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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 27, 2023

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As a lefty: It is a real shooting fish in a barrel type exercise, but it works 95% to score cheap points.

If I get into a "Heated Exchange In The Free Market Of Ideas" and my interlocuter says "woke" or "pronouns" or any other conservative buzz word outside of a conservative safe space, I can make them look real stupid by forcing the conversation to a screeching halt and having them explain it to me.

Either they try in good faith and look stupid, or they blow right through and look disingenuous.

That's not quite the own you think it is. Or you might just be conversing with too dull of a people. When my conversant plays dumb with a concept/memeplex they would be usually advancing I just flip the script on them and say "well If you don't know what it is, then it must not be that important, lets disregard the people who care about it"

This doesn't work, because in this judo situation you brought it up. I win if it never comes up, you lose if you mention it.

This is the blow through conversation path, where I get to say that you don't actually believe anything and blah blah etcetra.

There really is no winning move in this situation, because the memeplex is too lefty for you to escape. Eg, you can do the Walsh bit, then I deploy the Chair::Horse attack and laugh at you.

None of this means anything, of course, but it does lower your status to the audience. 's why guys like Shapiro and Walsh and every other (competent) populist right figure are so carful about never being interviewed or debating on anything but a friendly platform; and it's why Trump is so effective. He actually has the complete lack of belief in anything to blow through a god damn bank vault.

I understand why explaining "woke" stops the conversation, but what's wrong with explaining "pronouns?"

Volunteering preferred pronouns, or asking someone what pronouns to use are partisan behaviors. People saying it isn't partisan doesn't matter. Similarly, a Christian asking to pray for you or asking you if you've prayed about something would probably annoy you.

Why do I look stupid?

I mean in that instance I as an atheist do think the polite thing to do is thank them for praying for me or do it as well if they ask. It mightn't mean much to me but it does it him so why not, and the same applies to pronouns.

This is just you arguing in bad faith, and it only makes them "look disingenuous" in the eyes of your fellow lefties.

Why argue with the outgroup, if not to win status with the ingroup? /s