site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   27963 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 13, 2025

This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.

Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.

We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:

  • Shaming.

  • Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.

  • Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.

  • Recruiting for a cause.

  • Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.

In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:

  • Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.

  • Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.

  • Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.

  • Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.

On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.

4
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

No, Trump is not a nazi. Nor is JD Vance or Stephen Miller, or probably anyone in the administration. I'm skeptical that any of the incidents OP posted are suggestive that the Fourth Reich is some fifth column in the Republican party. But at the same time, there's been a groundswell of interest and support and tolerance of ideas like Great Replacement Theory and authoritarianism in the Red Tribe mainstream that's been slowly gaining steam for the last decade. And, while I know everything wrong with the Red Tribe is actually the Blue Tribe's fault, what word would you like us to use to describe that? Not nazism, not racism, not fascism, so...what?

Lmao. "Look, Trump isn't a nazi, neither is any republican leader, and I don't think anything in this post is evidence of Nazism. But you guys are are nazis! Look at all these things we never fucking talk about because we're too busy calling Trump or Stephen Miller a nazi! What else are we supposed to do except bring up shit that I don't think is Nazism and use it to tar you as nazis?". I don't know, talk about the shit you think is actually Nazism?

See, when this is done by people you dislike you break out the Narcissist's prayer:

The first line of the narcissist's prayer is "That didn't happen".

We have been telling you that this would happen from the very beginning.

White identitarianism is becoming more common and mainstream in the red tribe than it had been post reagan revolution. I will own this. But, importantly, this is not the same thing as naziism. Nor is it the dominant form of racism in our culture or anywhere close(which would be progressive negrolatry).

But you guys are are nazis! Look at all these things we never fucking talk about because we're too busy calling Trump or Stephen Miller a nazi! What else are we supposed to do except bring up shit that I don't think is Nazism and use it to tar you as nazis?". I don't know, talk about the shit you think is actually Nazism?

No, I'm serious - I don't want to call you a nazi, nor have I called anyone a nazi. What word would you like me to use to describe someone who believes that politicians are importing brown people to replace the white race, and all the attendant beliefs that normally swirl around that one? A Great Replacement Theorist? What word would you like me to describe someone who thinks that Trump should have power to do X, Y and Z regardless of their legality without resorting to what you see as slurs?

We have been telling you that this would happen from the very beginning.

No, progressives have been telling you this would happen since you brought the first slave ships over in the 17th century! Why would you do such a thing, Fruck?

progressives have been telling you this would happen since you brought the first slave ships over in the 17th century!

If you want to own abolitionists, you have to own the eugenicists too. Is that really what you want?

No, I'm serious - I don't want to call you a nazi, nor have I called anyone a nazi. What word would you like me to use to describe someone who believes that politicians are importing brown people to replace the white race, and all the attendant beliefs that normally swirl around that one? A Great Replacement Theorist? What word would you like me to describe someone who thinks that Trump should have power to do X, Y and Z regardless of their legality without resorting to what you see as slurs?

Isn't the phrase for this just, "someone who has read Democratic talking points from 2000-current day?"

When we aren't explicitly discussing "great replacement theory" or other "myths" this sort of talking point is not uncommon. We have the infamous book, "The Emerging Democratic Majority" that makes the case explicitly that just lowering the white population enough as a % means progressives win. Its not a one off, it happens whenever there is a mask off moment on the topic on the left.

I mean, lets take the charitable take that the political party that uses "whiteness" as a slur, doesn't actually mean it and only incidentally supports immigration from majority nonwhite countries. You are upset with people who are seeing a result and not applying the most charitable ideological framing of their opponents, in the face of rhetoric that makes said charitable framing difficult to justify.

What word would you like me to use to describe someone who believes that politicians are importing brown people to replace the white race, and all the attendant beliefs that normally swirl around that one?

Nationalist

What word would you like me to describe someone who thinks that Trump should have power to do X, Y and Z regardless of their legality without resorting to what you see as slurs?

Authoritarian nationalist

Great Replacement Theorist

Seems fair. Alternatively ‘ethnonationalist’ seems broadly fair, or ‘white nationalist’ if that describes their opinions (ie the pro-white Americans, anti-Chinese guys seem to sit here, others not so much). Both have somewhat negative connotations in public but at least those connotations derive from the actual content of the beliefs rather than extrapolation and insinuation.

At least ethnonationalism has a falsifiable epistemology thar can be A B tested for its presence. This whole "nazi" appellation is tiresome for its definitional slipperiness. Uncharitably I would argue that "woke" as a catchall serves as the direct oppisite: everyone knows roughly what "woke" is and why its bad, but the practitioners of "woke" will never own up to being "woke". We are at the stage where calling Milo Yanawhatever or Enrique Tarrio or Herman Cain or fucking Walt Disney are all as nazi as David Duke so being called a Nazi is barely shrugworthy. Call Ibram Kendi woke and he'd screech that he's not being woke but highlighting black issues.

What is this place?

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!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


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.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats