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 -
Exit rights is a separate issue, and cars are great in this sense; every household should have one. Indeed, a car is also a great lethal weapon, a storage, a mobile lodging – a necessity for any high-agency individual (it's a shame cars are so easy to break into, though).
As for more mundane applications, in reality it seems like there's no stable position of «walk only»; dense cities with fewer cars and more emphasis on public transport encourage greater access to personal transport, self-powered and human-powered, like bicycles, motorbikes, scooters and such. My favorite lazy way to move around is EUC. 15 mph is enough to vastly exceed the pedestrian range and explore other zones, especially if you hop on and off public transport lines. It's really very neat, the apex of small electric transport: you get free hands, intuitive control, decent speed, virtual independence from roads, and it's the size of a suitcase.
I suppose that for many Americans, not even old ones, such modes of transportation constitute an apparent indignity and, crucially, a serious health risk. Nevertheless, in the limit, the allure of the «European» way where living isn't car-centered is clear. Hauling your 300 pound ass 15 miles to Walmart to pick up 10 gallons of HFCS and other trash in your 1 ton pickup truck is... freedom in some sense, and shouldn't be made inaccessible; but it's also clearly grotesque. There is vastly more indulgence than embrace of freedom to ordinary car use.
It looks extremely risky, and sure, it's far handier to carry around than a 50 lbs bicycle, which does get old after six flight of stairs, but then, a bicycle is somewhat faster and has no microchips in it whose failure means you'll smash your head into the pavement which .. really hurts.
Unforgettable experience, really. EUC wasn't at fault, a white van was.
More options
Context Copy link
What about hauling my 200 pound extremely handsome ass 15 miles to Whole Foods to pick up a selection of organic vegetables and free pasture locally grown sustainably produced eggs? I mean, if anything, my experience shows blue-tribe-coded groceries are available in significantly fewer places than red-tribe-coded ones, so if I'd go to a random grocery store that has to survive solely on a clientele than can walk to it, I'd much sooner find HFCS than organic kale there. Not because they'd hate organic kale, but because HFCS is reliable income and for organic kale to become one, you need a very special populace around which is not present everywhere, especially not in less affluent locations.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link