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 -
Your ancestors lived in a peaceful part of the world. Compared to Nigeria, the level of violence in America was mild.
The difference is that your family was organized enough to have records stretching back 400 years while others barely know who their grandparents were. Being capable of record keeping is nothing to be ashamed of.
I work in a fairly disreputable field since it pays well. My retired father has been doing a genealogical deep dive, and it appears that my family has done this for generations. Whaling, slave trading, mild piracy etc etc etc.
I might be anti-slavery, but I personally feel that if I had been born into the world that my ancestors had been born into that I likely would have gone to sea in pursuit of a better life, and that likely would have come with a certain form of cargo. So I don't feel I can really cast judgement on my forebears.
Whaling was seen very positively in its heyday, being an officer on a whaling ship was a high status career. It’s seen negatively now but 19th century Americans didn’t care about whales.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
I feel nothing either way. No shame, no pride. It is semi-interesting to me that my ancestors happened to be in America so early, and that they have been intimately involved with some major events. But its not much more to me.
Its kind of like this: I was born in a place, and when I was 3 my family moved out of that place and never returned. I have zero memories of living there. The fact that I was born there is just kind of a fun and not-so-interesting fact about me. I feel similar about the ancestors, its just more interesting to most people.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link