Read this, you punks! #7

A.I. takes and being good to people.

King Spider and King Scorpion gather their subjects for storytime. Art by me.

Hey, you punks. If you want to write, you oughta read. Read this, you punks! is a jaunty list of recommendations directing you to creatively fulfilling pieces. If you enjoy the newsletter, please consider subscribing. It helps a ton and gives ya access to full recommendation lists, additional resources, and community chats to help you improve your writing craft.

Is Therapy-Speak Making Us Selfish?

This piece does a great job of putting language to the all-too-common act of people acting shitty while misapplying therapy concepts and hiding behind buzzwords. We’re all very complicated people, allegedly. It’s important to learn the difference between working towards healthy relationships and being a self-righteous ass. The writer did a great job here sourcing relevant anecdotes and expert opinions. Give it a read.

“‘He created this whole thing about his safety, his boundaries, his rules,’ she says. ‘Obviously that’s important, but it’s like he came into it with the framework like he’s the only real person in the world and everybody else has to do exactly what he says to make him safe.’”

Florida principal fired: Interview with the school board chair who ousted a principal after Michelangelo’s David was shown in class.

The great James Baldwin once said, “This country is sexually pathetic” or something like that. This piece is funny but in an oh god type of way. My young adult point of disillusionment came when I realized that decision-makers in this country are often not as impressive as you’d want them to be. This article is an interview with one of the minds behind dismissing an educator after they had the gall to show a clearly pornographic photo of Michelangelo’s David in class.

“We’re not going to show the full statue of David to kindergartners. We’re not going to show him to second graders. Showing the entire statue of David is appropriate at some age. We’re going to figure out when that is.

And you don’t have to show the whole statue! Maybe to kindergartners we only show the head. You can appreciate that. You can show the hands, the arms, the muscles, the beautiful work Michelangelo did in marble, without showing the whole thing.”