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 -
No. First, I never believed he would seriously run, then like everyone else I accepted that Hillary would win. His victory was a total surprise to me, and to be honest, rather enjoyable for the amount of seething and screeching about it. I thought the "basket of deplorables" remark was very badly done, and of course it was a gift to the Trump campaign.
I didn't think he was the Anti-christ cross between Hitler and Stalin who was going to set up a Fourth Reich to imprison and torture women, minorities, and gays that the more hysterical online reaction was painting him as. The same way I did not believe all the hype about Obama being a lightworker, but rather a career politician who would get some things right, some things wrong, but in the main it would be business as usual, I thought Trump would be a one-term president who didn't do all that much and he was certainly not going to start the Third World War.
And guess what, he didn't! The country ended up pretty much the same at the end of his term as it was at the start. The one thing that really amazed me, and it has only paid off in Biden's time in office and not in Trump's, was the Supreme Court decision on Roe versus Wade. After the years of Republicans running on "trust us, we'll do something about it" and nothing happening, the fact that a loudmouth, vain, no previous experience guy who was more interested in building a business brand was the one to actually get something achieved, who kept his word about doing something, was astonishing to me.
It honestly doesn't surprise me because it's pretty clear that Trump had systematically alienated every section of the competent, institutional right except for Catholic conservatives, and overturning Roe has been their #1 priority since 1973. Also their #2, 3, and 4 priorities.
Of course a regime that is now staffed with them will put together the court that overturns the ruling they've wanted gone more than anything else in the world for fifty years.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link