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 could understand it if they limited Black to the American context, aka American Descendants of Slavery/Foundational Americans (one of the other, rather more bombastic names for the group), but they don't! The style guide treats all black people around the world as a cohesive cultural identity, which to me is wildly old-timey racist and I've never found a justification for why it isn't. The logic seems to be that all black people are basically the same, but white people are just too diverse and unique to be lumped together? Ridiculous.
While taking the words of a schizophrenic to mean anything is a questionable practice, the murderer said "I got the white girl, I got the white girl" after stabbing her. Deranged he may be, he seemed to think it had something to do with race.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Well. Some second-order effects.
I do not think anyone expect nationwide riots after this murder.
Maybe the Charlotte mayor loses her primary, maybe that magistrate gets investigated.Edit: nope, the primary was yesterday and she won.
Almost certain the mayor wins the general, too, given the voting habits of urban democrats.
There must be real and true consequences before there can be any rapprochement, and yet we never saw any of that from the 2008 crash, we never saw it from COVID, and we've never seen it, ever, in fifty-plus years of integration failures and unidirectional ethnic violence.
Consequences, please, while there are some reasonable options left.
Wait until a "jury of his peers" finds the murderer not guilty and he's back on the streets again.
Peers are supposed to be fellow lords, and the word "peer" is absent from the Constitution.
He deserves an impartial trial, but unfortunately there's only one group of jurors who are ever impartial.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link