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Culture War Roundup for the week of July 29, 2024

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You appear to be characterizing this issue as not a “real issue” because you don’t recognize abortion as a right.

Absolutely correct. This has been my repeatedly stated position for years.

Why is the male version of this something cool and fun.

I can see that there's some ambiguity in my original phrasing, so let me address that. Young men do want freedom, recklessness, and adrenaline. The destruction of masculine models of behavior is bad because we have to rechannel those desires into something prosocial and constructive. If you simply let young boys go out and be free and reckless adrenaline junkies you get gangs, violence etc. Society should channel it in other ways and, I believe, we used to.

Lots of young women would like to be able to get abortions in case they get pregnant while having fun casual sex.

Both of these things are objective anti-social in my estimation. I won't call casual sex 'immoral', but I definitely apply that label to abortion.

There's nothing wrong with young women going out to have fun at festivals/bars/backpacking through europe, whatever. I think casual sex should be treated very carefully. I think abortion is a natural consequence of sex and that people should have to deal with their consequences.

Young men who want to be reckless absolutely face consequences. Get into a fight? Might get your ass kicked, might go to jail. Gang up on someone else and ambush them with your buddies? Jail. Steal something. Jail. Drive fast late at night. Jail (or death). We as a society have spent centuries moderating young male behavior (and, as stated above, rechanneling it) because of its destructive power. I don't think objectively young female activities are as destructive - and so I am, in fact, inclined to give a little more leeway. But that doesn't mean there are (or should be) zero consequences.