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 -
Maybe he's just viewed as the crazy uncle you tell the kids not to talk to? Every family already has that guy and it's hardly a stretch that a family as sprawling as the Kennedys would have bad apples the batch prefer isolated. They did lobotomize one of their own after all.
Right, but the mode in which he was regarded as the ‘crazy uncle’ was through… distrusting the government that ~ 80% of the country believes killed his family as well as wanting to recreate an idealistic version of the governance his family had when at the peak of their power in modern America, which the family has decisively rejected as a fantasy (even though JFK’s whole thing was this fantasy being possible through effort, ‘not that it’s easy, but because it’s hard’, etc.)
The entire family seems to have abandoned this desire and rejected their predecessors’ skepticism towards the institutions of this country (especially in intelligence) and traded it off for simply being a name to aim to have on your donation lists. It’s a shame.
I would imagine it as reversion to the mean, where most of the Kennedys regressed to mediocre politicos with no special ambitions or purpose. Denouncing Bobby and endorsing Biden is very rational if you're "normal" in many senses of that word.
More options
Context Copy link
When someone/thing with that sort of power kills a family member you got to be a little bit crazy to not fall in line and just accept whatever they get payed for the endorsements though.
True, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they drank the Kool-Aid so hard that they don’t actually think their lives are in danger; the Kennedy’s just accept the standard stories (because it’s ‘the Science’ TM), so that they become their own perfect self-propagandizers. Basically just a perfect showing of the capturing of American aristocracy for the purpose of the empire above all else. You won’t even need to be afraid!
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link