A civics lesson you can complete in your underwear.
Hi, babe. I'm Sparky, your principal, your gym teacher and your problem. You're probably here because someone called out bad behavior in the comments, or because you want to tell a stranger to kindly shut the fuck up. Both are valid. This is the third option. Somewhere between eighth-grade civics and your fourth comment, the basics got lost. Night school is in session. Take a seat.
A cartoon in briefs, nothing explicit. Adult language ahead.
Everything here is optional. Share nothing and you still get the whole class.
Aaron is running this page as part of a project to learn what helps people keep their cool online, and he's using what he learns to develop a curriculum for use in schools. Only anonymous themes or lightly edited examples feed it, never your name or email, and nothing is shown publicly. Leave Sunday Briefs anytime. Privacy
Your door opens here. Pick a seat on the left, or skip and start class. Everything below this is free to grab either way.
It stops the government from punishing your speech. It doesn't promise you a comment section, a megaphone or an audience that agrees.
Sparky: "Being disagreed with isn't censorship, babe. It's Tuesday."
2
It's a shared room.
A public thread is a public place. Other people are in it, reading, even when they pretend they aren't.
Sparky: "Act like the neighbors can hear you. They can."
3
A screen isn't a wall.
There's a real person on the other end of every comment. Type what you'd say at the grocery store.
Sparky: "Would you say it in the dairy aisle? Then go."
4
Civility is a skill, not a mood.
It isn't politeness and it isn't agreement. It's disagreeing without going after the person.
Sparky: "Fierce kindness, not Midwest nice."
5
Self-government starts small.
The street, the school board, the thread. Showing up well in the small room is the first civic skill.
Sparky: "Brady Street meetings, but with snacks."
Now pick a door.
Chemistry · Ignition
One match, not a bonfire.
Before you swing, ask something. "Huh, what makes you say that?" is the whole experiment. I strike it, I step back, I take notes.
Pop quiz
Which line lights a match instead of a bonfire?
Phys Ed · Regulation
The whistle is for conduct, not opinions.
Think I'm wrong? Say so, I'll listen. Go after a person instead of the point and the whistle goes off. Two back-and-forths, then I walk off the field. (You're staring at the coach's back.)
Pop quiz
Which one gets the whistle?
Speech and Debate · Combustion
Let it burn. Nobody has to agree by Friday.
Disagreement isn't a fire code violation. Keep your view, hear theirs, skip the pile-on. I'm the coach, not the group hug, and I'm grading on conduct.
Pop quiz
Pick the receipt, not the rant.
Study Hall · Pilot mode
Quiet is a lesson too.
When talking stops making anyone smarter, I put the phone face-down, order an iced coffee and let the little flame sit there. Hide it, don't delete it: screenshot, report, log.
Pop quiz
When do you go quiet?
Drama Club · Reignition
Come back with something.
Later, tiptoe back onstage with a clarification, a contribution or a next step. Not a rebuttal. A match, cupped in both hands, like it's opening night.
Pop quiz
Pick the clean comeback.
See me after class
Report card
A
You passed. Mostly.
Office hours
If you want someone to teach you this live, at work, at home or in your own head: that's Aaron's office. A Burn Session is office hours. He's my friend, he's very good, and he swears more than I do.
This page is for people who don't get it yet. The Pilot Light Guide is for people who do: sixteen free pages, no signup, the Card for Tonight on page two. If it helped, buy Aaron a cup of coffee, with your best wishes.
