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 -
Two BBC bosses, Director-General Tim Davie and news CEO Deborah Turness, both resigned after a scathing dossier (full memo) was published days ago, showcasing strong bias in BBC's reporting.
An example from the dossier where BBC's partiality may be readily observed, without requiring to into the weeds of culture war issues, is BBC produced special, airing a week before the most recent US presidential election about Donald J. Trump. In the part of the spcial about the 1-6 Incident, editor had spliced together without indication of doing so, Trump quotes an hour apart:
So near the beginning of his speech, Trump stated:
Then, roughly an hour later:
As quoted in the allegedly biased pre-election special:
(Also in video form)
Also elaborated upon in the dossier are bias in reoprting on the US POTUS election generally, alledging without evidence the existence of racial discrimination in insurance, covering up illegal immigration, distorting opinions of historians to promote racially incendiary historical narratives, parroting the LGBTQ activist line regarding transsexuality. Coverage of the local consequences of the 10-7 Incident is in particular depth critiqued.
Here is the punchline: Mr. Davie had in the past worked issued guidelines which would have been violated, if these accusations are true. He is more closely associated with the Conservative, rather than Labour, party. Strange that a man who can be accused of at most trying and failing to correct the ship, resigns. Now with Labour in power, the person replacing him will be more likely to be sympathetic to those who feel called out by this dossier and less likely to see the dossier as pointing at a real issue.
With a reputable report, whose accusations are confirmed by resignations, showing leftist bias in media, trust in media takes another hit.
Is there any trust left? None of these organizations are due the slightest of deference or respect, they're all ideologically captured shills. The BBC is a state propaganda organ, and the state propaganda organ of the UK is hostile to the US president. This is neither surprising nor that interesting. "News" exists to create opinion, not inform it.
It's a propaganda arm of the progressive cultural and social elite in the UK rather than of the state itself. It has such influence on state policy that it's easy to conflate the two, but that's getting cause and effect mixed up.
I would agree except to say that the government has considerable influence on it, but the BBC will fight this influence with every tool if the government is right-wing and accede easily of left-wing (though maybe not as left as Corbyn).
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link