[Kevin Drum] If you hate the culture wars, blame liberals

“So why is it conventional wisdom to point to conservatives as "culture war mongers"? As I've mentioned before, it's a straightforward consequence of behavioral economics. For most people, losing something is far more painful than the pleasure of gaining something of equivalent value. And since conservatives are "losing" the customs and hierarchies that they've long lived with, their reaction is far more intense than the liberal reaction toward winning the changes they desire. This produces more outrageous behavior from conservatives even though liberals are actually the ur-source of polarization.”

Two examples of “cultural” war:

Losing the right to be a monopoly of voters was also very painful for many a few decade ago.

Same sex marriage is another one - losing the right to have a monopoly of marriage was painful for many. This one is more recent and I’m sure is still hard for some to divorce from the pain and emotion related to losing this right.

 

I've got to remember this one: "Source: Various." (for that first chart)

But I do really like the first footnote. Title feels misleading, and there's so very much blame to go around... as if what we needed... was more blame... to fix the culture wars.

 

I blame the culture wars on wealthy conservative oligarchs who use it as a sleight of hand to convince yokels that gays, atheists, migrants and "black supremacists" are their enemy and not said wealthy conservative oligarch.

 

Same on the chart source. I'm actually writing a paper right now for school and will give that a try.

As for the note, it is funny how some say that cancel culture or whatever doesn't exist. The talking point a few months ago was "cancel culture is just people finally facing the consequences of their own actions" and now those same people have changed their minds and are saying that it doesn't actually exist. Interesting.

 

A few years ago no one seemed to have a problem with acknowledging that “cancel culture” on the Internet was a growing problem for everyday people.

It seems like the idea is that as long as the canceling is “punching up” rather than “punching down” (or across to your peer group), then the progressive thing to do is to label it as something else or look away,

 

This is partly due to republicans not actually having a platform.

 

I think the "culture war" is just a manifestation of the disconnect between Urban and Rural voters that has been around since before the civil war.

The civil war was not so much around the morality of slavery but the economics of slavery. The south needed them to make a living and the more urban north did not.

Gun violence including mass shootings and gang violence doesn't effect rural areas of the country as much as urban areas. Rural areas actually need AR-15's to get rid of nuisance animals such as hogs. Guns are tools in rural areas where they are not necessary in Urban areas.

Rural areas are more religious so views on abortion and gay rights are totally different than Urban areas.

Rural areas aren't as dependent on public assistance(discounting subsidies) because you rural people are working for themselves more often and the cost of living in rural areas is much lower.

 

This.

If they cared about the average American's healthcare bill or rent bill, culture wars wouldn't be as nearly as big of an issue. They replace the void of genuine policy engagement with culture wars bs.


Notice how the people who are the most satisfied with the economic status quo are the ones who push the culture wars rhetoric the most.

 

The most federally dependent sector of our economy is agriculture. You do know this right? Your last point brushes of subsidiides as a minor blip.

Also rural areas have been devestated by drug abuse between opioids and meth. Also the decrease in dependency on coal also has devistated a lot of rural communities.

There is no one group between urban and rural that has some monopoly on recieving assistance from the federal government.

 

Where are the stats that show which outlets ran on these stories as a high volume:

-NFL and kneeling
-Critical Race Theory
-The War on Christmas
etc
etc

.....

Even if these are "Liberal Issues" the amplification and gaslighting of said issues ends up holding up more blame to the outrage than the person who once said something or held some belief on a cultural issue that you do not agree with.

FoxNews is playing your a$$.

 

lose an election. blame the liberals
culture wars are your only platform. blame the liberals
brown people voting. blame the liberals
you can't be openly racists and discriminatory. blame the liberals
you're now in a cult. blame the liberals

 

Yep, 99 percent of liberals had no idea what Critical Race Theory was until the Republicans started talking about. They literally manufactured the war.

 

Just like "Critical Race Theory" ... "Culture Wars" or "Cancel Culture" means whatever the hell FoxSo-CalledNews wants their ignorant viewers to believe it is.

Divisions are created. We are not really born with these divisions. These Divisions are used so the rich, powerful, and corrupt can rob us blind. It's as simple as that.

People that watch FoxNews that get worked up about this are fools, but they are our fools. They are our brothers, and mothers, and co-workers. How we unwind our parents and co-workers to make them understand that their "enemies" are the people they sit across the cube from (pre-covid) and are their own kids is anyones guess.

Propaganda works. Corruption works. This isn't a Tarantino Hollywood ending... its the reality we live in where lies and schemes actually work, and we are mostly powerless against them except at certain times in human history. This isn't going to have a happy ending. Any country where half of it's citizens WILLINGLY buy into North Korea style propaganda by choice is one that is destined to blow itself up (metaphorically of course... I hope).

At some point soon, viewers of FoxNews are finally going to get what they think they really want... an autocratic police state with Christian Sharia Law. It's coming, and I'm convinced there's not a damn thing most anyone else can do to stop it other than just let them burn it all to the ground, and hopefully learn a lesson about propaganda, and lies when our country goes down in flames like a failed state.

I know that's Dark AF, but I don't think we have a choice anymore. Our democracy only works when half of the country is willing to lose, and live in reality. I just don't think this is sustainable, and I see what is coming from a mile away.

Hope I'm wrong, and our friends, and family can be unwound soon.

 

This was the second agenda in my local chapter's Antifa meeting.

Right after planning another capital rebellion to kindly make Mike Pence leave once and for all

 

well that is about morality. they were prioritizing being lazy and having others do their work for free than being humane.

 

It's easy to be moral when you don't need it to make a living.

 

what? they can;t do it themselves? or they can't pay them a liveable wage?

you are now blaming slavery on.. "well white folks needed slaves or they not going to survive"

 

I'm not justifying slavery, I'm just saying that it's easier to make the moral decision when it doesn't effect you economically. Kind of like using China for labor. We can be against genocide, against child labor, for democracy, pro hong kong but it still doesn't stop us from buying from and building stuff in China.