from Hacker News

An urban myth about litter boxes in schools became a talking point

by johnny313 on 10/14/22, 10:39 PM with 17 comments

  • by autoexec on 10/15/22, 1:24 AM

    I can understand some random person listening to rage-bait media nutjobs and falling for something so clearly absurd, but it's genuinely depressing to see GOP congressmen and officials falling for it. Either they are fools who don't do even the most basic fact checking before publicly foaming at the mouth about nonsense, or they know full well that what they're saying is a lie and they are cool with lying to republican voters whenever it's politically convenient for them.

    Either way, it's not a good sign for America or the voters who are either fine with being straight up lied to and manipulated or have made the choice to elect people who clearly have no business whatsoever being in a position of authority.

    We really need to demand more from elected officials and party leaders. I don't think most people want idiots and liars in charge, but if there's zero accountability when they show themselves for what they are what else can we expect?

  • by pavlov on 10/15/22, 1:32 AM

    “…during a legislative hearing last month in Tennessee, two Republican state lawmakers discussed the ‘growing crisis’ of public schools providing litter boxes for children who identify as cats, and claimed it’s happening across the state.”

    How did it happen that a substantial section of the American public is so entirely divorced from their community’s reality that they could believe for a second that public schools in Tennessee(!) are doing this?

    Wannabe politicians presumably have been tempted by outrageous lies forever, but to be effective they require an audience already primed to believe anything, preferably with no connection to everyday issues like what American public schools are actually like. Who are these people? Retirees that spend too much time on social media?

  • by quantified on 10/14/22, 11:30 PM

    "A lie can travel halfway around the world in the time it takes the truth to lace up its boots"- attributed to Mark Twain, but probably due to another keen observer.

  • by djklanac on 10/15/22, 2:26 AM

    The first and only occurrence I’ve heard of this claim was Rogan’s podcast. The article lumps him in with other claimants. But it doesn’t actually demonstrate that his anecdote is fabricated. How does this portion of the article make it past the editor? It’s entirely possible that his story is completely made up. It is also possible that it’s not made up. Tabloid journalists make conjectures. Real journalists substantiate their claims. We deserve better reporting.

  • by boxmonster on 10/14/22, 11:11 PM

    It's not an urban myth. It's a rural myth.