I'm actually not arguing at all, since I am not sure his arguments raise above "boo outgroup" level, at which level it is useless to argue - since the point of the argument is to mock and denigrate the target, not to identify areas for improvement. The author considers "The Motte" dead (hence the "postmortem"). People here, obviously, do not (unless we are a den of necrophiliacs?) I am not sure which argument could change that perception. Yes, of course there are right-wing postings here. Why not?
It's not that there are right wing discussions, it's that there are almost only unchallenged right wing posts in the CW thread. The CW thread used to be a place where the culture war takes place, it is now a place where you can comment about the culture war taking place somewhere else.
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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 -
Are you arguing that what he writes is false? For comparison, that is what is promised by the Culture War thread:
Look at the discussions there are right now.
Quality post, but not very culture war-y. Anyway, right now, no one really disagrees.
A post criticizing a labour MP for his anti-incels politics (anti Labour so we might assume right wing). No one really disagrees.
Obviously right-wing, but there I have to admit there are some people arguing the other way. But the post was quite extreme by itself.
A post about liberals using AI to push their views. Pretty right wing. Everyone agrees. More or less.
I stop there. I don't think the CW thread delivers on its promise to challenge your beliefs, especially if they are right wing or libertarians.
I object to that. Anti-woke, yes. But not right-wing. The usage of "libtard" is tongue-in-cheek, as clearly stated.
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I'm actually not arguing at all, since I am not sure his arguments raise above "boo outgroup" level, at which level it is useless to argue - since the point of the argument is to mock and denigrate the target, not to identify areas for improvement. The author considers "The Motte" dead (hence the "postmortem"). People here, obviously, do not (unless we are a den of necrophiliacs?) I am not sure which argument could change that perception. Yes, of course there are right-wing postings here. Why not?
It's not that there are right wing discussions, it's that there are almost only unchallenged right wing posts in the CW thread. The CW thread used to be a place where the culture war takes place, it is now a place where you can comment about the culture war taking place somewhere else.
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