site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2913 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 16, 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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

My TikTok is suddenly filled with Trump, Clinton, Epstein and Trump giving Clinton a blowjob. Does anyone know WTF this thing started?

I’ve been amused at the homophobia implicit in most of the left-wing comments I’ve seen about it. The same people who’d scold anyone making gay jokes about Pete Buttigieg suddenly find it hilarious to make similar jokes about Trump. Just goes to show it was all about whose ox was being gored all along.

Huh?

I don’t know what specific comments you’ve got in mind, but there’s a pretty obvious difference.

Very crass things, like Trump loving the taste of another man’s sperm. Which in ordinary circumstances would be defended as perfectly ordinary and good, but which in this case is assumed to be obviously degrading and emasculating.

You frequently see the same thing with the body positivity crowd, though to give credit where credit is due, I’ve also seen some principled activists push back against it. It’s not at all uncommon, though, to find body positivity folks mocking Trump, Gingrich, Giuliani, etc., for being fat and ugly.

I’m reminded of Scott’s observations in part V of this essay, where all his friends were disgusted at celebrations of Osama bin Ladin’s death, because “we should never rejoice in the death of a fellow man,” yet only a few years later, those same friends forgot that principle and publicly rejoiced at the death of Margaret Thatcher.

Mark Epstein (brother) sent an e-mail to Jeffrey Epstein in March of 2018 that said, "Ask him if Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba." "Him" possibly being Trump. Bubba being either Bill Clinton or Bubba Salisbury, son of Odessa oil industry magnate, Dick Sailsbury. Maybe as a joke (in the case of Clinton). Maybe hinting at a corrupt financial relationship (in the case of Sailsbury). This was post-Steele dossier.

Bubba being either Bill Clinton

Waiting for him to come out and say, "I did not have a sexual relationship with this man"

One of the Epstein emails democrats got released has a reference to pictures of trump blowing bill clinton. I assume it’s a joke, but you can’t expect people not to feed it into AI.

The Democrats trolling the Epstein files for anything that makes Trump look bad. It immediately turned into a weird 2-movies-1-screen soap opera and you have to tune in tomorrow for the next plot-twist, which will seem really cool but ultimately mean nothing.

In other words: Epstein gives off spiteful ex vibes and sent out lots of emails full of the kinds of things Boomers post on Facebook about Trump. Apparently there was some comment in there suggesting TrumpxClinton happened? I haven't seen anyone actually quote it, and they've quoted a ton else. Half of Asmon Gold's comments section is people calling Epstein patient 0 for TDS.

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