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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 25, 2023

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lighthearted cs drama

The grace hopper conference is supposed to be for women and gender minorities. Since they have recruiters there, the job market is tight, and there's no explicit policy against men showing up, men have been showing up. It looks like a lot of people are unhappy about this. The csmajors sub banned discussion of it, but there are still plenty of juicy threads up; in addition to the gender wars, a lot of the guys being international students adds a 'they're taking our jobs' flair to the fire. Since it's basically impossible to gatekeep nonbinary-ness, the challenge for the organizers, if they choose to accept it, is to weed out the men without being accused of being TERFs.

the challenge for the organizers, if they choose to accept it, is to weed out the men without being accused of being TERFs.

They won’t accept it. They’ll trumpet their inclusion of diverse gender identities if it comes to that.

To the point of letting an obvious troll in? If Catgirl Kulak tries to get in, I don’t believe the inclusivity will last.

Obvious trolls/bad actors have been exploiting the various Anglosphere policies on trans women in prisons and sports for years with little to no pushback from the TRAs themselves. I'd be surprised if a tech conference proves to be the straw that breaks the camel's back, although I suppose stranger things have happened. "Academic politics are the most bitter because the stakes are so low" and all that.

”Academic politics are the most bitter because the stakes are so low” and all that.

How did this meme ever catch on? It’s obviously false.

People die over “real” politics. People go to prison, lives are ruined. The same cannot be said of academic politics, for the most part.

I've heard an Afghanistan war veteran say he'd rather deal with the Taliban, than with progressives engaging in petty politics back home. The former might kill you, but reportedly are nowhere near as vicious.

Sounds like the premise for a sappy movie. Local Farmboy Returns From War to find his hometown irrevocably…woke.

Reminds me of the Battle of Athens, America's own Scouring of the Shire.