site banner
PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   19417 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of February 23, 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.

4
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Jews want to live in a multicultural state and so they decided to import a group of (checks notes) virulent antisemites.

That’s your grand theory? Really?

Jews want to live in a multicultural state and so they decided to import a group of (checks notes) virulent antisemites.

Well, supposedly it'll be fine when whites become a minority in America (if we aren't already) despite importing groups of Mestizos, Somalis, Indians, etc. who if not already virulent anti-whites will become so once sufficiently marinated in the elite ideology. Because, the argument goes, instead of being united by hatred of whitey, and using their growing strength — and the white minority's growing weakness — to intensify the anti-white policies already in place, the moment the white population fraction hits 49.9%, a switch will magically flip in the brains of the non-white population, such that they'll suddenly switch over to fighting one another, and they'll be so busy fighting one another, they'll completely forget their hatred of the white minority, so much that they'll supposedly roll back the extant anti-white programs For Reasons.

Now swap that white minority with a Jewish one. (I note that when one does this substitution — in either direction — quite a few people suddenly change their opinion on whether or not a diverse majority is better than a homogenous majority for an unpopular minority.)

Didn’t a Jew, Jacob Frey, become mayor of Minneapolis by exploiting that group’s inter-tribal conflict? So, yes, absolutely.

Much rather than live in a homogenous state where there culture and ethnic background sticks out. They are a naturally cosmopolitan people and naturally gravitate to the most diverse parts of the US and Europe. They are mainly afraid of white homogenous societies, not individual immigrants who might go a bit bonkers. The diversity has never really done any serious harm to jews.

Do you think the modal member of a homogenous white US society would be more or less antisemitic than the modal Somali immigrant?

Do I think a homogenous society is more difficult for ethnic minorities than diverse societies? Absolutely.

Also the worst times for jews have been in all white societies.

That wasn't my question. I asked about the specific muslim somalis that were germane to the discussion.

And to hazard my answer to the question: I think the median WASP is far less antisemitic than even the 95^th percentile most tolerant somali. It's not even close.

Various Somalis are in no way an existential threat to Jews and they would rather live in an area with some Somalis than an all white area.

What do you think "death to the jews" means? Vibes? Essays?

Also the worst times for jews have been in all white societies.

What does Purim celebrate again?

A genocide of persians.

I'm not much for Jewposting but...the explanation for why progressive feminists and pro-LGBT people support it is basically the same and it's not any more flattering to them either. If they can be accused of being short-sighted, why not Jews?

Of course Jews can be accused of anything. But on the one hand there is a claim that they are orchestrating an entire war and at the same time that they are short-sighted enough that they want to willingly add 300K muslims whose policy rounds to "death to the jews".

One can see the "LGBT for Palestine" organizers in a parade and think they are buffoons. But you can't also see them as sophisticated operators playing geopolitical 4D chess. Pick one or the other.

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