Last changed on
Sun January 19, 2020 at 7:00 AM EDT
Hi! I used to be in your shoes, a little high school debater just trying to get by while people older than me scrutinized my every move and wrote down all of their critiques for me, my opponent, and the whole world to see. But as a wise man named Michael Scott once said, "Well, well, well how the turntables...." Now, I'm the judge. Prepare to be scrutinized. I'm just kidding. Don't worry. I'm the judge, but I'm not gonna judge you or anything, wait that's not true, I kinda have to... oh well, sorry.
Quick Things:
Speed/Style: I'm fine with whatever you're comfortable with. Just don't be abusive. I can flow whatever speed that's coherent (aka not spreading) as long as you remember to SIGNPOST!
Framework: Have one.
Content: Anything with a warrant. Also, please link to the framework.
Other things you might want to know about me:
1. I did LD for four years.
I loved speech and debate in high school and I'm happy to return to judge.
2. For LDers: My favorite value structure to run was justice with any Rawlsian criterion.
I love Rawls. If you run Rawls, I'll probably get noticeably excited in round.
Also, gotta say, not a fan of util. Because Rawls. But also, it's so boring. There are so many other possibilties for value structures to make the round way more interesting and you're just gonna run util? I mean you might as well be doing PF.
Don't worry, I will still vote under a util framework if I have to.
3. For PFers: I didn't do PF, sorry.
Yeah so I'll probably be looking like one of those lay judges checking the times for the speeches on the ballot every five seconds. How many speeches are there again? 47? Really? Okay.
4. I will not vote for abusive arguments.
(A) Burdens.
The affirmative's burden is to uphold the resolution as a general principle, not just in one isolated example, so don't run abusive plans, observations, arguments, etc. I will not vote for them. Note: I'm fine with plans if they uphold the resolution as a general principle, but if they narrow the scope of the resolution too far (i.e. if they're abusive) then they're not okay, and I will not vote for them. Please please please don't run abusive plans, observations, or arguments, I really don't want to hear them. Also, I will not vote for them.
The negative's burden is to disprove the affirmative. Simple as that. If you disprove everything the affirmative says, I will vote for you. There's no need for counterplans, unless you want to use the argument that the negative has some mutually exclusive AND competitive alternative to the resolution to undermine the affirmative's position. That's fine. Whatever. Just don't be abusive.
Pro and con burdens in PF? *shrug* I dunno. Go nuts.
(B) Spreading
Spreading is abusive (to my brain). So please don't do it. Also, the point of speech and debate is to persuade your audience with clear, concise, and coherent language, not to defecate in all of our ears. So don't spread. Note: talking fast if fine. I talk fast. I can listen fast. I can flow fast. Just make sure you signpost so I know where to flow. Spreading is completely different from just talking fast; it's flashing me your case and expecting me to do all the hard work reading it while you stand there vomiting out noises that don't sound anything remotely like words and every thirty seconds gasping for air as if you were just drowning when really you on the dry land acting a fool. Don't spread.
5. I think speech and debate is supposed to be fun.
If you're not having fun then why the heck are you even doing it? So please, have fun in round. Whatever that means to you. To me it means make jokes. Humor is a very persuasive tool so use it! Also, I'll like you more if you're funny.
I hope this helps. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me. I don't bite. Except when my orthodontist tells me to.