site banner
PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   8737 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of August 24, 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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

China does not get to build up a proxy state under our neighbor's roof, and our neighbor does not get to host them without sanctions and consequences from us.

And no, their internal issues (like ethnic relations or immigration policies) are not a carte blanche for you, outsiders to treat their state with contempt and expect them to join in on the fun.

The Monroe Doctrine says all foreign powers must stay out of the hemisphere. China and India are trying to sink their claws into Canada, and so is Europe. No, they are not allowed. Canada can have self-determination, or they can rely on the US, but they cannot become a vassal of a foreign power and claim sovereignty while doing it.

Sovereign is he who makes the exception, and Canada is not in the position to be making them, never mind asking for them.

The Monroe Doctrine says all foreign powers must stay out of the hemisphere. China and India are trying to sink their claws into Canada, and so is Europe. No, they are not allowed.

I was told that Russia operating under the exact same logic was being Literally Hitler.

China does not get to build up a proxy state under our neighbor's roof

Don't lie at least to yourself. China is a pretext for territorial aggression against Canada. They were plenty compliant with your aggression for years. It's just never enough if you believe you can take the whole thing.

Manifest Destiny is sorely delayed.

Fifty Four Forty in 1840s. Fumbling away Baja after the Mexican American War. The project to connect Alaska in the Northwest, now 150 years in the making. Letting Cuba go independent instead of annexing it like we should have. All of these should be corrected.

China is the reason to take action today, because they are at the gates and there is no more time to delay, but the desire has been there all along.

They are not "at the gates", they are in the South China Sea, annexing Canada or Cuba or Venezuela will do absolutely nothing to stop their expansion there if they will it, and it doesn't even look like Trump wants to stop it.

But speaking of, here's how Sun Yat-Sen, the father of both Chinese Republics, saw the desirable future from 1917:

Under the principle of Pan-Asianism, Japan and China can together develop the natural resources in the West of the Pacific, while under the Monroe Doctrine the United States can unify authority in the East of that ocean. Each should confine herself to her own field; then there will be no conflict whatsoever. By a concerted effort of these three Powers disarmament might some day be affected, and, going one step further, permanent peace of the world secured. This would not be to the benefit of China alone. Should China follow this as the guiding principle of her diplomacy, she would completely eliminate any possible cause of national extinction.

Would you accept these terms? Or is there still some interest in meddling on the Asian side of the Pacific, with Canada somehow a stepping stone to this goal?

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