site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   27990 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026

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.

6
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

The Nice truck attack had a bigger body count than most mass shootings.

And we don't give the general public access to trucks, partly for exactly that reason. Even in the hoplophobic UK, it is harder to get a cat D endorsement on your driving licence (needed to drive a vehicle over 7.5T) than a rifle permit. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had taken a job as a trucker about a year before the incident - it isn't obvious if this was a long-term evil scheme like Atta's flying lessons, or if it was a career decision that created an opportunity down the line.

The thing is, a >7.5T truck is probably a strictly worse tool for mass murder than a regular chud-mobile -- they aren't very maneouverable, and the gearing isn't great for snappy (and sustained) accelleration.

I know that a regular one-tonne pickup is not an everyday item in the UK as in North America, but I don't think that they're like banned or anything -- if somebody wanted to do Nice in a crowded English downtown, I'm pretty sure they could.

Even in the hoplophobic UK, it is harder to get a cat D endorsement on your driving licence

But, I presume, it is much easier to acquire heavy truck than rifle. Someone on path of jihad does not need any licenses anymore.

Even in the hoplophobic UK

I understand the point you're making, but the adjective "hoplophobic" is weird to me. As tools for intimidation, guns are specifically designed to be scary. You should be scared of guns. If someone is pointing a gun at you, fear is an entirely appropriate emotional response.

I understand the point you're making, but the adjective "hoplophobic" is weird to me.

It began long ago, as matter of gun nuts mocking political correctness that loves terms like "homophobia" (transphobia was not yet on the horizon at this time). It was always tongue-in-cheek inside joke.

You should be scared of guns.

Guns are chunks of metal that can't harm anyone on their own. You should be scared of people carrying guns, if they are sus characters up to no good.

You should also be scared of yourself carrying a gun if you don't know what you are doing yet. Guns are fairly high up the list of things which can kill you if handled with merely common or garden stupidity. (Consumer product safety is all about designing things so that killing yourself with e.g. mains electricity requires aggravated stupidity).

Guns are fairly high up the list of things which can kill you if handled with merely common or garden stupidity.

So are cars, but nobody talks about being scared of cars as if it was normal. You are merely expected to learn simple safety measures like looking both ways before crossing the street as a kid, and how to actually drive as a teenager.

In a sane world, schools would teach every boy how to shoot instead of telling them that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

And we don't give the general public access to trucks, partly for exactly that reason. Even in the hoplophobic UK, it is harder to get a cat D endorsement on your driving licence (needed to drive a vehicle over 7.5T) than a rifle permit.

Isn't it weird then that I met a lot more truck drivers than gun owners?

Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had taken a job as a trucker about a year before the incident - it isn't obvious if this was a long-term evil scheme like Atta's flying lessons, or if it was a career decision that created an opportunity down the line.

The point is that if someone wanted to use a truck in an evil scheme, it's trivial to do so. Money is some concern but there are literal subsidies for people who want to get a truck license, and the criteria to get one aren't particularly high. It's the quintessential working class job.

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