your tongue is a vandal

Alexander Chung

YOUR TONGUE IS A VANDAL

The tongue is the most treacherous organ.

It’s constantly disobeying orders.

And it gets away with so damn much.

Imagine the social damage that a Freudian slip of the bladder would cause.

All we want from our tongues is cooperation. A reliable partner that allows

thoughts to leave the body gracefully.

But all we get is unruliness.

We’ve tried so hard to contain our tongues. Some bite lips, while others

prefer the muffling effect of socks.

But, what are we holding back?

What if we gave the tongue more

opportunities to

explore its rouge side?

An opportunity to be uncooperative.

An opportunity to “rock out like you’ve been paid to disturb the peace.”

Anis Mojgani

Should every conversation unravel like a thread on 4Chan? No.

But, there are ways we can modify the ‘cooperative principle’

Make your contribution such as it is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by

the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.

“”

Paul Grice

There are ways to subvert the accepted purpose of a conversation or the intended

meaning of a person’s words.

ALEXANDER CHUNG

Debates are perfect examples.

ALEXANDER CHUNG

I listened carefully to the debate:

“The Catholic church is force for good.”

John Onayekan

For Against

Ann Widdecombe

Christopher Hitchens

Stephen Fry

VERSUS

ALEXANDER CHUNG

I was most compelled when a speaker served an opponent’s point back to them after defacing it with some light graffiti.

I visualized a few examples

ALEXANDER CHUNG

26% of health institutions

that treat HIV are run by

the Catholic church.

John Onayekan

ALEXANDER CHUNG

The Catholic church is

100% responsible for

condemning condoms.

Christopher Hitchens

ALEXANDER CHUNG

View of the church as dominated by hierarchy.

aclutch

of hysterical

& sinisterVIRGINS

who are the only owners of

THE TRUTH

Followers & Victims

Christopher Hitchens’

ALEXANDER CHUNG

the

is not about

PRIESTS

its about ain costume

LARGER

CHURCH

Community

View of the church as a global community.

John Onayekan’s

ALEXANDER CHUNG

It’s a severe crisis. We need to apply the most loving pastoral care to these victims.

“

Joseph Ratzinger on the institutionalization of rape in Catholic churches :

ALEXANDER CHUNG

It’s a severe crisis. We need to apply the most loving pastoral care to these victims.

“

I’m sorry, haven’t they already had that? Christopher Hitchens

In all these examples, it’s clear how the speaker uses an idea against itself.

Kind of like that guy

who fucks with the subway ads.

Some hypotheses

Good vandals are ironic.

Whether debaters or culture jammers.

Good tongues are not held back by bitten lips but, rather, placed firmly in cheek.

Good communication environments treat vandalism as sense making not insolence.

Good conversation is not about saying the right or ‘nice’ thing.

Good decks shouldn’t need further explanation.

But then again, interesting things

happen when ideas are

lost in translation.