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professorgerm

clutching my imitation pearls

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joined 2022 September 12 12:41:49 UTC 

				
User ID: 1157


				
				
				

			

		

	














	


		


			



	

		

			

			

				

					

						

							
						

						

							
							

								
professorgerm


								
								
									
								
								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
clutching my imitation pearls

				
				
				

				

					3 followers  

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					joined 2022 September 12 12:41:49 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 1157


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Ok fine if I want to spend my life to try and change people that hate me, it matters that they are separate people that might be able to be changed.


As a griller, I don't want to do that, I want to live my life and have my family and not be bothered too much, so the coalition, whether or not the component parts change, matters more to me. "Progressive Democrats are bad for schools and my family" stays the same even if they're bad last year because of braindead "anti-racist" racism, and next year because of braindead knockoff communism.


Also, generally speaking, I'm the exact opposite in every dimension of the kinds of person those people will listen to. I'm not some arrogant piece of shit high on my own supply that's been coddled in the rich parts of big cities and attended Harvard; I'm a lower-middle straight-passing cis white guy that attended a mid-tier state school. I have not structured my life or been blessed with the privileges that will cause progressives or liberals to listen to me; if I tried to convince them of anything, most likely they don't listen at all and at worst I've negatively polarized them into being even stupider than they were before.




If you want to try and persuade people that maybe shooting Youtubers is wrong




I can't say I care much about Youtubers as an open season class, but I would be pretty bothered if people started taking shots at Alec Watson or Norm Nakamura.




Coalitions are not unassailable cosmic entities that exist beyond space and time.




Egregores are not unassailable, fair enough. Cosmic is questionable.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yep exactly. It's got a clever little ribbon cable that inserts between the board and the disc drive, so it retains disc drive functionality unlike some of the past mod chips. It can run burned games, various cheats can be loaded in, and in theory you can boot up the gameboy player attachment without the startup disc (haven't tried that yet).


A softmodded WiiU should be able to run most of the same games, as I understand it.


I happened to pick up a gamecube for cheap at a thrift shop and wanted to do something with it. I've got a Japanese WiiU in my project closet and plan to softmod it eventually, but with the language stuff I think it'll take a fair bit longer.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Just put a picoboot in a gamecube; i've been playing crazy taxi and star fox adventures. good nostalgic times.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


BLM was a largely serious reaction




lol it was a scam artist buffet and a free for all for violent morons.


they definitely took themselves too seriously, though.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
The difference is moot to the person (or group, etc) under attack by different members of the coalition, and this argument sets a bar that makes addressing an enemy coalition impossible. It's asymmetric concern.


MitigatedChaos memorably described it as the distributed hypocrisy of von Wokenstein's Monster though acknowledges it can be performed by any ideology.




Policy is not experienced in isolation from other policy made by the ruling coalition. It’s experienced all at once. Different policies combined together have different effects than the same policies in isolation.




So too am I reminded of this chart. Are they literally the same people saying white flight and gentrification are bad, that cultural appropriation and being chauvinistic are bad?


Well, probably, but who wants to waste the time collecting receipts on hateful people? Let's assume for the sake of argument they are separate people in a big-tent coalition.


That they're separate people doesn't matter to me! What matters is that [coalition] has no acceptable state of being for outsiders.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


for all of his hard work




the hard work was the problem, here.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


But what other levers do they hold?




Sic the CRS on him? Arrange for a boating accident?


Get him a quiet sinecure at some mid-tier university or NGO to disappear under fat stacks of cash?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
"I enjoy having a distinct culture of my own" is hardly the same as being the Stepfords or actual aliens! These are not even in the same realm of degrees of uncharitability.


I didn't say it's not conformist, but neither did they! They accused conservatives of being fucking BRAINWASHED AUTOMATONS. Come on. This is absurd.


Also, progressives kick anyone out of their coalition that doesn't agree on like two topics. They are equally if not more conformist, just with funnier hair colors.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


But is the problem here democracy?




Democracy as an Ideal Form, no. Democracy as it exists in the real world, yes.




It may be enough to figure out whatever the (democratic) places that manage to be quiet, clean, and safe do.




