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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   7781 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 3, 2025

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One may recall the before-times; when one Geirge Carlin was considered a philosopher and social commentator par excellence. One particular insight of his, which today seems less likely to be considered insightful by those aligned with his politics, was that "Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.". It was always dumb, if one abhors war to such an extent, one never wages even a defensive one, one will eventually lose to those who are willing to wage even aggressive ones. And the latter will be the only ones remaining.

If one were to, in the face of an ideology championing idpol, employ liberalism, think of how small the coalition would be and how tempted each group would be to switch, given the promises of racially and sexually preferential treatment. Liberalism is a sort of disarmament, only works if ones enemies follow suit.

Can the genie of idpol be put back into the bottle? It seems not as it preys on the base instincts of the masses of prefering preferential accomodations, over meritocracy, as in the latter they the vast majority won't make. But if the game is rigged, if nepotism is tolerated, then success isn't a matter of innate excellence, which is outside of ones control, but of correct connections, which one can at least in theory work to establish.

"Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity."

To which some wiseacre responded "You have a better way of making more virgins?".

Can the genie of idpol be put back into the bottle? It seems not as it preys on the base instincts of the masses of prefering preferential accomodations

Here's the problem: Jews are a very small minority. Anti-semitism being of central concern in the Western mind is not like preferences for the Indian lower castes or black Americans, it's a product of ideology and/or elite power.

One doesn't have to do this for democratic reasons and one could argue it's not even good for Jews to do this.

Here's the problem: Jews are a very small minority.

Is that really a "problem"? Even if it is, at 2-5% of the US population (depending on who you ask and how you slice it) Jews are a larger minority than say Muslims or Trans people.

Transpeople have power because they nestled into a coalition that pushes the interests of all agreeable minorities that then supported them for ideological reasons.

That's something different that groups large enough to get benefits purely for vote-buying reasons.

Here's the problem: Jews Cubans/Irish are a very small minority. Anti-semitismCastroism/Orangism being of central concern in the Western mind is not like preferences for the Indian lower castes or black Americans, it's a product of ideology and/or elite power.

Or it's that geographically-concentrated diaspora groups are pretty good at organizing and affecting policy, like any other politically-serious interest group.

Fair.

If you want a good non-Jewish example, Cuban exiles in the swing state of Florida have prevented normalization of relations with Cuba against all rational geopolitical interest for the last 40 years.

Yes, hence my edits in the quote.

So there can either be pro-black or pro-jewish identity politics? Majority of US who are neither are shit out of luck.

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