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Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 19, 2026

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.

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Engaging with very right wing ideas such as HBD is socially embarassing. The ick is a natural response to that.

If person X has many accounts and one of them happens to be on the motte then a subset of people would judge them. "What kind of person has a stormfront, 4chan, incels.is etc account." This is the main reason for lack of leftists.

Now the common argument is just don't tell your peers you have an account but unfortunately psychology doesn't work like that, people want to be liked for all they are and dislike keeping secrets.

So they must decide if they must bear the psychological burden of keeping a secret to keep browsing the motte.

This isn't really concious but I assume that is what practically happens.

This process bleeds leftist dry from a platform and without them the discourse becomes too one sided and of lower quality. So even more people leave till you end with a mostly center right website.

I thought a bit more about it. Calling it embarassing is inaccurate. There is another primary reason for it.

It's a matter of honor even though people would never word it that way. It is dishonorable to let insults against your friends/family/group stand. HBD etc is insulting to minorities. Christians generally used to dislike their god being insulted. This "honor" is something I find is natural but only emerges when it is encouraged in the society. This can be completely suppressed depending on who your friends are and what is your culture.

Well also people dislike not being echo chambers and being with people like you is far more pleasant. I can't discount that.

Honor doesn't exist for a utalitarian reason, it is a thing in itself.

The social embarassment is for people who don't feel that "honor" feeling intrinsically.

Do you tell people you know IRL that you comment on this site? I have alluded to discussions here IRL a few times, but always in general terms, never giving the site name, and certainly never giving my own username.

Well only close friends but my close friends are basically indifferent to what I do unless I am causing real harm to someone. We follow a very live and let live philosophy.

Though I generally don't share my username, I do share screenshots of the website.