site banner

Culture War Roundup for the week of April 27, 2026

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.

3
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Given my great dislike of Dawkins

Do go on.

My dislike of Dawkins is summed up nicely by a line from the South Park episodes which made fun of him: "he decided that logic and reason wasn't enough; you also have to be a dick to everyone who doesn't think like you". Because that is how he always has acted. The man just drips with contempt for anyone who has religious beliefs. I don't much care if someone is an atheist, that's fine. But when someone is an atheist and his every moment in the public eye is declaring that my views are stupid, that I'm stupid for believing them, and that it should be illegal for parents to teach children about my beliefs... then I have a problem.

I've long thought he was too arrogant in how he presented himself (the Four Horsemen thing was silly but hey, this is how you generate online content and interaction). He did seem to believe his own publicity rather too much, unlike Hitchens who at least was abrasive enough that a damn good row could be had by all parties but there would be no flouncing off. I know privilege is a terrible term, but Dawkins is privileged and never seems to have recognised or acknowledged that. Elevatorgate was a storm in a teacup, but by the same token, I could see why a woman in a strange place very late at night might not feel the safest with a guy putting forwards 'come have sex with me' (and the amount of "he only asked her back for coffee! that just means he was offering her a cup of coffee!" disclaimers I saw made me even more cynical), and Dawkins of all fucking people evoking Muslim women while he lectured about how this woman was over-reacting because she was white Westerner was too richly ironic. I've mentioned him commenting on the North so you know my reaction there.

Terry Eagleton's takedown was funny, at least to me. Dawkins has sort of faded into the background now along with New Atheism but the guy has his own little fanclub and continues to stick his nose in to various topics regardless of whether or not he has anything useful to say. His fifteen minutes are up but he doesn't realise that.

Dawkins of all fucking people evoking Muslim women while he lectured about how this woman was over-reacting because she was white Westerner was too richly ironic.

Why? The New Atheist position was sincerely paternalistic and progressive. Religion is bad because it oppresses women and once you make that judgment you'd need to be a Motte-style contrarian to not think Muslim women have it worse.

Emails indicate Dawkins, a former Oxford professor known for his atheist views, was aware Epstein had been jailed but dined with him at a gala dinner at a conference in Arizona in April 2014. Dawkins also wrote to his agent that he had heard “his case is not as black as painted”

https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/richard-dawkins-epstein-emails-sx82lwsbz