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Culture War Roundup for the week of December 16, 2024

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There's a difference between not wanting "low human capital people" (as the kids say these days) to come lower the average quality of life in your town/city/country, and, say, proposing grinding up all the Congolese into Soylent Green while telling them it's nothing personal. No microscope required, it's quite visible with the naked eye. In fact you'd almost have to be trying not to see it.

The difference is one of degree, not kind. The former is less bad than the latter, but they both come from the same malignant well: the belief that the well-being of Mtumbe Ngoube from Kinshasa or Fulan al-Fulani from Karbala matters less than that of John Doe from Kansas City or Max Mustermann from Koln.

There is a story told of Churchill, that he asked some lady

Churchill: "Madam, would you sleep with me for five million pounds?"

Socialite: "My goodness, Mr. Churchill... Well, I suppose... we would have to discuss terms, of course... "

Churchill: "Would you sleep with me for five pounds?"

Socialite: "Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?!"

Churchill: "Madam, we've already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.

Wanting to kill people and not wanting them near you is a difference in kind, or there is no distinction between differences in kind and differences in degree.

You've butchered the story -- the woman has to actually agree for it to work. But even in the valid version, there's a difference between being a whore and being a cheap whore.

It’s a fun story but it’s actually pretty dumb. There is probably an amount of money that even Elon Musk would suck a dick for, and even if we’re talking about people who don’t desire money, there’s every chance there’s something (health, physical fitness, the resurrection of a loved one, the chance to have children, world peace, a tripling of their beloved dog’s lifespan) they would degrade themselves to have. Churchill himself was surely no different.

It’s a fun story but it’s actually pretty dumb. There is probably an amount of money that even Elon Musk would suck a dick for,

There are some things which most people will not do for money, or anything else short of a credible threat of death or hideous pain. In cultures influenced by Abrahamic religion, a straight man sucking dick is one of them. It isn't just a sin - it's an abomination. (Leviticus, passim)

I’m sure that’s the case. But go to any devoutly religious Abrahamic community and offer each man a billion dollars to suck a dick (with anonymity before all but God) and mammon will tempt even the village priest. Some may stand firm. Most will not.