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Culture War Roundup for the week of June 1, 2026

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the killer refuses to accept culpablity and continues to insist that his victim was a racist, as if this would justify the killer's conduct even if it was true.

And he is correct. A society doesn't normally prosecute soldiers for murder, because they are killing that society's enemies. Why else do you think only that group is de facto allowed to go around armed? (Canada at least requires you to have it zip tied to the sheath so it can't be drawn, but in fairness that was 10 years ago.)

Here, though, English society gets to have its cake and eat it, too- killing its enemies while at the same time being able to claim murder is bad. Certainly confusing for the soldier in question- because here his claims that he was acting on society's general orders (to kill its enemies for their crime of existing, or "racism" for short) won't save him from prosecution.

Then again, soldiers get thrown under the bus all the time.

"Violent Sikhs are just modern UK soldiers" is a hot take, but if he is getting convicted, isn't that evidence against the entire idea? And what you're left with is just inflammatory rhetoric?

I think there's an argument to be made that those from honour cultures find that 'fighting words' are sufficient to prompt violence. I clearly don't agree with this, but I believe that this is the cultural operating system that the family is running. It explains their 'you're racist' outbursts 1 2 3 against the judge and Nowak's family after sentencing. They find the killing justified because of the words they were told were spoken by Digwa.

Hence "have cake and eat it too".

Just because they're throwing the killer away does not imply [those who define UK society] are not in complete agreement that what the killer did was justice.

It might not imply it in a strict sense, but I would hope that you can at least bring a concrete example of someone "who defines UK society" saying that what the killer did was justice.