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ActuallyATleilaxuGhola

Axolotl Tank Class of '24

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joined 2022 September 08 09:59:22 UTC 

				
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ActuallyATleilaxuGhola


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
Axolotl Tank Class of '24

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 08 09:59:22 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 1012


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I think there is definitely less murder and violent assault, it is indeed hard to hide a missing wife or girlfriend.


But unlike many other countries, perverts generally seem to avoid tourists.  Western women are stereotyped as being more assertive, and they're generally just physically larger and less demure than Japanese women.  And from what I can tell and what I've been told, Japanese men just aren't that attracted to non-Japanese women.  There seems to be an assumption that Japanese women are the most feminine, womanly women out there, and that anything else is a downgrade.  And there's also the faint but pervasive sentiment permeating every layer and aspect of Japanese life that anything Japanese is "good" and "normal" while anything foreign, while perhaps interesting, is nonetheless alien and inferior (c.f. the stereotypical 20th century Englishman's "proper tea," "proper fish and chips," "foreign parts," etc).


On the other hand, very much like other countries, I've heard that a lot of the sexual assaults happen to lower-class women -- unsupervised teenage daughters of single working moms, young women very drunk or passed out in a nightlife district, and of course, young girls in crowded trains (although this seems to be decreasing).  It seems like there is quite a lot of this, and tourists rarely experience it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Having experienced the latter and currently experiencing the former, I wish I could have started in my early 20s.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


On the other hand, less sexual violence




I think it's just endemic and underreported.  I've heard that cops here will often blow off accusations of assault or violence unless it's truly egregious.  He's your boyfriend/husband, right?  Are you sure you weren't just having a lovers quarrel?  He could get in a lot of trouble if you insist on reporting this, you know.  What were you doing out this late, anyway?  Were you drinking?  A young woman your age shouldn't be doing that sort of thing.  Etc etc.  Which is not to say that they don't have a point, but I think there may be more sexual violence that you see in the news or in official stats.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for October 17, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
"Nobody 'makes you mad.'  Nobody 'makes' you do anything.  Don't make excuses for how you choose to feel and what you choose to do."


t. my mom (paraphrased)


As a kid I hated it, but as I became an adult I realized she was so very, very right.  I'm endlessly amazed at how very many people age 30+ still blame others for their own emotions and choices.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
At last, something on which we can agree.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I've spent years working at several different Japanese companies, and this is a pretty spot-on analysis.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I'm aware of the Quran passages, but I thought that Judaism mostly cozied up to Islam throughout middle ages and early modern ages, and that Jews were willingly employed by Muslims as spies and 5th columnists against Christian kingdoms.  AFAIK the current Jewish-Muslim feud did start with the Zionist settlement of the Levant.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
My impression is that this was actually true for an earlier period of American history, though.  American media from the last 70 years is rife with caricatures of scared mean old men or stupid meathead bullies calling anything perceived as effete or unusual "Communist" or "pinko."  My right-wing extended family uses "What?  What are you, some kind of Communist?" in response to the same as an ironic self-deprecating joke.  And so if you call someone a "Communist" in 2025, all but the most brainrotted boomercons will just laugh at you.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Are Hakan and Drukpa the same guy? I had heard that Hakan had a new account, but I had not linked the two as the tones are quiet different even if the subject matter is the same.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


I remember being there in 2007 or so, forming swastikas in Club Penguin with the other anons.




Respect. I was there, Gandalf...


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


What's interesting is that the one thing both the Nazi denouncers (Hanania/Lynch/etc) and Nazi defenders (Myron/Torba/etc) here both seem to agree on, is that this is common among the young right.




As Ross Douthat(?) said 10 years ago, "if you don't like the Christian right, you're really not going to like the post-Christian right."   Whoops!




We've seen this with Kanye and his descent into Nazism




anon, pls




So with all this recent controversy, how big of a Nazi problem is actually festering, and why do the Nazis seem to feel so comfortable in modern conservativism?




Nazis aren't real in 2025.  You need to more precisely define what you mean.  A guy waving a Soviet flag in 2025 isn't a Bolshevik, he's a progressive.




Will this growing trend of Nazi radicalism destroy the Republicans chances among moderates in the future like embracing left wing radicalism hurt Biden?




What is "Nazi radicalism" in the 2025 American context?  In any case, no, I think normies are experiencing a hangover from woke and are desensitized to this pearl-clutching nonsense.




And how do the non Nazi conservatives and moderates balance fighting off Nazi accusations from the left also working to stem this apparant rise of unashamed nazism and Holocaust denialism?




All the defections have already happened.  Nobody on the right cares about "fighting off Nazi accusations from the left."  Why should we fight any accusation from the left?  Why not just lean into it while mocking the left and winking to the audience?  That seems to be working.




I think your perspective on TheMotte could actually be extremely valuable, if only you would directly state your opinions and drop all of the accusations and attempts at reader manipulation.  You've already been called out on the "have you stopped beating your wife?" style questions, so why not try to write another post about these events seeking to understand people who might have had a different reaction from yours?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So, uncharitable it is.  Dan Carlin sources his stories very well.  They often have a slight, particular slant to them because of his political leanings, but I would not call him a "liar" who posts trivially debunked (there's that word again) stories that contradict "basic factual knowledge" (cf. "basic logic," "basic human decency").  Dan Carlin emphasizese a specific set of facts to spin a particular narrative.  Some people say this means all history is bunk, but IMHO that's a uselessly sweeping and reductive judgement.  There is no narrative-free history.




try and whitewash Nazi aggression and Nazi crimes while shifting the blame for these things to their enemies




This complaint is always levelled in bad faith at people who try to understand the internal state of the "bad guys."  If you try to explain, even with disavowels, why e.g. how Communists came to power in Russia by tapping into legitimate grievances that certain groups had, you will invariably be called a Communist sympathizer by those on the right too idiotic to understand hypotheticals or too Machiavellian to feel shame.  I see little to indicate that you're an idiot.




