The Distraction?

I don’t know if he’s been compromised, or just played, but I do know he’s shown terribly poor judgement that led directly to the apparent death of Joyce.

So waaaaait a minute. Does this make me a genius after all?!

On a serious note recent revelations of Morgan’s involvement with Stacey and in cahoots with Briarberg really makes me question whether Morgan wants to really burn this shit down like he has said over and over again. OR if this his efforts to make it to the top (and effectively burning everything in his path).

On a serious note recent revelations of Morgan’s involvement with Stacey and in cahoots with Briarberg really makes me question whether Morgan wants to really burn this shit down like he has said over and over again. OR if this his efforts to make it to the top (and effectively burning everything in his path).

This just reminded me of this:

“I think one actually did make it through the ranks. Could you imagine how much he gave up? The things he did to get there?”

On a serious note recent revelations of Morgan’s involvement with Stacey and in cahoots with Briarberg really makes me question whether Morgan wants to really burn this shit down like he has said over and over again.

These points from @winstonsmith, @coryphella, @mkarrett, and @chelsea do form a certain pattern. But let’s test it. Let’s assume, for sake of argument, that Morgan did in fact “make it up the ranks.” That would actually make him OSDM. But does that really make any more sense than taking the story that we’ve already been presented at face value?

Please note: I’m talking things through here for the sake of argument. This is not doubting the good intentions of participants fighting for what they believe in, and I’m not accusing anyone of anything, either – even if their ideologies differ from mine. If we don’t always consider all options, we’ll miss something, so please take this in that spirit.

-One of the ideas that’s been raised in the past is that BOS is (like last year) a construct of the OSDM. Only in this case, what would the purpose be? The simplest explanation would be that it was designed to sideline those with intense anti-OSDM feelings. If Morgan did indeed rise up the ranks as is suggested above, this would be a tremendously useful role for the OSDM to have filled. OSDM knows many community members are gunning for them, and represent a real threat. Having a trusted member of the community lead such a faction, and by extension putting it under OSDM control, would be brilliant, strategically. As we know, last year it was Michelle — herself OSDM — that set up the idea of BOS as its own “real” entity. That baton was picked up this year with TMC and the rebirth of BOS.

-Between the TMC reveal and Wednesday night, BOS had been silent save for one event that had to remain mysteriously secret for reasons that now do seem a little thin. As a result, all of those anti-OSDM participants have been largely inactive. Not fighting the good fight. Not actually striking back and harming Horace or OSDM. They’ve been patiently waiting for orders from the head of their organization so they could fight back methodically. Threat posed to OSDM during this time: None.

-There’s been a lack of transparency until very recently, and yes, there have been reasons given along the lines of “Hey, you can’t expect us to give away our big secrets.” That’s totally fair, but it also hasn’t held water for some participants (which is also fair). But if BOS is an OSDM front, that overall lack of transparency makes a lot more sense: there’s motivation behind it.

-As @chelsea points out above, when BOS finally did take a step forward the other night, it was only after @winstonsmith had started asking some very tough questions. It was convenient timing, and if we are going to be as conspiratorially minded here as we are everywhere else, that should raise red flags. What to do when one’s cover is about to get blown? Change the subject.

-And what did that subject get changed to? MyChild, who after working in secret for weeks brought us statements like “T H E G A M E K N O W S” or “E V E R Y O N E I S T H E G A M E” or “E A T B I S C O F F C R E A M Y S P R E A D”. Then it asked us to take an online poll (?). We chatted and debated, thought long and hard, and probably bumped the anxiety levels on the EI up a few notches. 24 hours later MyChild got its answer, dropped some rhetoric about stepping out of shadows, and then… nothing. Now we wait. Again. Until it, really for reals I promise you guys, will do something awesome. Perhaps it’s me, but there does seem to be an awful lot of being told to wait on this front. Current threat posed to OSDM: Seemingly None.

Now, writing this all out — this is an extremely cynical take, even for me. It would introduce moral complexities and complications that are hard to fathom. But if we consider the possibility that OSDM used a member of the community to relaunch BOS in order to keep anti-OSDM participants sidelined under the guise of a “resistance” that was actually keeping them inactive… a lot of things do seem to track. The vague explanations about BOS and its origins. The constant secrecy about BOS policies and motives. The theatrically and lack of follow through w/r/t the Mason and Morgan “fight”. And always being told to hold on, wait, because the “real” strike is always just around the corner. (In this scenario, I actually wonder if Mason himself might also be an OSDM fiction, designed to bring about extreme emotional reactions – particularly from @corpyhella and myself. Again; buckets of complexities that I’m not sure how I would process.)

The best argument against all of the above is the personal trust we have in our fellow participants, and in a lot of ways that’s one of the only things that can guide us. But we’ve seen before that allegiances can change, and that people are sometimes not who they seem to be. We’re through the looking glass, and all possible fourth, fifth, six, and seventh walls have been broken. We’d probably be wise to question everything we think we know about everyone.

Here’s the thing I want to underline with a big fat Sharpie: This could easily all be totally wrong, and I actually hope that is the case. It would certainly be easier for me to process emotionally. And if it is, good on Stacey and MyChild, and I have no doubt the OSDM is probably freaking out a little right now. But at the same time, it’s also hard to ignore the mounting questions and lack of actual anti-OSDM action that’s been taken.

If the true purpose of BOS is to sideline those who want to take down OSDM: it has been working.