site banner
PaperclipPerfector  10mo ago (text post)   33009 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 7, 2025

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.

8
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I was going to answer OP’s question with a tinfoil-hat rant about screenwriters being hired out of crony/nepotism rather than talent, but your complaint about the audience rings true (too?).

Not me, of course, but yes, other people. Anecdote: I have a zoomer significant other. Last night, she suggested we watch an episode of The Bear, a show of which we have both watched and enjoyed the previous 3 seasons, and are now midway through season 4. The episodes are only 33 minutes long.

My idea of watching an episode of a TV show is: sit down and watch the show, giving it your full concentration. Her idea of watching an episode of a TV show is: be scrolling through Instagram constantly during all those 33 minutes, occasionally flicking her eyeballs to the TV during the 0.5 seconds in between reels.

And she’s the one who pays for the Disney+ subscription we’re watching it on. So… kind of a waste of money to make your show coherent when even your paying customers who proactively decide to watch the show don’t even actually process it into their brains.

Is this her?

Though I suppose it could always be worse...

It's shocking how both the depth and breadth of knowledge have contracted in one generation. Recently I was sitting around a fire with a group of 20 somethings and they asked me what kind of music I liked. I told them "classical" and they didn't know what that meant. Worse still, I had a hard time explaining it. One of the most alien and disconcerting things is that Millenials will text while having sex. I now give a standard warning to Millenials: "No texting during sex or we are done. I don't care how hot you are." This makes the hikikomori seem much more understandable.

I told them "classical" and they didn't know what that meant.

I don't actually know how I'd define classical without mentioning names, and time periods. What makes a piece of "classical" music just that? I know it when I hear it, but I can't define Beethoven vs. Modern Piano piece in a way that's actually a legitimate definition.

Jokes on them, this is my fetish

/r/BorednIgnored (NSFW)

One of the most alien and disconcerting things is that Millenials will text while having sex. I now give a standard warning to Millenials: "No texting during sex or we are done. I don't care how hot you are."

Ted_Kaczynski_mugshot.jpeg

My idea of watching an episode of a TV show is: sit down and watch the show, giving it your full concentration. Her idea of watching an episode of a TV show is: be scrolling through Instagram constantly during all those 33 minutes, occasionally flicking her eyeballs to the TV during the 0.5 seconds in between reels.

Off topic, but have you ever taken her to a few week long camping trip, somewhere far outside cell coverage? How do you think she'd react?

Nothing against your GF, but these kinds of description of GenZ / GenAlpha awaken a feeling existential dread in me, and I wonder if there's anything that can be done to help them / avert the apocalypse.

How do you think she'd react?

Her phone being nearly out of battery is an automatic “OK let’s go home now”. My phone being nearly out of battery (and me being unbothered about it) results in her looking at me nonplussed and asking me if I’m OK every 5 minutes.

So I don’t think it’d go down so well.

I know we recently had our disagreements about the future impact of technology on human brains, but for what it's worth, @Butlerian's description also fills me with a profound despair.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats