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 -
Yes, it does, because we are talking about policy, not about personal experience. That was OP's claim: it was about what policy schools should enact. I am saying that, if a state entity is to enact a policy that limit sthe civil liberties of individuals, such as the policy advocated by OP, it has the burden of showing that those limits are necessary.
"Talking about policy" doesn't magically make evidence more accessible, so this is irrelevant to my argument.
If we were following what you propose here, the burden of proof would be on you. Since the policy you prefer is already enacted, and policy should be based on evidence, presumably the evidence the policy is based on, is published somewhere, right?
I don't see how the policy he's proposing is not limiting anyone's civil liberties.
We are talking about limiting the free expression rights of public employees in the workplace. That might not be the most weighty of civil liberties, but it is not zero. Whether the First Amendment protects that right under current jurisprudence is separate question.
Not really, particularly if you're relying on these two things to make the argument that the burden of proof is on him.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link