Given that he's on record praising reactionary authoritarianism




Am I supposed to shrink back in fear at this?  So what? Your words have no power here.  I've been jaded by the pearl-clutching about "our democracy" by libs for the last decade.




Cooper is deliberately misrepresenting WW2 in a way that minimizes the crimes of Nazism, it raises the question of why?




He isn't, and you don't get to smuggle your tendentious accusation into the question, sorry.  As for why he is telling this story, he is doing it for the same reason he told the stories of the Zionist Jews, the Palestinians, the (leftist!) People's Temple, the (leftist!) early labor movement in the U.S. -- because he thinks it's important to tell stories from within the frame and perspective of the people who lived that story, rather than as a "neutral" or baised outsider.  An impossible goal, but a worthwhile aspiration (and given how preoccupied leftists are with lived experience, you'd think they would approve, but instead it's just another case of "no not like that!!").  Do you think Cooper is a People's Temple booster?  A Zionist Jew sympathizer  (Check his Twitter to find out about that one)?




Are these people full on fascists?




There's that word again.  There's nothing I can really say in response to this that won't get me in trouble, so let me just recommend that you find a more effective line of attack, because scolding and panicking about "fascism" is so 2017, it doesn't work on anyone anymore save the most dyed in the wool leftists.  And it undermines any concern you are trying to create in me about "reactionary authoritarianism."


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 12, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
My wife and kids are my meaning generator.  The low COL area is where some of my extended family lives, and it is religiously, politically, and culturally compatible.  Job market is meh, but I've been working remote for years now.  I should probably just take a lower-gear tech job and just ride it for a while.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 12, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
What is the minimum annual income could you live off of while still being happy?


Like many corporate tech drones nearing middle age, I have gotten bored with the rat race and dream of a simpler, lower stress life.  I don't really consoom much anymore -- I barely play games or watch TV, and I have a massive collection of books that I've yet to get around to reading.  My only expensive habits are whiskey and the very occasional cigar, but I could probably reduce my intake or go without.


Having money is pretty great, though.  You can solve a lot of problems by simply throwing money at them.  And expensive whiskey is nice...


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for October 1, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I'm doing a pretty bad job, but I'm at least more aware of how much I stare at my phone.  I've started putting it down more and trying to pay attention to what's going on.


One helpful development is that my 1 year old has started toddling up to me and straight-up slapping my phone out my hand or grabbing it and tossing it aside before shoving a board book that she wants me to read right into my chest.  Can't argue with that.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
"the poorfags, the mentalfags, the Frenchfags, the cripplefags, the collegefags"


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


You have people like Daryl Cooper and Tucker Carlson who may not be full-on sieg heiling but look an awful lot like they think the Nazis were directionally correct about maintaining national purity.




Is this just your uncharitable interpretation of them saying things like "hey maybe we don't need a million immigrants from poor countries who have very different cultures than ours and who don't share our values" or do they actually talk about racial or "national purity?"  People seem to get their panties in a bunch because these two guys don't genuflect to the WW2 mythos that has been handed down to the American public through Hollywood and high school history class, but I'm not convinced that saying something like "actually WW2 was more complicated that just Good Guys vs Bad Guys" is in any way remotely near "full-on sieg heiling."


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Or you could just work to remove the stigma against making obscene jokes in private chats.  Vance's comment works toward this goal.  The left has already done this for their people, there's no reason for the right to keep punishing their own.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Humanitarians.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 12, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Clever strategy, but it'll only work for the first sprint or two


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 12, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
How does a civilization deal with software that's thousands of years old?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 6, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I remember that incident, but the guy has multiple blogs jam-packed with nuanced takes on a million different topics.  It's like calling the Austrian mustache man a "noted vegetarian."


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 6, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Every now and then I start to regain hope that the worst of my outgroup probably aren't as bad as all the memes imply, and then I read something like that article, and my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.  "Fascism" was mentioned in every other sentence of the opening paragraphs in between denunciations of milquetoast liberals and other traitors to the progressive cause in the most extreme terms:




notorious transphobe, fascist and serial instigator of harassment campaigns Jesse Singal






Peter Thiel and a few of the other fascist luminaries






Eric Raymond, to give one example, is both a highly capable engineer and clearly has a strong attachment to hard-right politics, racism and homophobia.




My eyes nearly rolled back into my skull at




noted race scientist Scott Siskind




Please tell me these are meant to be epic dunks and sick burns rather than earnest descriptions of ideological opponents.  I knew that our common ground has been shrinking for some time, but if this is unironic we are, without exaggeration, inhabiting completely separate realities.  Disagreeing about "terrorism/freedom fighter" at least implies some sort of common understanding of facts -- the subject under discussion is understood to be a violent activist, the difference in opinion is on whether that violence is  justified, and that can be debated.  But I don't even know how to begin talking to someone who earnestly believes Scott is a "noted race scientist."


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 6, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I'm in favor.  Japan has a 500 yen coin and it's quite convenient.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 6, 2025
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I admit I forgot abot Von Braun, so I deserve that.