My 
OK, not entirely true. There's probably 30-40 older ones that I copied from now defunct SteemPeak, all created before you-know-what.
Periodically, I like to wade through it all to see if there are any old "gold nuggets" I can polish up and turn into something worthy of publication.
One of the patterns I've grown increasingly aware of as this collection of "dusty words" grows is that I am pretty chickenshit about actually publishing some of my more critical, vitriolic and controversial rants.
I start reading some of these old drafts and quickly think to myself "yeah, that will just piss a bunch of people right off!"
It's also a good reminder of why I never really fit any political leanings, philosophical leanings or religious leanings... because I tend to cherrypick pieces "from all sides" that people evidently don't think should be put together.
Which, in turn, makes me think about the Greater World and how most people really can't afford to piss a bunch of people off with their points of view... because they need their jobs, they need their relationships and friendships, and truly letting their "freak flag" fly would likely result in immediate firing and excommunication from the herd. Or being locked up in an institution for the insane.
It's an interesting world/society we have created. Or maybe we didn't create it, because nature seems to operate much in the same way... the "fringe dwellers" in herds of wild animals tend to be (mostly) pushed out and ostracized because the ways they "stand out" is perceived as a threat to the integrity and strength of the group.
Life on this planet — humans included — doesn't seem to be very capable of embracing the idea of multiple perspectives cohabitating within the overall paradigm.
Conform, or Perish.
Or maybe not exactly perish, but certainly be prepared for "raiding parties" (real or just emotional/social) to strafe your location on a regular basis and make your life very difficult.
And it doesn't matter whether we're talking about non-conformism in greater society or dealing with some militant and dictatorially inclined Sub-Redditor in a group you like to be part of. It happens at all levels of our so-called lives.
Heck, it even happens here on Hive where we can allegedly "not be censored," but we can be downvoted into virtual invisibility, leaving no doubt to anyone that we're — in some fashion — Persona Non Grata, according the the Court of Majority Opinion. Or the Court of Power Brokers. Or whatever.
Regardless, I stuffed most of those drafts back into the drafts folder; erased about 25 completely and generally determined that I am still too chickenshit to launch the remainder out into the world, anytime soon.
But then I have spent most of my life as someone who decided that most of the time, the boat is better off not being rocked!
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Created at 2023-02-17 23:05 PST
0749/2004