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Culture War Roundup for the week of June 19, 2023

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I mean while I’m sure that we did accidentally stop human rights abuses, the story of never again is really only propaganda. Nobody has or will go to war over human rights. It’s just that it’s something the West has generally found the idea useful as it sounds a bit better to say “human rights” and “fighting to end war” than “we’re strong and we are stronger economically so toe the line or else.” The real reasons were pragmatic and aimed at our own ends.

Nobody has or will go to war over human rights.

intervention in Serbia/Kosovo seems like a case of that, with side of "stop your stupid tensions in that region, last time it ignited WW II"

there were also some other interventions which seem to be genuinely attempt at that

the story of never again is really only propaganda

"Never again a Holocaust" is propaganda. "Never again a land war in Europe" is something that Europeans and Americans of the wartime generation took extremely seriously, and which Europeans and Blue Tribe Americans are still taking seriously in Ukraine as we speak.

Much as the globohomo elites liked to kvetch about the lack of Pride parades in Moscow, nobody seriously suggested actually doing anything about it, even something petty like boycotting the Sochi Winter Olympics. What brought the banhammer down - both the little banhammer in 2014 and the big banhammer in 2022 - was Russian troops crossing the internationally recognised borders of Ukraine with murderous intent.

it sounds a bit better to say “human rights” and “fighting to end war” than “we’re strong and we are stronger economically so toe the line or else.”

That's a false dichotomy.

Serbia seems like it was a war from the west and mostly about human rights.