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naraburns  nihil supernum  2yr ago (text post)   17151 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of December 19, 2022

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Do you think the motte still has a left wing bent? It seems like it’s shifted more rightward after the site move. May just be me.

If I may chip in, I'd say it has shifted rightward at least a little. Maybe it's just bottled-up witchiness bubbling to the surface? Overall it hasn't changed much though, except for a loss of volume and, I fear, some quality. Though that may not be the move's fault; maybe the Motte is just past its prime, or at least in a bit of a creative dry spell.

FWIW, I'm firmly in the camp of "liberalism is the second-best for everyone, while the best would be the world obeying my every whim." So, eh, right-wing by today's standards.

If it is right wing it is a very weird blue tribe version of it.

Most of the people here feel significantly isolated over their politics rather than having a tribe.

Yeah that’s fair. I don’t truly feel part of the left, though I do feel more left than most folks here. I’m transhuman, socially liberal, don’t care much about gender roles, I’m pro union, pro big govt in some places. Seems like most folks here aren’t.

Your only difference as described is going to be the Union thing, unless socially liberal requires active approval of alternative relationships like polyamory.

Even then, I doubt you'll see more than 50% opposition.

Depends on what axis you draw your "left-right" line on.

If it's on pronouns and killing all white people, this is Naziland.

If it's on gay marriage and the US as a "christian nation", this is San Fransisco.

Yeah we’re all just a bunch of witches wanting to cast our spells without getting censored. You make a fair point.

Also I love how great the site move went. So many people were doomsaying but we’re alive and strong.

It's very hard to tell because of the woke factor. If you had the Motte vote between an actively anti-woke leftwinger and an actively anti-woke rightwinger, would the rightwinger win? Maybe, I can feel the well-known conservative drift that comes with age even in myself, but I think the results would be pretty close.

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This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

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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