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 -
People in Southern Europe tend to smoke a lot, but they are also comically thin in comparison to people in the US. I have been in Southern Europe for a few days (far more often in the past) and this trip I haven't seen a single obese person yet. I have only seen a small number of fat people, all of them middle-aged or old women. Diets tend to be pretty good, both in terms of quantities and qualities, even though people tend to be epicures about their food - it's possible to eat very well and healthily enough. People walk around a lot and have at least decent cardiovascular health.
Stress levels are higher than stereotypes would suggest, but people are generally better socialised than most places and have both rich family connections (one Southern European friend was shocked that I only talk with my parents once per week normally) and extensive friend networks (a Southern European college town's nightlife is one of life's great joys). Grown women will walk arm-in-arm with their mothers or friends, while the men are far more adept at platonic expressions of affection with each other than most places. This is true even in some of the more reserved parts of Southern Europe, e.g. most of Northern Italy.
Since most people who smoke don't get lung cancer, even though smoking very probably causes lung cancer, it's hardly surprising that high rates of smoking don't have an easily noticeable impact on Southern European life expectancy.
More options
Context Copy link