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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 11, 2024

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We found out what other people really think and talk about, and the conclusion is intolerable. The internet's leveling effect meant that random nobodies could be signalboosted into the consciousness of the body politic.

Once undesirables were allowed an audience and became clearly visible, those who weren't undesirables wanted them destroyed, silenced, and removed from their public spaces.

Don't worry, there is an easy workaround for this mess. Just never be an undesirable in the eyes of those with power.

Just never be an undesirable in the eyes of those with power.

I spent a while asking my well-educated peers why they were supporting censorship and politicization while also claiming to loathe our local conservative government, warning that the shoe could easily be on the other foot someday. My leading hypothesis is that they (unconsciously) are following a strategy of "endorse whatever social movement is clearly ascendant" in a way that's almost completely blind to the content of the movement, even being blind to self-interest to a large extent. So they legitimately don't expect to suffer from censorship in that setting - they'll simply switch sides, and maybe push for an exception to the new ideology for themselves. It makes sense, and seems close to the optimal strategy if you can't actually control social movements.

Don't worry, there is an easy workaround for this mess. Just never be an undesirable in the eyes of those with power.

We have altered who is (and has always been) an undesirable in our eyes, pray we do not alter it any further.