naraburns nihil supernum
7mo ago
(text post)
28921 thread views
Israel-Gaza Megathread #1
This is a megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.
it is a problem because you can always find someone who is associated with cause X but also has unsavory opinion Y. of course it seems like its fine to use these tactics to smear other causes.
Nick Reimer, president of the faculty union at the University of Sydney in Australia,
The union representing teaching assistants and part-time instructors at McMaster University, CUPE local 3906
I have no qualms about tarring that entire university and all of CUPE with the same brush. If they didn't want those people speaking for them, they shouldn't have made them leaders.
Is the article supposed to go against the claim that right-wingers will trawl the social media for any and all pro-Hamas far left comments in situations like this? Because that's certainly the impression you get when you include operators like "Sarah Shahid, freelancer for Now Toronto and Spring magazine" and "At Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, assistant professor of social work Dr. Jessica Hutchison".
No, it's supposed to go against the implication that it's (only) unfairly highlighting crazies. When you're representing thousands of staff at an organization with an endowment in the billions of dollars, you're a genuine public figure and your actions are newsworthy.
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.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
it is a problem because you can always find someone who is associated with cause X but also has unsavory opinion Y. of course it seems like its fine to use these tactics to smear other causes.
There's a difference between finding "someone", and finding leaders in large and prestigious organizations.
From here:
I have no qualms about tarring that entire university and all of CUPE with the same brush. If they didn't want those people speaking for them, they shouldn't have made them leaders.
Well I didn't vote for them.
More options
Context Copy link
Is the article supposed to go against the claim that right-wingers will trawl the social media for any and all pro-Hamas far left comments in situations like this? Because that's certainly the impression you get when you include operators like "Sarah Shahid, freelancer for Now Toronto and Spring magazine" and "At Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, assistant professor of social work Dr. Jessica Hutchison".
No, it's supposed to go against the implication that it's (only) unfairly highlighting crazies. When you're representing thousands of staff at an organization with an endowment in the billions of dollars, you're a genuine public figure and your actions are newsworthy.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link