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 -
I think Trump sees Russia as an adversary, but not one he wants to start a war with. The US tried to help Ukraine, but at some point you're just throwing good money after bad. I don't think he see Russia as big enough threat to continue risking war, and the US is too exhausted (both financially and morally) playing world policeman for the last 3 decades with little to show for their efforts. The US needs a reset, because it's on the same unsustainable path (financially, demographically, culturally) that Europe is on. For that same reason, Europe is not going to be a reliable ally in the future, and they may even become a different type of adversary than Russia. Perhaps I'm completely wrong, but I expect the UK state to fail before I die unless they make big changes very soon; it's likely already too late. It's quite possible that hostile groups will gain access to European nuclear weapons during this time.
I am sure Trump has had many amicable and even friendly relationships with bad people throughout his careers--New York real estate and Hollywood entertainment are full of such people. I get the sense that he personally likes Putin, and that he believes (wrongly or rightly) that he can deal with Putin. I don't think that necessarily means he thinks Putin is a good person, or that Putin's government does good things. I think Trump knows that you can make deals with bad people, and sometimes you have to, and you might even like them even though they're bad. The question is not so much whether they're good or bad so much as whether you can get them to do the things you need them to, and sometimes you can. You may not be able to trust them entirely, but moralistic grandstanding achieves nothing unless you're willing to back it up with gunfire, and he isn't.
He and Putin went through a lot together on the same side.
Trump wants to be buds.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link