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 -
Why are you sure? He was already president for four years. Did he do many harmful things during his first four years?
It's been long enough that people are starting to forget the actual reasons behind the hatred of Trump.
During the 2016 campaign and his first two years as president, Trump was seen as the White Candidate. Rightly or wrongly, it was assumed by both his enemies and a non-trivial percentage of his supporters that he would prioritize the interests of white people over other groups. This is absolutely forbidden in American politics: white people cannot self-consciously advocate for their racial interests in the way that non-whites can. So Trump became a figure of demonic evil.
You're not wrong, but I would expand your frame because just being white isn't the whole picture. Trump is the figurehead antithesis of the ideals of the Democratic party and a large portion of their voter base. He's a white man concerned with his own image as the alpha male, he chiefly trusts his own intuition is skeptical of institutions, he believes there are innate differences between races and sexes, he's bombastic and boastful, he sleeps with models, and so on. These are just observations, I say none of them to be denigrating, though some may warrant it.
Contrast this with Obama, the eight-year darling embodiment of the democratic party, then amplify it by the proliferation of ubiquitous and profitable rage-bait media, and you get the vitriol and hostility of 2016 which will never cease until he retires or dies.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link