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Culture War Roundup for the week of December 23, 2024

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I commented that I found it very strange to assert that you're not scared of crime. Crime is bad. All things being equal, no one would choose to be a victim of crime. Of course some people are more scared of crime than they really should be, but that's a far cry from saying that any amount of fear of crime is wholly unjustified. I may have compared the tweeter to Bike Cuck.

I'm generally not afraid of crime. Or sharks. Or lightning strikes, aneurysms, or food poisoning.

All of them are genuine events which can affect me negatively, but the risks don't draw an emotional reaction from me. However, I also find it strange to draw attention to that fact.

Moreover, it makes far more statistical sense to be afraid of crime in general than to be afraid of any particular subtype of crime.

That's a common error for everything: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjunction_fallacy

If this trend continues, I fear that in ten years' time, anyone who uses the word "the" in a tweet will have people in the replies mocking them as a Definite Article Enjoyer which, per this NPR column and Vox explainer, is a dog whistle for... something.

Reminds me of The Taxman.