UATX's first major: BS in Trolling
Subscribe to my BS, you Trolls:
There's no shortage of criticisms aimed at the proposed University of Austin (UATX):
They misquoted Frederick Douglass.
This is Hogwarts for Wypipo.
Faculty are fake “free thinkers”.
No one of high caliber would work here.
They’ll let anyone in.
Slippery slope - when will U of C be allowing Lamarckian’s into the evolution debate.
Trump University Round 2.
It’s a “Half thought-out racket”
Wonder what their policy on paternity leave will be…
And some of them are pretty funny.
While all and none of the above criticisms could be constructive, there’s one, in particular, that might be useful to explore.
This will just be a university for trolls
And this may very well be true. If there's one thing you learn when you're facing adversity it’s how to laugh.
I, for one, would pay to take a course on trolling from Elon Musk or Dave Chappelle. They've captivated the entire world with their humor, tasteful or not. MasterClass isn’t being ridiculed for its online educational system, but I think that’s where UATX is missing the point. You can’t recreate the university system in the same light as the old one. If this is being called Troll University, I say LEAN IN.
If there's anything we need now even more than a good university, it's good humor. We're not allowed to punch down we're barely allowed to punch up — if you can even identify where up is. The only ‘true’ north is in the nebulous yet all-encompassing successor ideology that points at the cis-male white capitalistic heteropatriarchy. Not in that order.
In fact, perhaps UAT could even request professional comedic analysis according to the rules of intersectionality. For example, is it appropriate for a black queer trans woman to make fun of an indigenous hetero cis woman?
I'm dying to know.
The trolling/memery that is taking place on the internet is a countercurrent that will not stop. As humor is restricted and class warfare wages, the disgruntled will find nooks and crannies of the internet to voice their humor, conspiracies, and channeled outrage. This is what UAT needs to harness: a young, vibrant enthusiasm for calling out the bullshit in this world.
On a serious note, one of my main criticisms is one of their key features: a sole focus on in-person learning. I think this is a big mistake. It’s a Luddite move, and they simply aren’t going to harness all of the possible momentum without a digital component - especially to launch a full play on a Bachelor’s in Trolling.
I’m available to help confer online (troll) momentum. When you figure it out, UATX:
