site banner

Culture War Roundup for the week of December 30, 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.

9
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

It’s not just Trump’s core base that’s unhappy about mass immigration. No one likes suddenly having ten times more competition to get a job. The only reason most liberals were ok with immigration was that the people coming in weren’t the type that were going to compete with college educated urbanites. That’s why there’s so much vitriol about Indians: it isn’t really anything about Indians in particular. It’s just that this is the first major demographic of immigrants that can compete for white collar jobs. Judging from the discourse on this site, Silicon Valley people aren’t any happier about it than factory workers in the Midwest were. Sure they may keep quiet about it in public, but privately they are pretty upset.

I actually do think it's about Indians. Look what's going on in Canada right now. I'm going to make a post about this, but I actually think that the H1B thing is secondary to the Indian piece of it. I think people really don't like working with Indians or living near them, and this is a way to not sound racist. If I had to compare it to something, I'd compare it to Muslim immigration in Europe. You're not allowed to just straight up say I don't want MENA immigration, so they go for the anti-woman and anti-gay angle to make it acceptable. What they really want to say is they don't want Arabs period, and that is an indirect way of saying that. The H1B angle is basically a way to say I don't want to work with or for Indians without sounding racist. There is certainly an economic piece to it too, but if these were Poles, Japanese, Filipinos, and Ukrainians, I am 100% positive people wouldn't be nearly as nasty about it.

You're not allowed to just straight up say I don't want MENA immigration, so they go for the anti-woman and anti-gay angle to make it acceptable. What they really want to say is they don't want Arabs period, and that is an indirect way of saying that.

Well, the reason they don't want Muslims is because of those things you mentioned (and more)

Well yes, but a lot of those people actually are trad on those issues so it's not really in good faith. I'm personally not really concerned about gay rights or feminism and I still want net negative Arab migration. The truth is they just don't want any Arabs period, and that is just an excuse.

Eastern Euros who don't like gays and Latin Americans with machismo seem relatively uncontroversial in Europe.

They don't tend to protest outside schools that teach about homosexuality or express favour for Sharia Law, among other things.

According to the 2021 Canadian Census, over a quarter of Canada's population (pemanent residents and citizens) are first generation immigrants. Based on immigration trends, that number is likely at or approaching a third as of 2025. Mind you, this number does not include immigrants who are on "temporary" visas.

Utter insanity.

Yeah it's crazy. But I've worked with Canadians for a while remotely and they weren't super anti-immigrant until it became mostly Indians. I remember some cultural clashes with Chinese immigrants in Vancouver, but nothing like now with Indians.

There’s all kinds of people in America who are not otherwise very racist, but who will just straightforwardly say they don’t like Indians. I think it being Indians has something to do with it.

I agree, and the only way I am able to really explain it is that there is the strain of, what is in America, very low class behavior, by ostensibly white collar PMCs. The first is trash. Littering is something low class people do in America. Whether it is a black or Mexican neighborhood in the inner city just throwing backs and bottles on the ground when there is a perfectly good trash can on the corner, or a guy with 5 broken lawnmowers in his front yard out in the sticks. Thats low class. But well paid Indians tend to do something similar, but different. I've noticed it in neighborhoods, but also workplaces. It does feel more uniquely foreign to have 3 Indians in an office than 3 Koreans. This is also mirrored in the business world, my dad was very active with small businesses, he would deal with a lot of ethnicities as a result. For whatever reason, Indians and Arabs have the worst reputation as attempting to cheat on a deal.

I agree, and the only way I am able to really explain it is that there is the strain of, what is in America, very low class behavior, by ostensibly white collar PMCs.

I think i know what you mean, while no means universal there is definitely an attitude particular to upper sec indians where they seem to think that they are somehow "above" common courtesy or having to clean up after themselves. There seems to be this attitude that using "pleases and thank-yous" when speaking to serving staff lowers ones own status through the implication of equality. Ditto picking up your own trash instead of having a servant do it for you.

Of course the result is that when Brahmins find themselves in a more courtesy oriented environment such as Japan, Korea, or portions of the US, behavior like being rude to servers and leaving a mess for others to clean up immediately codes as "low class" and no amount of appeals to your Brahman ancestry is going to change that. If anything the Shudras and Dalits come across as more desireable neighbors because unlike the thier "high caste" bretheren they are at least polite.

There is also the fact that a substantial number of Indians (nowhere near all, but quite a few) have a very strong, very unpleasant body odor. I've read that it comes from frequently eating curry.

I have had success in dealing with 2G Canadian Indians on small-time work for hire contracts in this regard by kind of... not being a huge racist and saying things like "don't fuck me around bro" -- but yeah, it's definitely noticeable. I wonder whether it doesn't trickle down to employee-type relationships in the sense of trying to make the most of things for oneself no matter what being an aspect of the national character?