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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 19, 2026

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It’s not a game, it’s the government storming your city and demanding to see everyone’s papers and perhaps snatching up your friends, terrorizing people to be afraid to go out of their houses. I personally would feel like a coward if I didn’t somehow do something against that. At the same time I’m sure I wouldn’t do so because I don’t get involved in putting my ass on the line over politics. I know that about myself, but if the agents were on the streets of my city, where many of my friends are indeed immigrants, I’d feel like a piece of shit for not doing something about it. A lot of people are like me but they are willing to put their own ass in danger for this sort of thing, and I respect that.

I’m interested in this seeming total lock-in to your own perspective that’s happening among many people on the right on this subject. You’d feel the same way if you perceived that masked thugs from the government descended on your own town and started harassing and snatching people from your social network. Wouldn’t you?

And buying and returning thousands of salt shakers at target has something to do with anything? It's being treated as a game. They don't get that federal law enforcement is actual law enforcement. That's why they throw themselves into the middle of active police investigations and pretend they can't be arrested for it. That's why they fistfight cops and are shocked it doesn't turn out well.

Deeply unserious people, utterly disconnected from the real world. These aren't teenaged petty criminals making a bad decision under stress like the blacks that get got and spark protests- they're full blown adults who ought to know better. And they're treating it as a game with ICE breaking the rules. I guess that's what you get with a political movement founded on the idea that men can become women.

No, it's being treated seriously by people who are being intentionally riled up and misled by those seeking to gain from the chaos. They don't "get" that federal law enforcement is actual law enforcement because they are being explicitly told by people they trust that ICE has no power over them. This chaos is being deliberately orchestrated. Don't let those doing the orchestration off the hook.

It’s not a game, it’s the government storming your city and demanding to see everyone’s papers and perhaps snatching up your friends, terrorizing people to be afraid to go out of their houses.

All those people running around blowing whistles and yelling, they're absolutely terrorized and subject to constant papers checks?

This did sort of happen during COVID in a lot of places, though. Why people are storming your city and demanding to see your papers and making you feel afraid of going about your daily life, and whether you agree or disagree matters a lot to how you feel about it. Ultimately people's responses on all sides are going to be politically inflected.

This is true.

It creates lots of conflict when the sides are polarized and each perceives different threats, but I guess it does cause us to avoid certain civilizational failure modes.

It’s either this or be like the Chinese and just preserve social harmony above all else. In the end a trade off. Hope you are enjoying the show!