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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed." On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.
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Am I going to doubt the fact that the people who came to America were not pioneers? No. Were they also colonists who engaged in the genocide of the Native American people, and came here for the profiteering of the "New World"? Yeah.
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Am I going to doubt the fact that the people who came to America were not pioneers? No. Were they also colonists who engaged in the genocide of the Native American people, and came here for the profiteering of the "New World"? Yeah.
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