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Culture War Roundup for the week of July 21, 2025

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how you would see it?

You're right, this is pretty specific to my location: I live in a very small town and the sight lines are pretty long, so depending on the direction, I can tell if someone's headed my way for quite a distance. I also happen to drive around sometimes and see the same people doing the same things (the list was meant to be for habitual actions). If I know what someone's start point is, I can determine their walk round-trip is about a mile and potentially find it exceptional because basically no one walks in the area unless they're exercising, generally outdoorsy, own a pet, have a DUI, have no driver's license, are a minor who likes to go places, are a minor who is a street urchin with no place to go, are poor, or any combination. That alone might not tell you much, but you could combine it with other indicators to tell you more.

because basically no one walks in the area

oh, I keep forgetting about that USAsian weirdness.

Boys on the motte will clutch their pearls at the idea of defacing the beauty of the human form with art but if you try to get around using the limbs god made for you to walk around with will assume you're a DUI poor

That's a little bit reductive; there are a lot of things on that "or" list, some of which are perfectly fine. Deducing that I have one of the traits on that "or" list from my significant walks to the supermarket would be correct (specifically, I don't have a driver's licence; I'm absent-minded and don't think I'd make a great driver).

It's true! Sad!

basically no one walks in the area unless ...

I find it sad that so many places are like this. Mostly because the urban design sucks, but then even if you're willing to put up with that and walk anyways you're going to get judged negatively.

I'm weird in that I would want to walk places anyways (and have, on occasions where I'm outside my very walkable current location). It would be annoying to be judged for this.

I agree that you can add up all these little things together and make more accurate assumptions about less obvious things about a person. But basically everyone has a few non-standard preferences. By default you should avoid judging people on things that don't really matter, and they should do the same for you.

I'm weird in that I would want to walk places

This isn't weird at all. Kind of hilarious the default locomotion option for the last 6 million years is seen as weird in America. No wonder you're all so unhealthy

Tonight when it came up that my fiance and I walked to the bar people were shocked.

It was a half hour! On a pleasant summer night!