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Despite the Motte's posters being primarily right wing, I still value it as someone who is left-leaning and read it regularly as a there's a number of posters whose opinion I find interesting. George_E_Hale is one example.
But there's also a a minority of posters, whom I won't name, not everyone I've blocked is like that. But as a whole there are certain posters who are predictably irritating, who skirt around the "Be Kind" rule as a suggestion by wording things differently despite essentially openly shitting on the outgroup. But because the site isn't very active as it is, and because their rule breaking isn't sufficient they're ignored by the mods.
Do I then leave this site because of these people? The "Be Kind" rule is probably the reason why I'm here. Despite this place being a hive of villainy, it's also the most polite and kind place to discuss politics that I've found (besides the aforementioned posters, whom I don't see anyway), there people don't instantly start shitting on the outgroup and making strawman posts out of them.
This place is a community; a group effort. It's not a consumer product served up by the mods. If you dislike the way some posters act - call them out on it! You're part of the Motte, and given how small it is, this is not some infinitesimal part, but a tangible one. Complain, accuse, challenge. Don't block - that's the boneheaded, lazy move of the consumer. This must be a place of engagement, even if antagonistic.
I don't have the patience to engage with them. I'm not competitive enough, nor do I think that I could even if I was.
Also I already spend too much time doing idle things when I should be doing thins that are more important.
I'm afraid this seems much like the usual leftist excuses - one cannot simply improve the world incrementally or locally; sadly I am forced by circumstance and the malice of others to sit idly and wait for the mountain to come to me; first the global revolution, then the details.
I poke at you. I challenge you! You say this is insufficiently important, mere idleness? Then put down the phone and engage with real life. But if you have time to scroll, then surely you have time to actually argue.
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