site banner
PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   17099 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 2, 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.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

It’s what Anglos mean by fraud.

Bullshit. Give me ANY evidence. And to be clear, "I say so" isn't evidence.

An example? Growing up my family was poor. We were eligible for food stamps but were capable of working so we never got on those programs. It’s wrong to use a government program if you can provide for yourself in other ways.

Are you young? Are you white? You seem like you are from a foreign culture? You talk like your Indian.

To use a government program for disabled vets when you are capable of working is in fact fraud. It’s why it’s called “disability”.

Edit: ok I know I went aggressive. But 30 days pretty much proved my point that you aren’t allowed to attack military benefits as a fiscal issue. And if I’m being honest military disability is a “fuck you” issue to me. In policy wonk circles it’s a well-known abuse of the system. If you want to defend soldiers then abuse of a good program should be a “fuck you” issue to do rants on.

Yeah I get where you're coming from. I'll just add this: most service members, as they're getting out of active duty, are sheparded through applying for VA benefits and have very little control over the result of process. You basically can't finish outprocessing without completing the VA application, and the determination of benefits is done behind the scenes by a large bureaucracy.

I think I took offense to the idea that individual soldiers are fraudulently applying for benefits they don't deserve. The practical reality is that every soldier applies and the bureaucracy tells them what they will get. I also suspect that the rising number of disability payments is tied to the changes in transition procedures to ensure every service member applies. All of this, from my perspective, is at the level of policy, and it is working as those policy makers intended, whether for good or ill.

I find your view abhorrent disgusting and I would strip you of citizenship if I could.

Are you young? Are you white? You seem like you are from a foreign culture? You talk like your Indian.

You've been warned to stop doing this, and as I noted last time, every time you are warned you cool it just long enough to hope we'll forget.

We don't forget.

Ad hominems like this are about as clear-cut a violation of the rules as you can get without a straight-up "fuck you."

One month ban. Next time probably permanent.

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