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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 2, 2026

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There would be no shortage of organic ones, and likely a few NGOs. The demand for Russia's tradbasedness vastly outstrips the supply, and while many Russians are not exactly the ones chafing to go "in this house we believe" if only the laws allow it, the active opposition to the LGBT flags number few, and are likely sponsored.

You don't need tradbasdness to not have rainbow flags, you need progwokenwss to have them. Even in the west, with people sympathetic to wokeness, the amount of in your face symbolism would go down by 10x, if it wasn't artificially propped up, simply because people have better shit to do.

Even in the west, with people sympathetic to wokeness, the amount of in your face symbolism would go down by 10x, if it wasn't artificially propped up, simply because people have better shit to do.

In fact, this already happened, between when the Floydening ended and the "Kamala is for they/them" ad hit home.

In my estimation, Russia (at the very least St. Petersburg, the capital of Russian artsy progressives) does not lack progwokes. And unlike Western progwokes who gassed themselves out on their victory lap, there's still a lot of winning for Russian progwokes.

What's "artificially propped up"? Sure, I'll agree that near-mandatory sensitivity consulting corporations are probably the central example of artificial propping-up. In the case of a manager of a small coffee shop deciding to put up rainbow flags during June, I wouldn't agree that it's artificial. There wouldn't be specific laws against "propagandizing the LGBT community" if no one really wanted to propagandize the LGBT community. As you say, just the lack of mandating the LGBT propaganda would be enough.

There wouldn't be specific laws against "propagandizing the LGBT community" if no one really wanted to propagandize the LGBT community.

LGBT is almost always unpopular among the common people because smarmy effeminate weirdos tend to be their public face. Banning 'LGBT propaganda' doesn't mean that there's lots of people eager to spread LGBT; it means that the government wants to show that it listens to the common people more than it wants to show it cares about tolerance/expanding human rights.

There was definitely a whole network of organizations run by earnest young Russian libs who want Russia to be Western. Unpopular in general doesn't mean unpopular in St. Petersberg and Moscow.

What's "artificially propped up"?

It's all the money that goes into all the orgs that put up all these flags, organize all the marches, etc.

In the case of a manager of a small coffee shop

You think this was put up by a small coffee shop?

It's all the money that goes into all the orgs that put up all these flags, organize all the marches, etc.

So, as long as the money is collectively raised in any way, it's artificial? I'm just trying to determine the actual boundaries of your definition of artificial.

You think this was put up by a small coffee shop?

No. I do think 10x less than that will still be disliked by those who want to dislike it. Hell, 100x less than that.

So, as long as the money is collectively raised in any way, it's artificial? I'm just trying to determine the actual boundaries of your definition of artificial.

Not "in any way", you can have fundraisers and whatnot. But taking tax money to fund the indoctrination of people and their children, into values they consider hostile, sounds pretty artificial to me. It's not even necessarily bad, per se. I support various forms of tax-funded indoctrination, but remember that the conversation was about how anti-wokeness stems only from "repression", I'm pointing out the repression it takes to promote wokeness to begin with.

No. I do think 10x less than that will still be disliked by those who want to dislike it. Hell, 100x less than that.

If the flags were just put up by local cafe's and the like, I might dislike it, but it would hardly bother me.