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 -
You're the one who posited a Russian invasion. I'm pretty sure the militias and the regular military would be on the same team in that situation.
If you want to say that civilians with small arms couldn't stand up to a tyrannical government that had the full support of the American armed forces, I also think that's wrong. 0.5% of the population wielding (mostly) small arms, actively supported by another 2-3%, is enough to make a region virtually ungovernable by an occupying force. Just look at Afghanistan.
Clearing out insurgents door-to-door is about as difficult, dangerous, and expensive as war gets. A few rifles and some homemade explosives make every single street a potential canyon of death ambush location. No officer or politician can stand outside or too near a window in a city for fear of snipers, outside of locked down compounds.
I don't think you're giving the Framers enough credit here. Tech has changed since 1787, but the fundamental unit of political power is still a man with a rifle. Aircraft carriers full of fighter jets are great at blowing shit up, but they can't operate a checkpoint or go on patrol through suburban neighborhoods.
Do remember that the modern soldier's response (as opposed to the policeman's response) to enemies in a house isn't "run up to the house and clear it". It's "call in fires to destroy the house". There are reasons that the Viet Cong and the Taliban had most of their hideouts underground.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link