site banner

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 21, 2024

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.

8
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

You know, I really do feel bad for you. Moderating this place - hell, any place on the internet that explicitly sets out to encourage free discussion - is a thankless task that saps the goodwill of anyone who does it over enough time and turns them into husks. You're a much nicer and kinder person than I am who has genuine stakes in this election, so I am going to try and give you some advice. Whether you take it or not is up to you.

Don't indulge yourself in the suffering of others. Not because you're better than that, but because doing so is harmful to yourself.

Go outside, visit an old museum, someplace with art and real history. Visit a place where something that mattered happened, not to grifters and conmen but to real, living, breathing people, in a way that lasted. Go marvel at nature, go drink a good coffee made by someone who cares about their craft and think about the effort that went into bringing you that coffee in an easily digestible form, from plant to cup.

Politics is kayfabe, it isn't real. The turning of the gyre comes for everything and everyone. We've done alright so far despite the century of horrors. The moment the kayfabe breaks may be soon, but until then there's dancing, music, and banh mi. We live in the dreamtime. It'll end someday, but I'm not going to poison myself before I am poisoned at gunpoint.

I say this as one of the most blackpilled people I know. Touch grass. There, but for the grace of God, stumbles the broken ape parade.