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 -
Didn't you raise an eyebrow at me for a comment implying Meghan Murphy was right wing?
I don't know if you deleted your comment and this is why my links don't work, or it's some website gremlins (
definitelymost likely gremlins, I swear I saw the comment a moment ago.), but this is my comment where I said:And this was my response to a reponse to the above comment:
And I'm pretty sure directly between the two there was you saying something to the effect of "Meghan Murphy is right wing now?". And now you're saying all commies who are against double mastectomies for 13 year olds are actually MAGA?
Huh? No, I'm not saying that, but there are people identifying as communist - like the aforementioned Hinkle - who, judging by their current feed, really don't much differ from MAGA apart from their support for some official American enemy states like PRC and North Korea (the latter which, of course, Trump made overtures towards during his reign).
Ok, but people like Hinkle also existing doesn't address the point I was raising.
More options
Context Copy link
Sounds like several things are being conflated here:
Populist vs elitist
Activist vs status quo
Down-to-earth vs refined and cultured
Freedom vs regulation
Traditions of folk vs commerce-legible lifestyles
Living from history’s example vs putting history in the rear view mirror
Individualism vs collectivism
Genders according to a reproduction instinct vs a sexual pleasure instinct
These have each been red-coded/blue-coded at some times and politically coded at others.
Of these, the Democrats’ switch to elitism (for example) was as sudden as the Black vote switching after Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link