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 -
They are not under Israeli sovereignty. Israel doesn't claim to own them or rule them. Both are orphaned ex Egypt and Jordanian territories. And if tomorrow Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or the Alpha centauries offer to conquer the west bank and gaza, Israel will welcome them and unroll the red carpet.
I think we can guestimate by how many hospitals Gaza ministry of health has claimed to have been destroyed.
If the West Bank isn't under Israeli sovereignty then why are Israeli settlements full of Israeli citizens guarded by the Israeli military located in the West Bank then?
They don't claim to own or rule them, yet they do. Israeli forces freely enter both, kidnap or murder who they please without the slightest accountability. The Israelis effectively exercise sovereignty without all the inconvenient parts that come along with it, like providing basic services or allowing the people there to vote on their leadership.
Would they? At various times they've also pretended to welcome a Palestinian state, but it's pretty obvious that this is just a pretense so they can absorb the land at their own pace without absorbing the people too.
Well if we're doing "guesstimates" then my "guesstimate" is somewhere in the mid 6 figures. Around a tenth of the population at the low end, closer to a quarter on the high end. Comparable to the losses of one of the Soviet Republics during WW2, certainly genocidal by any standard.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link