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Culture War Roundup for the week of December 9, 2024

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Thanks for sharing. Your post is very interesting, as always.

For the record, in my one jury selection I did get booted for raising my hand when it was pretty clear that the lawyer asking the question didn't want me to. It was a long time ago, but IIRC, he said something and then asked if anyone disagreed. The jurors seemed pretty intimidated. I'm probably not the only one who disagreed, but I'm the only one who raised my hand. The other jurors seemed pretty intimidated. When I raised my hand, the lawyer then immediately pounced on me in a fairly harsh way and forced me to defend my statement. It was then I realized that the trial was already under way. (Note: My uninformed belief is that it's probably against the rules to prejudice the jury during this stage, but that everyone does it in an oblique way anyway).

In the end, I was the only one dismissed by that lawyer and the defendant ended up settling.

When it comes to where I could pull a Henry Fonda, I do understand your skepticism. I can't confidently say that I'd succeed because I've never been in that position before. But I think I am pretty high on verbal intelligence, charisma, and disagreeableness. I like my odds.