I was often told, “This is a family organization, that organizes the family.” It took a few years to actually observe how it worked. The organization has a long history and has been very successful to say the least. They've had the benefit of time; to observe human nature, to take from the best sources, refine their agenda, to be there when things fall.
To their credit; they have been patient, focused, and committed – all good and respectable traits. They, or anyone, should be rewarded for their efforts. The point when it becomes your effort to limit, cripple, and disadvantage others for your gain is wrong. Regardless, that is what has been done for thousands of years.
So, who are they? The upper echelon, the elite, the establishment etc... however you relate the idea. Think of the most powerful and wealthy people you know about, next imagine; a level beyond that which is calling the shots, then a group above them that you can't quite imagine. Now realize that everything you've just thought of is like a button on a business suit the upper echelon puts on to go to work.
Not a pleasant thought, I know. But the son of the former Ethiopian Emperor once told me, “Keep your faith, they still can't teach a bird to sing or keep a bumblebee from flying.”
True, they cannot; but they can be quite nasty and have a solid, time tested system derived from the Jewish and Japanese - It's another post but, the Jewish roots of the Japanese are undeniable.
As I explain the flow of assault, one should be able to recall seeing parts of it in action.
View => Intention => Behavior=> Resources=>Worthiness=>Reputation
The first move begins with challenging how something is viewed, if you have the same view they do then there is nothing left to do. This typically takes the form of news or other types of reports. You may see articles that associate Steemit with how Steemit is used to promote pornography, fund some evil group, or is an idea that has failed in the past (wonder why...?). This technique alone usually sends a good 20-30% away.
For those that remain; the second round, usually within the same year, builds on the first by questioning your intentions. Now the arena goes from something you view as a third party to a more personal level, one that involves you. “You may not intend to fund such and such...,” or “Steemit intends to corner the such and such market making them no better than X company, not really your intentions is it?” or “Intending to retire early?Outta Steem?”
The next goal is to elicit a behavior, usually leveraging the first two; but not always. It doesn't really matter what behavior it is, as long as you comply. Key phrases in this stage are “Because we don”t know...,” and “You're free to choose...” Because we don't know what peoples' intentions are, we have to tax users for record-keeping purposes.” “Since we can't ascertain the nature of their intentions, we are limiting the amount of data or number of transactions, etc...” If you don't like it, you are free to choose to leave Steemit of course. If the move is not against the patrons but Steemit itself, then Steemit “is free to comply.” At this point an entity will suffer some debilitating losses, but if that is not enough...
Round four seeks to diminish resources. If an entity is still hanging around and still going at this point, it's a major movement. As a major movement, it will be argued that it is consuming too many resources and it's not fair to the minority who don't use or benefit from it. There will be calls to investigate the employees, to investigate the office grounds. Check to see if the compliance codes have been met for: water, electricity, safety, ...whatever the entity consumes. If ANYTHING is amiss or out of place then fees are incurred and some form of an “all stop” is issued.
Citing all the issues the entity has and the pending fees, the “uncertainty” of similar problems not arising again... the worthiness of the whole movement will come under fire. This is when we are challenged to imagine it five years or so from now. How will you last through this? Once the dust settles, you'll just be right back where you started and so on. There will be offers to buy Steemit, offers to make one walk away before it gets worse. “Get out while you still can,” is a common term at this stage. For the bosses or employees, this is when the honeypots come into play. Is it worth your morals?
If a company or person is still hanging on, now the attacks on reputation can begin. If any employee has fallen for a honeypot, this will be brought out along with the “new” elicited behavior and the resource problem. These will be evidence of losing a good reputation or establishing a bad one.
Having gotten to this point, there is a choice to cycle through again or complete the chain. You see, this is only the first half of a longer chain. However, with this reputation... well, this could change peoples' view of Steemit and we are taken back again to news and media.
These same cycles of of attacks are used not only on movements or companies but individuals as well. Undoubtedly, I will be on the radar at some point or another. I'll prove to be a more than worthy opponent because I know what to look for, and now so do you.