fandomhigh | Dealing With Stupid People [Monday, May 14, 2nd period]

Josh was obviously uncomfortable with the whole "being outside" thing as he perched on a picnic bench and smiled at the students as they assembled.

"Okay, one of the most annoying things you will encounter in your life will be other people," he began, rolling his eyes. "Most of us -- in my universe, anyway, some of you might have other experiences -- can't kill them by using our brains, so we have to come up with different coping methods. We'll get to the more advanced techniques -- sarcasm, the strategic use of an eye roll -- later, but today we'll start out with something that gives you a lot of chance to practice before you send out the final product."

He pulled out a sheaf of papers and dropped it onto the table. "Writing back to stupid people!" he said triumphantly. "In this exercise you need to reply to these obviously deranged letters in a polite way without asking if they've thought to seek professional help for their delusions. There are five different letters so pair up with a partner -- it's better to double check your language against someone else, at least at the beginning -- and write back to these completely insane people."

Josh grinned. "Questions? Problems? I don't really care, but ask anyway."

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"Scourge or not, I do believe you're right," Ba'al agreed. He shrugged, "I feel threatening is almost always best. Coaxing takes more effort and seems to produce little effect. Of course, it depends on your audience."

He crossed eradicate off the page and replaced it with educate. He could do this.

"I tend to lean towards coaxing, but maybe that works better in person?" She worried. "What about a person who is making stupid claims about sexual aids?"

Perhaps you should try oysters and reading the kama sutra instead? There are many illustrated versions that are available, complete with step-by-step instructions.

"With stupidity, I believe it's probably better to go with the simplest option. Most people can understand a knife to the throat, but they may not get subtle complimenting."

He scratched his head. He wasn't really taking his own advice, but he knew if he wanted to fit in he'd have to tone down the overtly evil warlord part of this character.

"How do I send a knife through the mail?" She asked, tapping her pen against the paper and wondering if Chinese would be a more expressive medium, "Don't the authorities catch that kind of thing?"

Ba'al wasn't sure if she was serious or not. He really hoped not. Even he was familiar enough with Tau'ri post to know such things would be unacceptable. Then again, he had been on the planet before...

"I suppose they might," Ba'al said sardonically, "and then they might be the ones who have to deal with stupid people."

Why was he taking this class again? All Tau'ri were stupid!

"I'd hope so, but I have no idea how vigilant they are, or what the rules are for sending things through the mail--usually I just order items off the cortex, and nothing can be ordered that's illegal to mail," she explained, then frowned at the implications of what he'd said.

"Being unknowledgeable about the laws of a planet you've never seen does not make you stupid, you know."

Dealing With Stupid People [Monday, May 14, 2nd period]

Re: Write to Stupid People: Letter #5

Re: Write to Stupid People: Letter #5

Re: Write to Stupid People: Letter #5

Re: Write to Stupid People: Letter #5

Re: Write to Stupid People: Letter #5

Re: Write to Stupid People: Letter #5