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 -
Oldest trick in the book. Texans will see right through him.
More to the point, she is a 'committed vegan activist'. I have no doubt that there are plenty of vegetarian women dating men who eat meat- the demographics of vegetarianism suggests this probably isn't even that uncommon. But it doesn't pass the smell test that a 'vegan activist' would.
Without knowing anything else about it other than what you wrote, it passes the smell test for me. You can be a committed vegan activist without making your entire life about vegan activism.
Oooh, baby. I once had to scrap an entire vegetarian Christmas meal* at the last possible moment because the vegetarian announced they were vegan when they walked in the door. Vegetarian no good anymore, might contain things like milk or eggs! Even honey not acceptable!
Yeah, tell me about those reasonable vegan activists who don't make a big fuss and kick up a stink, why don't you?
*The rest of us were bloodmouth carnists, so we just ate normally. But the vegetarian products I had purchased so they wouldn't be just eating bare vegetables ** at the meal? Sorry, no good no more!
**Talk about Orthodox Jewish kitchens having two separate sets of utensils and even ovens so meat and dairy won't possibly meet at all or come into contact. I've had to use two sets of cooking pots and dishes to make sure the separate vegetables don't get contaminated by being cooked with the bloodmouth carnist vegetables which might have things like butter in them or be cooked in the meat water or roasted in the meat drippings or even just exist in the same space as animal corpses.
Last minute dietary surprises are hugely impolite but it's hardly unreasonable for vegetarians not to want to eat vegetables roasted in meat droppings (or boiled in "meat water", whatever that is).
No, I don't object to that, once I know in good time. But the bother of two separate sets of cooking vessels etc. is inconvenient, unless our vegans persuade us all to become vegans like them.
The meat water? Did you never hear of boiling vegetables (e.g. cabbage) in the same water you cooked the bacon in? Cuts down on cooking vessels (important if you don't have many or don't have much room) and imparts flavour to the vegetables.
An American would call ‘meat water’ broth(not that boiled meat is generally in high esteem on this side of the pond), ‘meat water’ sounds like something vaguely gross.
Corned beef and cabbage don't form much of a broth; I might pour a bit over the potatoes for seasoning, but it is indeed meat water. My husband, of Slavic descent, also thought it weird and has insisted that we start cooking even the corned beef for St Patrick's Day with some combination of crock pot and roasting, without the cabbage, which smells weird boiled.
Maybe a dialect difference, but I'd still call it 'broth' if I used it as a cooking liquid.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link