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.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Can you expand on what you mean by housing crash?
A wave of defaults and foreclosures? We don’t have the same ARM bomb exploding. John Q. Public has a fixed rate loan, today.
Residential mortgage investment vehicles losing value? Home prices losing value? Supply still does not need demand in many, many metro areas where people want to live. There’s left- and right-NIMBYism rampant in zoning laws and planning commissions across the country. Lenders are currently laying off 25% of their originations staff, because no one is refi-ing into a 7% fixed-rate, and the price of homes is starting to level off, but there might not be a dramatic fall in prices because of the housing shortage in desirable areas. A moderate drop in home prices combined with a significant decrease in the rate of home sales is a very reasonable possibility, as buyers who can’t pay cash hold on to their current homes.
And, unsolicited advice for anyone who didn’t put 20% down on their mortgage. If you think we’re at the top of a bubble, now is a good time to call your lender, schedule an appraisal, and if you still have it, see if you can drop your PMI, because you now hopefully have 20% equity in your property.
More options
Context Copy link