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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 1, 2025

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Why not move somewhere else? Why nuclear bombardment? Why do you ignore forms of defeat that do not result in Reds ruling you with a jackboot; for instance, a new norm of strong federalism where Blues have blue laws in blue places and reds have red laws in red places? There's also the part where Reds would survive Nuclear bombardment a whole lot better than blues, and would in fact likely rebuild; the threat here is asymmetric to your side's disadvantage.

If Blue Empire were eternal despite all we Reds could attempt, if we were crushed as badly as the Christians in 1600s Japan, I think I would flee elsewhere before resorting to nuking the country. No evil rules eternal; sooner or later, often sooner, it burns itself out.

I think you are making a similar mistake to Jim; you also lack the inner coldness-of-heart, are also carried away by the narrative glories. You lack temper to lose.

In an actual scenario where they start a civil war and win, why would the Reds not rule with a jackboot? Even if they assure you, as a member of the Blue team, that they will not, as they try to persuade you to put down that big red button, why would you believe them?

I wouldn't trust any belligerent in the culture war to be magnanimous in victory on the best day, and here we are in a subthread where we're actually talking about the blog by some redtriber who is very openly fantasising about jackboots and lots of other redtribers are assuring us that he is very important and influential.

Jim doesn't come off as a red triber.

There's plenty of red tribers- not close to a majority mind you, but you can find them- who think women shouldn't vote, shouldn't be able to take out credit on their own, parents should be able to veto their marriages, non-Christians shouldn't be allowed to run for office. TND is not a common red tribe belief. Forced marriage of teenagers is simply not a red tribe belief- there is, likewise, a minority(a smaller one than the previous but it does exist) that thinks teenagers getting married would be a better idea than waiting, but 'people should be in love to get married(and a male/female pair that is in love should get married)' is a pretty core red tribe belief. Deep, deep red beliefs about marriage, family, and courtship may not be politically correct, but they are not Islamic either. I suspect the red or black tribe would kill Jim if he appeared likely to seize power- maybe the prophecy that Bubba and Tirone will join forces would come true.

In an actual scenario where they start a civil war and win, why would the Reds not rule with a jackboot?

Because oppressing people is an unproductive pain in the ass. I've already written off California. If the population of LA wants to live in a shithole, they can do that to their hearts content. People who don't want to live in a shithole should move somewhere else. It's the same reason the Union, post-civil-war, didn't enslave or exterminate all the southerners; as modern Progressives frequently note with frustration and regret, they weren't actually Progressive enough to apply final solutions to the Southern Problem, and so peace resumed and the rupture largely healed.

You are correct to note that this is not something one can actually be certain of across the tribal divide, and not being ruled by people who hate you applies equally to Blues as it does to Reds. The goal should be to find a way to secure that goal that doesn't involve ruling lest you be ruled. Maybe there is no such way and we are doomed to fratricide, but I think my hope is better.

I wouldn't trust any belligerent in the culture war to be magnanimous in victory on the best day, and here we are in a subthread where we're actually talking about the blog by some redtriber who is very openly fantasising about jackboots and lots of other redtribers are assuring us that he is very important and influential.

Who in this thread, specifically, is assuring you that he is very important and influential? I do not think he is important or influential to any significant degree. If his views ever gain prominence, well, second amendment solutions apply for people like him as well.

In an actual scenario where they start a civil war and win, why would the Reds not rule with a jackboot?

For one thing, because it's HARD WORK. For another, because (credibly and enforceably) agreeing not to could end the civil war a lot sooner.

(As for Dreaded Jim, I doubt he's a red triber. Just a dissident blue like Yarvin)

I mean my nuclear hellfile in this case is a metaphor for an artificial pathogen engineered to inflict maximum casualties on red tribers, but I get your meaning, retreat is probably a better option than mutual annihilation. I would need a way to make sure the red tribe wouldn't be able to complete an AGI for that to be reasonable, but on the whole, I would agree.

So, what, a pathogen keyed to ethnic genetic markers? Or maybe something that goes for corn or wheat, cause a famine? See, I don't dream of things like that, because my enemies aren't a race, they're an ideology. The line between good and evil really does run through every human heart. In any case, if Scott was right about thrive vs survive, it doesn't really matter what sci-fi superweapon you choose. However you create an environment favoring survival, we are the side that specializes in survival. To the extent that you change your own faction to increase your tolerance for survival conditions, you likely also reduce your ideological variance from people like me.

I would need a way to make sure the red tribe wouldn't be able to complete an AGI for that to be reasonable, but on the whole, I would agree.

I generally don't spend much time worrying about superintelligent AGI. It seems to me that if it happens, there's not going to be much we can do about it, and my understanding of Alignment in the MIRI sense is that it's a pipe dream. I am very confident that coherent extrapolated volition doesn't exist, and neither does anything resembling it. Humans are not going to be able to code an omnibenevolent deity, so either they aren't going to be able to code a deity of any kind, or else my plan is to be conveniently dead before the Torment Nexus is finished booting up.

So, what, a pathogen keyed to ethnic genetic markers? Or maybe something that goes for corn or wheat, cause a famine?

This is more of a musing/fantasy than a rational thought. I am mainly of the opinion that actual civil war is very unlikely as it would require sacrifice and effort from a population that has shown time and time again it is unwilling to do those things (The population in question is that of the USA not of one tribe).

From the Numantian solution to "actually, we'd pull a superweapon from our ass and Just Win." It's funny how your participation in this thread was motivated by rightful disdain at that Jim guy's crass violent barbarism, and now you've arrived at fantasies of rightoid genocide.