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 was going to criticize Vikek for starting his list of truths with was that was so blatantly framed to obfuscate nuance between what he means and what his target audience would mean by the same exact phrasing.
However, Vivek does appear to embrace the opportunity to dig into that more deeply and honestly, even if filled with too much political grandstanding.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=lxJeGIOKW8E
My view toward VR has increased slightly. I still find him too 'clever' and polished a little too over-done that I have worries his earnesty is rather calculated performance for his identified niche.
He reminds me of someone I know whose a real estate broker so take that fwiw. He’s probably not Christian but Trump isn’t either. I do think for a lot of issues he’s expressing the right view well.
I think this is the biggest mistake republicans make. It isn’t whether someone has the right views; it is whether they can wield the power of government.
Vivek has no experience doing the latter. Why should we expect him to excel at it? He is a non-entity to me.
More options
Context Copy link
Well he's 100% not Christian. As I said, I actually respect that he's made it clear (papered over with a lot of politician speak about values) in a few recent interviews. It was more than I expected and much more than trumpa ever been clear about religion. But at the same time Trump's lack of smooth talking on the issue has certain authenticity in itself.
Vikek did his job here with me though, as my issue with his Hinduism is measurably lower than it was before watching that interview. Still has a long way to go to convince me of his whole package though
It appears he has relatively deep roots in Christianity, he went to St. Xavier high school in Cincinnati. He would have had significant exposure to the point he should be able to speak the language.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link