What are the phrases which allow you to stop reading, safe in the knowledge that you won’t learn anything? My classic examples are “bankster” and “feminazi,” which were great when they were current because they normally appeared so quickly in any given argument. But they’re both a little dated now, so while they’re still accurate, their base rates are too low to be really useful.
Yes, for me ‘banksters’ and ‘feminazi’ are also clues to stop reading. Other clues are, of course, ‘privilege,’ ‘social justice warriors,’ ‘basic income,’ ‘unborn babies,’ ‘CIA-sponsored coup’, ‘fat shaming,’ ‘sex workers,’ and ‘she voted for the Iraq war.’ These expressions indicate that the author is not a bright person and there’s no need to waste my time on whatever silliness s/he produced.
In more general terms, I quit reading after the third passive voice construction in a single paragraph because the probability that the author will name the source of all these actions drops to statistically negligent. Overwrought, apocalyptic tone, as well as infantile affectations and clichés (“this is why we can’t have nice things” or “just give people free money”) are a clue to stop reading and move on.
What are your cues that you need to quit reading a piece and go do something more rewarding with your life?
Clarissa's Blog 
How do I know know when to stop reading?
When any of the 20 or so garbage fictional horror or science-fiction stories that I’ve sold since I retired, and stopped doing anything useful for the rest of the human race, have been sold and published in genre print and digital magazines.
I won’t embarrass myself, or those publications, by naming the specific tales. Bu t I still re-sell some of them occasionally, and the meager income allows me to deduct the cost of my computer and my Internet connection from annual income taxes.
No, I don’t have a conscience, so don’t ask about it. Be have no argument with people who do.
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“banksters”
I stopped reading there so I’m not sure what the rest of this was about
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Unless it is about Italy under Mussolini I stop reading after the word fascist.
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Hear, hear! If there ever was a word that is overused, it’s this one.
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I mostly agree, but the term “sex workers” seems to still be important to me. What am I missing?
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It’s so clumsy and fussy. What’s the problem with saying “prostitutes”?
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It’s meant to be an umbrella term including all kinds of sex related professions (prostitutes, pornographic actors, strippers, phone sex operators, etc.) Saying sex workers is easier than reciting a big list of jobs every time. Sometimes people say sex workers when they clearly just mean prostitutes though. Just say what you mean!
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pornographic actors, strippers, phone sex operators provide sexual services for money. So they are all prostitutes according to the basic definition.
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“Prostitutes” is more specific. Sex workers includes so called exotic dancers, phone sex operators, erotic writers, actors in Erotic movies, etc.
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Clarissa’s Mad Libs of Irrelevancy.:
Feminazi Bankers Fight Fat Shaming Sex Workers in CIA Sponsored Coup
The oppressed social justice warriors suffered another set back to basic income as intercenine warfare broke out between feminazi bankers and fat shaming sex workers. “We’re agitating for unborn babies, ” said the social justice warriors, but Angela Merkel must acknowledge her privilege. She also voted for the Iraq War.” When it was pointed out that Germany had nothing to with this, the social justice warriors shot persona management software gibberish and DOS at the feminazi banker wi-fi routers and the sex workers’ VPNs. As of this writing, all networks are down and are filled with goatse Vines.
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Yes, this. 🙂 And many poor freaks churn out these texts in all seriousness.
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Not a phrase exactly, but I pretty much check out whenever an author’s presumed reader agrees with them. This is often takes the form of rhetorical “we” sentences – “How are we supposed to be convinced by this?” and the like.
Authors who assume I disagree with them and then manage to answer my actual unvoiced objections… Tasty, delicious books, those.
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I couldn’t comment on the second of your posts (it shows us as nonexistent?), so here.
I will speak for myself: I have certainly been guilty of writing biological man/woman in the comment sections of blogs. There are too many liberal places on the web that will crucify you if you don’t properly acknowledge cis/trans. One aspect that really irritates me is how many liberals seems to be more than happy to drop women from women’s issues and have them subsumed by “people with vaginas/uteruses/2X chromosomes” and “pregnant people”. There are very few liberal places on the web where you can say a woman and mean the biological sex without somebody pouncing on you for being a trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF, look it up).
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I know what you mean! This is why I never comment anywhere. I don’t need the aggravation of being attacked by fools.
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I would try to counterpoint the surrealism of the underlying metaphor behind the jejune artifice known as “feminazi banksterism”, but since my banksters never wear Hugo Boss or high heels, I have no idea how such a thing would look, so I cannot offer you any advice as to how to cope with such a thing …
Besides, aren’t we all just a little bit privileged not to have to deal with social justice warriors in our kitchens, basic income at the shopping malls, CIA-sponsored coups at the supermarkets, sex workers at church pulpits, and any shameless fat people who voted for extra Twinkies and who didn’t vote against the Iraq war?
After all, we need more free money to do horribly despicable things to each other, especially because we can’t have enough nice things, don’t we?
Resist now the overwrought and apocalyptic nature of your feverish imagination and surrender yourself at this very moment to a self-righteous load of mindless pap!
🙂
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