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PaperclipPerfector  9d ago (text post)   2680 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 12, 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.

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The Pew Research Centre has a new political typology quiz.

I'm classified as "Pragmatic and Polite Right".

I'm Left-Behind Leftist Left-Out Left (let me correct that), which made me laugh. It was pretty easy to see which way the questions leaned and what answers would tip you into which bucket.

I always said if I were American, I'd be the old-school blue collar union Democrat voter, who they left behind when chasing the college-educated vote and the rush to the socially progressive side on gay rights, abortion, etc.

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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.


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