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 -
I find the lack of self awareness of the British middle class and above to be fascinating. Despite losing an entire empire they still can't see the issues with their behaviour. Do you not think Marcus Aurelius and Alexander the Great found some of their peasants dumb and brutish? Yet they lived among them, fought alongside them and worked hard for them. The UK has some of the most working class people in Europe. Despite having industrialized far ahead of most of the rest of Europe, your country failed at uplifting its people. They are behaving like hoodlums because the people who are supposed to take the role of the parents in the country have completely abdicated any sense of responsibility. Your ancestors took illiterate peasants and got them to build Australia, Canada and the US. Current elites are crying because people called them the wrong pronoun. Current elites are hiding in an area they can barely afford to live in and whining that the proles are throwing trash bins at the cops. William the conqueror was royalty and acted like it. The current elite act like boy emperors in China in the lead up to some major war. A fish rots from the head, and a society does the same.
The British elite got their people to build the first railway system in the world, the current elite couldn't build HS2 while Uzbekistan has high speed rail. The UK is failing as a state because the elite is corrupted to the core. They cargo cult aristocratic traditions while failing at leading a nation. The fate of Britain is going to be a Guatemala with few areas in which people can play with horses and pretend they are nobles, just like their ancestors in the 1800s.
If a class of pre-schoolers have chased the teacher out of the classroom, it is the adults fault for abdicating their role as adults. If the population is revolting against the elites, it is because the elites have abdicated their role as elites.
The post above is written in the spirit of Versailles in 1789.
The Industrial Revolution brutalized the British working class.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link