Not be large cities?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


it only happened because Musk put his hands on the scale.




Ehh the honest and harmless parts are also the result of major, major hands on the scale of RLHFing for a very narrow definition of "harmless."




specifically does not extend the same consideration to the Whites.




Correct. Result bias is very strong on this topic.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
"I want my neighbors to look and act like me" might mean automatons if you're egregiously uncharitable, but it's more likely to mean "I don't want the tyranny of the bottom decile, and actually I like a quiet neighborhood instead of morons blasting shitty music at 2AM."


People that don't want to walk clean streets in safety are just virtue signaling morons that deserve to be mugged, repeatedly, until they wise up and stop being doormats that make everyone's lives worse.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
A big fraction of philanthropy is not concurrent with a big fraction of people complaining about USAID.


Perhaps I'm overindexing on personal encounters, but knowing a lot of Elon sucks, TDS, woo Mamdani types- none of them have changed their behavior beyond posting increasingly stupid instagram stories. I like the look when I ask if they're doing anything for Africa to replace USAID but I also don't want to abuse that; I know I'm a hot potato to be dropped.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Plus a timing issue that bridges between late-Trump 1 and Biden that due to COVID there was reduced focus/capacity for doing things like livestock monitoring, so you had both migrants and cattle herders moving into areas they shouldn't be.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Okay, give Kelsey Piper a pass.


99.99% of people complaining about USAID have not changed their behavior by so much as a single penny.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Some are more equal than others, around here.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
As the saying goes, civilization is not a suicide pact.


War is bloody and awful, but it's honest. Letting your better principles be the knife used to bleed you dry is not.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Rawls is right up there near Rousseau on the list of Most Destructive Philosophers of History.


Of course, Rawls being downstream of Rousseau means the frog retains the top rank.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


A US citizens who decides to emigrate to the Taliban, Belarus, North Korea, Saudi Arabia is arguably betraying the ideals on which the US is built.




Likewise, DSA candidates should all be convicted of treason.




Anyone loyal to the good ideals of the US can by necessity only be loyal to the US as it exists in reality if the US does a good job of upholding these ideals.




"Men did not love Rome because she was great; Rome was great because men loved her."


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Unfortunately The Motte didn't exist back in 1920.


We probably talk about the R1b expansion an unusual amount relative to The Motte not exist 14Kish years ago either, though.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


How is this any better, just because it's done behind closed doors?




TBF that is exactly the argument people make about much more important topics like jawboning, corruption versus fraud, etc. If you do it the right way (and let's be honest, with the correct letter behind your name), you can get away with anything.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Fair enough, Hanania is probably right about more than one thing.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 15, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


there should be mass desire for movement somewhere if we're fucking something up in a significant way and we just don't see it




Where?


If you're already living on the golden goose, you have nowhere else to go. And while the goose is hardy, it is not invincible, and democratic systems are apparently helpless against the influx of ~infinite people that want to live on the goose until it suffocates and gets smeared into what a Pakistani bricklayer considers wealth.




There's gotta be some explanation for why no one can get things right and also be a country that people want to be in.




Easy, liberalism only really works when it believes in itself, and being at least a little bit arrogant about it. You have to retain the ability to say "I'll tolerate your backwards idiocy, but my culture is better."


Once people start to consider racism as a worse crime than rape and murder, because liberalism no longer seems capable of saying "fuck you my culture is better," you're coasting on the works of better men with real souls.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


But if that's the case then the response is if you can't bother yourself with gathering real evidence then don't make allegations.




Leftists have never bothered gathering evidence for anything, they just shout people down. Much more effective and conveniently doesn't rely on reality!


But yeah Hanania's right about precisely one thing, and it's that the right is too lazy.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
in a contrast to other groups historically, this seems more far more imposed from within the minority than from the majority.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


John Alexander Adams




Nice.




That I don't want to suggests I don't really believe the vote is fake.




It is unfortunate the right lacks the left's organized supply of underemployed, politically-obsessed weirdos to do things like trawl through California's voter registration databases and hunt down every homeless person in the state to question them.