There are a lot of very upset people in our community, at the moment.
Without getting into the specifics — which I am sure most of you are familiar with, anyway — people are basically unhappy with Ned and Steemit, Inc. for substantially powering down the core stake.
I'm not going to get into speculation here, so I'll just leave it at the reality that a lot of people are unhappy and unnerved by this action, and the general lack of transparency in "official" communications from Steemit, Inc.
Guardians of the Island
Frankly, I'm a little jittery, myself... pondering the whole "what do it MEAN?" question.
However the reason I am jittery is that I have been a front-row witness to the death of approximately 60 "rewards for content" sites over the past 20 years.
Greed fucks everything up, for everyone.
Now there's talk about "some group" getting together and basically "forking Steemit, Inc. out of their stake." Or words to that effect — I'm NOT a technical guy, so don't ask for specifics. Others are trying to put pressure on Ned/Steemit, Inc. to stop, via public posts and petitions.
Meanwhile, I'm sitting here with my 850 original blog posts, thinking "Oh fer fuck's sake! Not this shit AGAIN!!!?"
This bird is watching you...
There's Gonna Be a Rev-o-lu-tion!
Upset people — justified as they may be in their feelings — in situations like these always remind me a bit of medieval villagers with pitchforks and revolutionaries in so-called "Banana Republics" where coups and revolutions are almost a hobby.
Now you might be thinking "This is serious business! How dare he make fun of this?!?!"
Yes, it's serious business, and I'm actually not making fun of anything... rather, I am pointing to a potential problem: Attention to the Greater Picture
The thing about revolutionaries and villagers with pitchforks is that they know they want change, and they know they want to get rid of their leader or dictator or whomever is in power... but they rarely show up with a "turnkey alternative" that's all worked out and ready to keep things going forward on a better path, pretty seamlessly.
Because — naturally — showing up with something like that takes months and years of careful and often boring planning.
Change agents just know they want to "kill the oppressive leader," and have some vague notion that whatever comes after is somehow going to be better.
Are we totally out to sea here?
Trading One Problem for Another
I'm pretty much "nobody" around here. Barely among the top 300 most active users; barely top 500 by reputation. I'm not a developer; not a witness; I know little about blockchains. I don't run a fancy app.
But I do know a thing or two about human nature and psychology... including industrial psychology.
And I guess what I want to kick into this discussion is an appeal to those who are all fired up to make sure they step and fully appreciate the future implications of their actions.
As is often the case in "Banana Republic Revolutions," a coup may be quite successful... but THEN what?
Often, the answer is little more than "Dunno, really. We just wanted to get rid of the evil one!" Revolutionaries are very good at "overthrowing" but usually CRAP at actually running countries and governments.
What happens next is typically chaos, confusion, destruction and decline... until the next "idealist" with dictatorial tendencies steps in to "rescue" everyone from themselves, and proceeds to become just as "evil" as the person previously overthrown. The same... only different.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Northern Sunset
Take Action... BUT...
Not suggesting that the situation brewing isn't something warranting attention and some form of action.
Just suggesting to those who are all stirred up that it would be wise to have all the details of the alternative plan fully figured out before you invade the castle bearing pitchforks and fiery torches.
I'm now going to crawl back into the hole I came from... which means going back to creating content and not worrying so much about the politics.
Thanks for reading!
Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
As always, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190119 15:50 PST
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