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 -
This is utterly stupid. It's what George Wallace tried, and it gives Trump an ironclad reason (rebellion, literally) to invoke the Insurrection Act and federalize the Guard. Walz may be one of two politicians dumb enough to do something like that (the other being his former running mate), but hopefully someone will talk him down.
Whose fault matters. If you just say it's "not good", you're implying that any side which can stop it should even at the cost of backing down. And Trump is on solid ground here; Walz is allowed not to assist Federal law enforcement in carrying out their duties, but he's not allowed to keep them from carrying them out themselves, and immigration enforcement is not some fantasy spun off of a vague enabling statute, it's based on pretty solid statute law.
The sense that I get from Walz is that he's basically a patsy for powerful democrats. He should absolutely not be a national figure, and that type of attention can be intoxicating. A (potentially) dangerous mix.
I hope nobody is egging him on.
He's a lame duck and his career is over. He can flip tables as much as he wants with zero consequence.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
I mean Greg Abbott got away with it. It's possible Walz is dumb enough to think that he's Greg Abbott.
Nor is Minnesota Texas. I know exactly where the Texas National Guard stands in a conflict between their state and the feds. The Minnesota National Guard? Im not so sure. How strong is state identity and how popular is Trump among Minnesota guardsmen?
A lot of the guardsmen who sided with Abbott literally were not Texan- operation lone star was a coalition.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link