Before he lost his spine, one of my former cohorts at Blistered Thumbs posted the image to the left. It was part of an article that he wrote in response to a debacle that, for better or worse, saw game journalists alter the truth for the sake of simply making their forums blow up. Now, what happened to that former cohort is neither her or there, but I’m here to talk about the key issue that causes such issues. What is it that makes it deplorable?

Mass manipulation of the people.

One of the most disgusting things that one man can do to another (that is not illegal, mind you) is attempt to control them. It’s a disgusting practice, and one that is becoming more and more common on the internet. There are always people popping up, trying to rally everyone totheircause,theirissues, andtheirminor kerfluffles in life.

On one hand, it’s simply annoying to hear people whine and piss and moan about minor issues, such as some actor not being cast as Green Lantern or some original disc content being cut a point during development then re-addressed for DLC purposes later. On the other, attempting to tell people what to think on the matter is wrong.

You see, those who attempt to rally others in the modern day don’t really rally for the sake of change. Unlike someone like Martin Luther King Jr., we see people who simply try to rally over the trivial for the sake of blowing up their own egos. They want people to agree with them and be as mad as they are over nothing so they’re not alone. It’s for the sake of them being in charge. It’s a proposed dictatorship over your thoughts, your feelings, and who you are as a person.

Where have you seen this before? George Orwell’s 1984. By manipulating the emotions of the people, Big Brother took hold. There were no elections. No free speech. No great revolutions. Simply a bleak world where you are forced to live in a specific way. As an American, as a Christian, and as a good man, this disgusts me. I don’t need someone to tell me how to feel. Give me the information, and I’ll figure it out myself.

What I am simply saying to you, the reader, is this. I am a journalist. I am an information broker. That is what I do. I find out what is happening, and I report on it. That’s the job. I don’t need other morons trying to rally people to their ridiculous “revolutions” that have either no leadership or no point.Beyond that, it’s reprehensible to see people try and manipulate good people into bad causes for the sake of their own molehills.

The journalist in me wants people to shut up and read. The rebel in me says “I won’t do what you tell me.”

May your imitation of “The Party” lead to you burning in hell.

-Micah C.