After you’ve been around the block awhile, you see posts of folk complaining about online movements which devolve into meaninglessness.
It’s pretty easy to spot the symptoms at this point to not involve yourself:
- Conservatives/Right Wingers are blacklisted/wronged/banned from some industry.
- The people react, supporting said right wingers.
- People want more — they want an alternative, they look for a leader.
- A few semi-celebrity grifters come in, act as leaders to either get themselves awards and/or money.
- The grifters bleat endlessly about how the art must be “apolitical”.
- The grifters fight the right wingers and wrestle control of the movement, often warning about “extremism on both sides”.
- The right wingers get ostracized/blacklisted, thus negating the purpose of the movement to begin with.
- The grifters ride the movement until it dies.
I’ve seen it so many times now, and without putting my nose into something that doesn’t involve me, I’m seeing folk getting disillusioned again. This can serve as a handy cheat sheet for folk to not get duped. Just remember… this almost invariably happens with online movements.
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It’s the truth. Here’s a corollary to your rule: When an actual, viable alternative DOES come into existence and is effective, the grifters attack that person more mercilessly than they do their putative enemies.
It’s a tale as old as time.
Every time.
I agree. This is something people should be aware of–especially in themselves.
With some self-reflection I can attest to the times I have tried to compromise with my enemies.
But if they are enemies of good, then compromise is only an allowance of evil.
We’ve been brainwashed to believe that being compromised is to be good, and that everyone who fights back is evil. The moderate, “conservative” approach is just another lie, equally great to the leftists; they are two wings of the same bird.
It so often drives me up the wall when people flock to one of these grifters in an effort to be led, like sheep. Not realizing that the only place sheep are ever led, is to the slaughter.
When someone steps in front of a movement and tries to take credit for it, people need to ask just why are they trying to do that?
And there is nothing worse than a person who tries to ‘seek common ground’ or ‘compromise’ with the enemy. Because that is always the path to failure.
Me too.
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The grifters bleat endlessly about how the art must be “apolitical”.
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To pick the truth is to pick a side. All are welcome, but no compromise of the truth should be made to broaden appeal. The exclusivity of truth has its own appeal.
Truth!
Could not agree more and have stopped lamenting the fact that chubby Ceasar a.k.a 2-Face slithered in and took over CG and started supporting proper creatives instead.