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 -
It sounds like you have made up your mind and will never be pleased. She hit him with her car and you’re arguing that some other conduct that’s not on video we can never know the truth of is probably exculpatory context
No, I'm judging purely based on the video. I saw nothing in the video that made it clear the ICE employees were putting her under arrest. I don't see how someone can be "resisting arrest" unless they're aware they are being arrested. All I saw was a guy in a mask jumping out of an unmarked vehicle and running toward her, yelling "get out of the fucking car". In that situation it seems reasonable to fear for one's life. Why does the ICE employee have the right to self-defense but an American citizen on a public street doesn't have the right to flee?
I don’t understand your thinking here. If a cop would stop you and tell you to get out of your car, do you think you could just floor it and flee because they didn’t say you are under arrest?
That may be reasonable if someone is startled and wondering if brazilian street gangsters are carjacking them, but it is not what is happening in the video. She, her partner and the bystanders know exactly who the ICE officers are and she is smiling condescendingly and cracking jokes at them. There is neither panic nor fear, just smugness and derision. She is not fleeing out of panic, but because she is flippantly taking it as a game and not taking the situation serious.
Right, and then the other ICE employee started charging at her, and she feared for her life. I would be scared too if some guy dressed like a muslim terrorist started trying to drag me out of my car. For all she knew, these were just a group of Trump supporters pretending to be ICE.
This is just an absurd inference (I think it’s trolling). There are clear as day other ICE agents there. Is she really afraid that some vigilante will snatch her when literally LEO is right there?
Whatever it is, it isn't trolling. Progressives in the area view ICE as Trump's personal thugs here to snatch dissidents, not LEO here to enforce laws.
That’s so untethered from reality
How? I absolutely view ICE as Trump's personal paramilitary force, similar to the sturmabteilung. Or at least, I think he hopes that's what they will evolve into. Deporting illegals is a great pretext for creating all the systems they will need to start targeting political dissidents and Trump's enemies. And the angrier the ICE agents are, the more ruthless they'll become. He needs a police force he knows is loyal, who will act without question when he needs them to establish martial law.
There is pretty much zero evidence that they are doing anything but getting rid of illegals.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link