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Culture War Roundup for the week of April 7, 2025

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Zone of Interest came out in 2023, and our media reported on October 7th crimes well enough, yet these clearly didn’t move the needle on public favorability. There doesn’t appear to be any youth figure who can shift perceptions.

The problem with publicizing vicious terrorist murders in an attempt to lower popularity of one side of a conflict, is that the target demographic doesn't like the other side, and is openly in favor of vicious terrorist murder against people they don't like.

I don't endorse it, but decapitation strikes against specific people in power seem like a different thing from "vicious terrorist murder". Mangione would have a lot fewer supporters if he'd disemboweled the CEO's entire family as opposed to 'just' killing the specific guy. Fantasies about assassinating Trump are even further from "terrorism" - they stem from a belief that Trump is uniquely bad and killing him, specifically, will save the country. It's not about terror tactics to frighten off the rest of the outgroup.

Mangione would have a lot fewer supporters if he'd disemboweled the CEO's entire family as opposed to 'just' killing the specific guy.

Support for the Palestinians does not seem to have been diminished by the Gazans murdering indiscriminately. Trump's attempted assassin killing and wounding random bystanders didn't seem to make a dent in the calculus. Danielson was a rando, and his murder was openly celebrated, and his killer received significant support. Rittenhouse and Gardner were randos; that did not help them.

Those who count on ideological consistency to keep a lid on lawless violence are setting themselves up for disappointment. Humans like harming the outgroup, and are very good at rationalization.

Humans like harming the outgroup, and are very good at rationalization.

That they are. But mark the difference. Clean assassinations targeting Bad People(TM) is what people are openly in favor of. "Vicious terrorist murder" like Oct 7 will certainly be rationalized away or swept under the rug completely - but it's not openly endorsed.