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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   2556 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 30, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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What is it about? Like I get it’s bigoted against LGBT, but so are a lot of people. Is it a series of humorous anecdotes offending the lefties?

It's a first-person screed from the perspective of an "Alpha Male". There's very little plot, it's more poking holes in the lies we tell ourselves as a civilized society. What's meant seriously vs satirically is going to be different for everyone and that's part of what makes it interesting. Essentially bemoaning the state of the world and perhaps suggesting we should burn it all down.

It's unthinkably transgressive in 2024, but not far off from a 2008 LAN Party (Xbox, not PC). I can't imagine a woman really enjoying it, either. It's pure masculinity, toxic and otherwise.

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The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

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Why are you called The Motte?

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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