Its quite easy to see how this word can apply to the current state of things.
Attrition: the process of reducing something's strength or effectiveness through sustained attack or pressure.
A few days ago when i wrote about the need of sustained pressure on the trending page and the trending page bidbotters and "the war" that will ensue i wasnt kidding.
All of that we are seeing now.
A war of attrition with deception and politics being tied into its core.

lol. But seriously though.
Each action we make has a reaction to it. It might be a positive one or a negative one but no matter what you do and how long it takes the reaction will make itself visible.
After HF21 the bidbot owners, bidbot delegators, vote buyers and circle jerks, most definitely felt the reaction of the community to their actions during the last 2 years.
For them it wasnt a lovely sight.
Now we are at a point where we must push even harder for the change to go through its genesis.
You only got a whiff of it.
The ball hasnt crossed the goal line yet. We just made a few nice dribbles.

(Trying to get @theycallmedan attention so he votes me when i get greyed out. He loves them analogies so im trying to bait him. Shhhh, wink wink.)
Pressure on anyone that punches above their weight will happen. Deception and attempts to buy support from influential steemians will happen.
People dont see it but trust me that politics play a huge part in all this. Friendships and behind the curtain play.
Most of us arent significant on here. That is a fact. Either our stake is too low or we dont have the right friends but what we can do is speak up.
When the status quo hasnt been established the voice of the small guy can get heard.
Once the dust settles and a consensus has been made you might as well bark at the moon.
If there ever was a time to try and do something, its now.
Why am i saying this?
Time will come, and its already here actually, when people will try and pass between the cracks. People that THINK they have earned the RIGHT to be an exception. Folks that think that their contributions, reputation, connections, stake give them the right to be given a pass.

One of those guys today was:
@aggroed.
Steem engine, Splinterlands, top witness, etc.... What ever it might be....
(Those contributions are great indeed and i dont dismiss that.)
But he stacked bot votes and reached the top of the trending page. If hes given a pass then others can make the same argument.
They can list their accolades. They can make an argument for their "worth" and why they should be allowed to do the same.
You guys are hypocrites. So he can do it and i cant?! That is not fair!
The title fits, shush, disregard the rest of the song. haha
....Then you let that guy get a pass, because hey, hes making a good point and then you let another and another after that.
Soon, youre back where youre started.
See, this is a war of attrition and we not only need to pressure the bots and bot owners to make the change but wer also in a war of attrition with our selves.
We need to pressure ourselves to be consistent in our action because no one is above the goal and no one gets a pass!
;)
A Gandalf meme would have been fitting here. Dammit.
Keep on NewSteeming.