Why would it bother me so much that they’re parodying a centuries-old painting depicting a scene from the life of a man whose central message and ethos I don’t believe in or care about? How have I absorbed the superstitions of people with whom I don’t even agree?
"I shouldn't assist in the defense of those people who aren't 100% on my team" has been a popular philosophy throughout history. Usually briefly.
We call the tactic that exploits that philosophy "Divide and Conquer", but if you drill down into the details it's amazing how many instances could have been better described as "Watch Them Divide Themselves, and Conquer".
The trouble is identifying when a group is N% on your team and choosing a reasonable threshold of N, of course. There are groups of Christians who would shun you socially and economically for your differences if they had enough power (at which point their most zealous kids would start pushing the Overton Window back into "arrest the blasphemer" territory), and there are diametrically opposed groups of Christians who would literally turn the other cheek if you hit them (which sounds like a friendly group of neighbors to have, until you realize they won't assist in your forceful defense when a threat starts hitting you), but there are still other groups of Christians who can actually play Tit For Tat correctly when it's called for. At one point the third group was so numerous as to be able to build modern civilization; it might be reasonable to decry the mockery of any who remain, for old times' sake, even if you can't find reason to decry it on general principles.
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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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Notes -
"I shouldn't assist in the defense of those people who aren't 100% on my team" has been a popular philosophy throughout history. Usually briefly.
We call the tactic that exploits that philosophy "Divide and Conquer", but if you drill down into the details it's amazing how many instances could have been better described as "Watch Them Divide Themselves, and Conquer".
The trouble is identifying when a group is N% on your team and choosing a reasonable threshold of N, of course. There are groups of Christians who would shun you socially and economically for your differences if they had enough power (at which point their most zealous kids would start pushing the Overton Window back into "arrest the blasphemer" territory), and there are diametrically opposed groups of Christians who would literally turn the other cheek if you hit them (which sounds like a friendly group of neighbors to have, until you realize they won't assist in your forceful defense when a threat starts hitting you), but there are still other groups of Christians who can actually play Tit For Tat correctly when it's called for. At one point the third group was so numerous as to be able to build modern civilization; it might be reasonable to decry the mockery of any who remain, for old times' sake, even if you can't find reason to decry it on general principles.
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