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 -
I didn't say that was your argument, those are just examples of why sweeping generalizations are bullshit. They simply are disproven by the large large large majorities that don't engage in the generalization.
I don't need to contest it, in fact I agree with you. I've talked here about stuff like victim complexes and extreme pessimism being a growing issue with the internet. I think a major part of it is algorithms which are explicitly designed to broadcast angry and scary things.
I don't believe trans people are under any meaningful threat, at least not in most western countries. I also don't believe mass shooters of any kind are a meaningful threat to the general public. I consistently say that violence is just not a thing that western first worlders die of, and if you do die of it it is almost always (not literally always but almost always) because you sought it out. People hype up scary anecdotes like some trans prostitute being killed by an ashamed guy or some Ukrainian refugee being killed in a subway by a mentally ill black dude, but those just aren't things that actually happen in real meaningful numbers.
But again refer back to the original question, which one is the chicken and which one is the egg? In my comment I linked above, I talked about how algorithms wouldn't encourage negativity if people didn't bite onto it to begin with. I think social media and online radicalization can be an accelerant, but I do not believe it is the match that starts the fire.
The chicken, the root cause, for many of these violent people is "anti social negativity obsessed violence loving" personalities. The egg, things that happen because of their personality, is participating in violence glorifying forums, seeking out ways to feel superior to others (like embracing neonazi rhetoric), and wanting ways to feel like they can change who they are for the better (some internal shame about their anti social/asocial tendencies) like embracing trans identities.
More options
Context Copy link