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 -
I put nothing past them. Having centralization of a hobby makes it easier. But activist and infiltrators make it work just as well, just slower, without.
Maybe it starts with a campaign for all woodworkers to start putting their pronouns in their correspondence, and announce it at the beginning of each video. It's not like everyone would do it overnight. But maybe a few would. Then maybe one of the really big channels on Youtube gets talked into doing it, and suddenly there is a sea change. Next thing you know, if you aren't announcing your pronouns at the beginning of your woodworking videos, the comments section becomes a sea of accusations of bigotry. I know, I know, comments on youtube, what do you expect? Well, at the moment, most comment sections on woodworking video are actually profoundly helpful. I know, right?
Then the pressure ramps up. Suddenly all the channels are trying to outdo each other promoting Pride, or donating to LGBT causes. A little bit later, they are just straight up proselytizing for Democrats and calling all Republican's Nazi's.
Because it's a community, and it's also a hustle. In a sense it's zero sum, because there are only so many eyeballs you can get on your content. And most of the creators network extensively, and you don't want to find yourself outside the network. Same as most Youtube verticals.
Maybe a few channels find themselves left out of the network because at some point the meat AI that is the typical mob of "creators" that's been trained by the Youtube Algorithm hits a line they simply cannot cross along with everyone else. Maybe they can't throw their family under the bus as being bigots. Maybe they actually don't agree with mutilating and sterilizing children as a form of "trans health care". When all their former friends and colleagues treat them as persona non grata, they are immediately radicalized in the other direction.
And that is the hellscape I'm afraid is in woodworkings future. Because I've seen it happen, over, and over, and over again.
More options
Context Copy link