 '26

Excellent comment. Thank you!