site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1475 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 23, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Obviously the whole "Amelia" meme is very culture war-loaded, but this jocular rundown of the whole thing (containing 100+ memes) made me laugh so much that it feels more appropriate for this thread. (It caught my attention because Scott liked it.)

So the thing is, Amelia isn't real.

Not only is she not literally real, she isn't even figuratively real. There is no attractive sexually available 18-29 year-old alt girl willing to take direct action to fix the demographic crisis with you. She doesn't exist. This is the most perfidious lie of all.

I still think this matters.

I understand the point you're making. At the same time, using an idealised female character as an abstract personification of your nation/culture/value system is not a new thing. Columbia, Athena, Aisling, to name but three examples of the proud lineage of which Amelia is a member.

Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean is a song i'm fond of.

Amelia is ... less ... than all of those, though. It does accurately signify many aspects of the culture/value system it emerges from, just not in a good way. It's just an internet meme about a hot girl. And even that's fine, I guess, the problem is there's nothing else.

I don't know what this means. What do you mean by "not in a good way"?

Columbia represented both the philosophical principles of the American founding (I may disagree with many, but they are serious and substantial) as well as a concrete people civilizing the frontier and building what would become the most powerful and prosperous nation on the planet. Amelia is a cute hot girl that represents no immigrants. Which is fine, but just not as substantial. Amelia is funny, and and accurately represents that the culture it comes from cares more about 'edgy memes' and 'looking at picture of attractive girls' than it does philosophical principles or material accomplishments. It's not that the former two are bad, they have their place, just... You can see this in the art, compare to this. I think Amelia's just a random internet meme of no unusual significance either positive or negative, but to the extent it really is "an abstract personification of your nation/culture/value system" what it says isn't good.

Sure. But bear in mind: this whole Amelia started a couple of weeks ago, and there are already videos of her quoting poetry at length that users of this board are calling moving. I'm sure the first draft of Columbia looked a little rough around the edges (and not a little racist against Native Americans) too.

If that video was the median Amelia meme I would've said something different!

She represents 'England is good, England is beautiful, English people are good, it's our home, all of this is under threat but we can save it together'. From where I'm standing that's immensely serious and substantial, and the ongoing crumpling of British political parties against this sentiment agrees with me. Amelia herself is just a pretty face on top of that, but so is Columbia a face on top of some rather arbitrary assertions.

building what would become the most powerful and prosperous nation on the planet

We did that before it was cool, and God willing one day we'll do it again. The wheel of fate turns and nations rise and fall.

philosophical principles of the American founding

Ethnonationalism and the underlying debate around what underlies culture, how well different ethnicities can live together long term etc. etc. is perfectly serious and substantial, as are more complex philosophical elements of British identity that are harder to pin down. Locke himself was English, of course, and in many ways you could say that it America was built in England even if later generations of pilgrims called themselves American.

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