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 -
I mean, I know this just falls under "Everything that might be considered an overreach is justified by his supporters because at one point, a Democrat did something similar." but... uncritically yes? Like why does this just fall under immediate dismissal? Some sort of throw away line said with a sneer to dismiss the argument just 'cause?
Why shouldn't Red Tribers finally rejoice that one of their guys is finally just doing things like mass deportations, fighting crime and pulling school funding, in the way Democrat's "just did" lockdowns, and vaccine mandates, and eviction moratoriums, and trans kids in schools? Why should they care about the naked corruption when for my entire adult life the corruption was already pretty out there and naked? Did Trump rip off the last fig leaf? Maybe, but it was a pretty damned wilted and decayed fig leaf already. Also I'll gladly take a hospitality industrial complex over a military industrial complex any day.
And I mean... the cherry on top is Trump is a New York City Democrat. He literally learned all this from playing with the other team for 60 years. He just lost the protection of the respectability cartel which covers for that side relentlessly. Your sneering "a Democrat did something similar" is our lived "Democrats have done this to us for our entire lives, my business was bankrupted, I've been ethnically cleansed from my home town, and now my kid wants to get sterilized because of what they were taught in school."
You have it lodged in your brain that there were rules, but when "Democrats did something similar" it didn't count. It all counts, and now there are no rules.
More options
Context Copy link