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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   2955 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 21, 2025

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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Or, whichever local religious service seems most appealing to you.

None of them in my area seem to: not the Mexican cult; not the black Baptist church whose webpage advertises events by local Dem politicians; not the Lutheran church whose woman pastor's LinkedIn page has rainbow flags; and not the "you should already be Catholic before setting foot inside" Byzantine Catholic church. (The racist Islander Church appears to have moved or shut down.) None of them seem like they'd be welcoming environments for me (another problem with being a far-right atheist).

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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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