This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Kissing the Ring.
The vibes of the Trump 2.0 Presidency are already shaping up to be a LOT different than Trump 1.0. How do I know? Here's a list of people that have given $1 million to Trump's inauguration party:
Others are kissing the ring as well. Here's notable blowhard Mark Benioff.
It's even a repost! He had to post it twice in case Donald missed the first one. Not sure what's up with the bizarre censorship of God to make it look like a swear word.
Eric Adams, mayor of New York, has also taken a surprise right turn recently, coming out with some very strong ant-immigrant rhetoric and cozying up to Trump as well.
In 2016, all the power hungry opportunists were on team #resistance. Now they seem to be jumping on the Trump bandwagon. Perhaps they are buying into the narrative (probably correct) that Trump can be co-opted with personal flattery. But to stay in his good graces, they'll need stay onsides while Musk and company go to work on reshaping our government. There's probably a brief window of opportunity for real change here before the inevitable backlash.
So who will kiss the ring next?
I had the same feeling. Not quite what I'd call a whitepill, but something of a counter to the extremely blackpilled narrative of the establishment doing whatever the hell it wants against the wishes of the common people, or even it's own principles. I can't quite figure out why, though. The first term has shown they can oppose him and suffer no consequences, so why the race to bend the knee all of a sudden?
It's a very good question. I would guess that with billions of dollars at stake, they have their ear to the ground in ways that we don't, and they must have some indication that Trump is coming in better prepared to actually get things done this time around, for whatever reason.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link