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 -
This is an excellent debate strategy. You have a limited amount of time to express your ideology and there’s no reason to stay within the fictitious drawn square that CNN places you in. Putin and J6 are not serious questions, I don’t think, but rather attempts to remind the viewer of Trump Bad.
I’m surprised you believe that. I went into the debate thinking Trump would do badly but he came out strong and quick-witted. His reaction time to questions was immediate.
Avoiding questions never looks good. Politicians do it when they know they have no good answer. Usually they can get away with 1 or 2, but it seemed like Trump did it 4-6 times, and he pivoted very awkwardly every time.
Even when he wasn't clumsily dodging questions, Trump's answers were just bad. Again, watch some of his debate performances in 2016 compared to this one, and the evidence is pretty stark.
More options
Context Copy link
Nearly all the "Trump unhealthy" speculation is in bad faith. I immediately discount people who espouse that belief since it's so easily contradicted by my own eyes.
He has lost weight, even if he's still fat. He actually is a good golfer, even if he lies about his scores. And his schedule is just epic. I doubt most people on this forum could keep his schedule.
While he's no genius, he's clearly on the upper end of charisma and energy for adults of any age, let alone someone who is nearing 80.
"Both candidates old" is cope.
When was the last time Trump played a round of golf where his score was verified by someone other than a MAGA ally or a subordinate? His best scores all seem to come at his own golf courses.
You can't estimate the ground truth by adjusting the words of a lying liar.
We'll probably never have the proof you want, but you can find videos of him golfing. He's good. Extremely good for his age.
Lindsey Graham says Trump shot a 74 when they played a few years back. That's an astoundingly good score for someone of any age. Maybe Graham's in on the lying too. Maybe Trump cheated. Even if he cheated by one stroke on every hole that's a 92 which is quite decent.
You can also see videos of him swinging. It's not a pro level swing, but it's very good for his age. He makes solid contact and drives the ball straight and far. Why are people so determined to say he's bad at golf? To me it's one of the clearer signs of TDS. He can be evil, no good, stupid, and still be an excellent golfer.
It reminds me of people who disparage Hitler as a "failed painter" or whatever. I mean I'm not a fan of his, but his artwork seems alright.
More options
Context Copy link
Seriously. Who wouldn't expect the owner of tons of super fancy golf courses to actually be good at golf? TDS indeed.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
It's common for people to talk about Biden being juiced up on nootropics, but I'm curious about the possibility that Trump was on something as well (Adderall/Caffeine/Modafinil?) It would make sense to consult a physician as to how to become as mentally alert as possible for such an important event.
I mean, maybe caffeine, but there's a pretty good chance Trump doesn't know what Adderall or Modafinil even are.
More options
Context Copy link
I would be surprised if he was, he's notoriously "straight edge" due to his brother's struggles with alcoolism, and that's one of the things I can believe is a deeply-held personal conviction of his.
More options
Context Copy link
Isn't it public knowledge that the dude crushes like 8 diet cokes daily?
I don't drink soda, but I've heard that a regular stream of that kind of rocket fuel makes you durably "peppy" but destroys mental focus - which is exactly how Trump has acted since he came down the escalator.
Trump definitely falls into word salad constantly, but I've never believed that it's because of mental decline or impairment. I think it's a habituated verbal pattern developed over years and years of constant hyper-marketing. I've never heard of the business world thinking Donald Trump is a master of financial engineering, or that he really has an eye for underdeveloped or undervalued properties, or that he has the autistic wizard gifts to get permitting done quickly (although I think he kind of did this once on accident in the 1980s. Don't remember details). He, is, however, a marketing natural and his particular marketing style has always been hyperbole, bluster, repetition, and volume.
When he says something like "Everyone said we had the best Presidency of all time," it's exactly the same as him opening the Taj Mahal (that had non-functioning slot machines) and saying "Everyone is saying this is the best Casino they've ever been to." This is just how he talks.
You can see the same ingrained verbal patterns in academics or podcast Bros. Elon definitely has his own eccentricities. None of this excuses Trump from constantly lying but, after round 100 of this, people can't continue to be shocked, SHOCKED!, that he's spewing falsehoods.
That's like 4 8-oz cups of coffee, assuming we're talking 12-oz cans and not 2-liter bottles. It's pretty moderate.
Moderate? I don't think 4 cups of coffee a day is moderate, at least personally. And for a 77 year old?
I might be caffeine sensitive, but it's not a small thing.
4 cups of coffee a day is usually considered moderate. I know of no reason this would be different for the elderly. Note Biden is a coffee drinker.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link