Flexing
I saw Gershon Baskin once in an airport lounge. I was tempted to go up to him and introduce myself and tell him that I wish it had been him who was kidnapped and murdered by jihadi thugs rather than the hundreds of innocent souls who were extinguished by darkness, but I thought better of it, and besides, I was exhausted after a long flight.
—
Why are there political posts on LinkedIn?
Why do I see people write things about this or that politician, some or other policy, on a website ostensibly dedicated to professional networking?
When I see an acquaintance "celebrate" or "support" a post written by a well-connected dolt who, in this aquatic vertebrate’s humble opinion, is indirectly responsible for dragging my entire country into a military predicament nobody knows how to bring to a close, it makes my blood boil. I want to throw my phone at the fucking wall. I want to scream.
But I will not do any of these things. Most importantly, I will not dare respond. Because I know that the reputational hit points I will accrue, as a relative nobody, for disagreeing with the man who (incomprehensibly) negotiated a very popular 1000-something-for-one hostage deal, possibly one of the most imbecilic transactions made in the history of diplomatic negotiation, right up there with the Alaska purchase, will present an intolerable predicament to my career advancement. The hiring manager at my future employer will review, as part of the company’s unstated due diligence policy, my social media presence and conclude, reasonably, that I’m “not a good fit” for the culture. I did not support The Thing when supporting The Thing was what determined whether or not you were on the right side of history.
Dissent is the cardinal sin in a fragmented polity perched upon a precarious economic precipice. One wrong move, and boom, just like that, you’re one of the baddies now.
Let us take note: if the greengrocer had been instructed to display the slogan "I am afraid and therefore unquestioningly obedient;' he would not be nearly as indifferent to its semantics, even though the statement would reflect the truth.
— Vaclav Havel, The Power of the Powerless