Tuesday's Most Active Threads

The top three most active threads yesterday were all threads that I've covered in the last couple of days. So, I'm starting with the thread that was actually the fourth most active yesterday. Titled, "Women's NCAA championship game" and posted in the "Sports General Discussion" forum, I believe this may be the first thread from the sports forum that I've discussed in these blog posts. If you have had even the slightest contact with news about the women's college basketball championship game, you will probably be aware that most of the discussion is not about buckets, blocks, or rebounds, but rather hand gestures. More specifically, hand gestures by Louisiana State University's Angel Reese. As soon as the game was over, Reese was inundated with allegations of being unsporting, classless, and even "ghetto" for a hand gesture that imitated one made by an opposing player, Caitlin Clark of the University of Iowa. Much of the discussion in this thread focuses on the disparate reactions to the same gesture being made by the two players. Whereas Reese, who is black, was generally criticized and described in negative terms, Clark, who is white, was generally described positively such as "having swagger" or being a "fierce competitor". The original poster of the thread drew attention to this racial divide which was repeatedly demonstrated throughout the thread. Just about the only thing to distract from the debates over Reese and Clark was the fashion choices of LSU coach Kim Mulkey. Jill Biden also became a topic of discussion after she suggested inviting both teams to the White House. This reinforced the view of those who felt that Reese and LSU were receiving unfair treatment. Traditionally only the winning team received such an invitation and LSU supporters viewed this as just another case of double standards. When Reese rejected Biden's suggestion, some posters doubled-down on complaints that she lacked class. But, eventually Biden backed off of her suggestion and even Clark rejected the idea. Clearly, however, there were posters prepared to interpret everything about Reese in the most negative light possible. These racial divisions continued later in the thread with posters complaining that Reese said that she hoped to inspire girls that looked like her. Other posters pointed out that Clark had made similar statements about inspiring girls in Iowa and again asked why similar behavior was treated differently. To be sure, Reese has her defenders in the thread and she may be proving the expression that "there's no such thing as bad publicity" true. As several of her supporters point out, her popularity has only grown and her earning potential has increased.

Next was a thread posted in the "Relationship Discussion (non-explicit)" forum. Titled, "Why doesn't my wife like me?", the original poster describes himself as "socially awkward" and a "nerd". He complains that he wife never wants to talk about their shared interests, but instead only complains about characteristics of his that she wants to change. He tries to accomodate her, but his "nerdy" self feels isolated. As is normal for this forum, he is fairly quickly advised to divorce, but rejects the idea. Other posters recommend therapy or even simple heart to heart conversations. The original poster says that he has tried discussing this with his wife but she always changes the subject. He later opens up that he is thinking of quitting his job and started this thread because he knows that he can't discuss this possibility with his wife. Further posts by the original poster reveal that he suffers from fairly extreme social anxiety and many of the issues between him and his wife stem from her reactions to how he copes with this anxiety. She sees his coping mechanisms as being rude and criticizes him for it. Many posters point out that this doesn't mean that she doesn't like him and suggest that he may be hearing her comments more negatively than they were meant. Posters also suggest that what his wife might have once seen as adorable quirks have now become embarrassing to her, more so given that the original poster describes teaching their children to emulate some of his behaviors. Many of the coping mechanisms that the original poster describes sound remarkably like what might be expected from someone on the autism spectrum. But, the original poster bristles at any discussion of this topic while others suggest that there are ways to treat such a condition that could help him. The original poster repeatedly explains that when his wife criticizes him, he tries to change his behaviors and has changed, but she doesn't understand how his anxiety impacts him and he is not successful in having conversations with her that don't end up focused on his shortcomings. As such, he doesn't feel like he can talk to her and is increasingly lonely. While the original poster receives significant sympathy, he also has his detractors who question whether he does enough work around the house, whether he compliments his wife in the manner he wants to be complimented, or whether he shows interests in the things that interest her.

The third thread at which I'll look was titled, "List of Insta matriculation pages?" and posted in the "Private/Independent Schools". As has been discussed in several of these blog posts, the college acceptance records of various private schools have been much discussed recently. In the course of one such thread, a poster mentioned an Instagram page listing acceptances by students at the Bullis School. The original poster asks whether there are similar pages for other private schools. Several posters seem to have long lists of such pages at their fingertips and many posts full of links were posted. Some posters were a bit freaked out by this and much of the discussion in this thread revolves around whether being interested in these pages is "stalkerish". Many posters insist that this is not normal behavior and clearly consider it to be stalkerish. Others point out that this is information that students have chosen to make available and that there are valid reasons for being interested in it. As posters have the chance to look at the various pages, they use this thread to comment on the results, with Holton School getting considerable praise. Like all threads about college acceptance these days, this one also gets diverted to debates about the value of legacy status and the fact that athletes seem to have the best acceptance results. There is also the mandatory argument about how well the records of public schools compare to private schools. While some posters are critical of this information being made public, suggesting that students might want to make the pages private, others find it suspicious when schools such as St. Albans and National Cathedral School don't have such pages.

Finally, I'll look at a thread posted in the "Political Discussion" forum. Titled, "JD Vance introduces bill to make English the official language of the US", the original poster asks what the point is of frivolous legislation of this sort. As would be expected, reactions by posters simply coincide with their opinions about the bill which are almost entirely preconceived. Desire to make English the official language of the United States goes back a long ways. One poster points out a 40 year old bill proposing the same. But most posters don't support the bill and see it as simply a political stunt. Several point out that the bill is part and parcel of the "culture war" that Republicans are intent on waging. Supporters of the bill stress the importance of learning English to being successful in this country. I've had little regard for Vance since I read his book, "Hillbilly Elegy". At the time, the book was receiving nothing but praise and I read it with expectations that it would live up to its reputation. Instead, I found it severely lacking. For instance, Vance completely ignored institutional impediments to upward mobility, placing full responsibility on individuals. For example, he blamed "hillbillies" for their economic condition but ignored the impact of globalization or large corporations on that condition. At that time, Vance was a proponent of globalization and I felt his failure to address the negative aspects of globalization might be connected to his political views and financial self-interest. Later, Vance was a critic of Donald Trump, particularly of Trump's stance on cultural issues. That Vance acts more in the interest of political expediency and self-interest rather than deeply held values was proven by his metamorphosis into a Trumpist MAGA Republican prior to his election to the Senate. As such, it is no surprise that it is not the "hillbillies" of Ohio who are getting his attention, but rather a culture war issue that has no chance of passing the Senate. As a poster points out in the thread, this is little more than Vance virtue signaling.