I'll try to make this one simple, so that I don't have to respond too often on my Sunday :)
Ahem
Once upon a time, one day, the village idiot bought an iPhone. They quickly learned that every village had its own idiot, and many of them disliked the same obscure thing - a thing that was once niche, but now spreading everywhere, watered down as it grew popular. So the idiot began messaging the others.
The idiot had a thought: What if everyone who enjoyed this once‑obscure thing could be tracked, mocked, and silenced? What if an automated system could ban them, one by one, across villages? And what if even those loosely connected to the “thing” were added to the list, treated as subhuman, and denied a voice?
The idiot’s name was Randi Harper. She began compiling names into a spreadsheet. Errors crept in, but the rules were simple: By Any Means Necessary and No Bad Targets. Friendly fire was not a mistake - it was proof the list mattered. And the list grew.
Soon the list wasn’t just about the original “thing”. It spread to sports, cinema, anime, children’s fiction. It expanded into race, gender, and class. The ball of intersectional outrage grew massive, rolling over people far removed from the original dispute. The village idiots cheered, convinced they were righteous.
Then the truth emerged: only journalists and opportunists were really promoting the list. Behind the noise lay darker stories - abuse, violence, corruption. The village idiots had been ostracised for a reason. Now, united by their iPhones, they became something worse.
Their platform was bought out. They fled to another one, called BlueSky, hoping to continue their bullying. But most people had grown wise to the game. Most - except one in Dallas, Texas. This new idiot despised cheerleaders and Republicans alike, and dreamed of building a list with the same clout as Harper’s.
"And they all lived miserably ever after, because the people who use the list were always miserable people to being with, and everyone else has to live with the fallout of the miserable abusive people's list."
The village thought the list was gone. The idiots had scattered, their spreadsheets exposed, their platforms abandoned. But penance is never simple and forgiveness is never free.
From the ashes of the first list rises a phantom one - not written by hand, but conjured by bots. Thousands of voices echo in perfect unison, drowning out truth with manufactured outrage. The villagers, desperate to prove they are not idiots themselves, join the chorus, mistaking noise for wisdom.
This time, the menace is invisible. The lists are endless, the penance eternal. And those who fail to learn the lesson of the first story will find themselves trapped in the second - a world where the idiot is no longer flesh and blood, but code and algorithm.
The phantom waits. Begin the penance does.
Bows(Once more)
People like Randi, and maybe this nurse who hates cheerleaders, will adopt whatever they can to get their ends sought out. It's just the next phase of fascism shining through, although instead of a 'Master race' this time it is more certainly the most 'Inferior class' which is all encompassing.
What?
I'll try to make this one simple, so that I don't have to respond too often on my Sunday :)
Once upon a time, one day, the village idiot bought an iPhone. They quickly learned that every village had its own idiot, and many of them disliked the same obscure thing - a thing that was once niche, but now spreading everywhere, watered down as it grew popular. So the idiot began messaging the others.
The idiot had a thought: What if everyone who enjoyed this once‑obscure thing could be tracked, mocked, and silenced? What if an automated system could ban them, one by one, across villages? And what if even those loosely connected to the “thing” were added to the list, treated as subhuman, and denied a voice?
The idiot’s name was Randi Harper. She began compiling names into a spreadsheet. Errors crept in, but the rules were simple: By Any Means Necessary and No Bad Targets. Friendly fire was not a mistake - it was proof the list mattered. And the list grew.
Soon the list wasn’t just about the original “thing”. It spread to sports, cinema, anime, children’s fiction. It expanded into race, gender, and class. The ball of intersectional outrage grew massive, rolling over people far removed from the original dispute. The village idiots cheered, convinced they were righteous.
Then the truth emerged: only journalists and opportunists were really promoting the list. Behind the noise lay darker stories - abuse, violence, corruption. The village idiots had been ostracised for a reason. Now, united by their iPhones, they became something worse.
Their platform was bought out. They fled to another one, called BlueSky, hoping to continue their bullying. But most people had grown wise to the game. Most - except one in Dallas, Texas. This new idiot despised cheerleaders and Republicans alike, and dreamed of building a list with the same clout as Harper’s.
The end.
I hope that covers everything :)
I'll amend your ending:
"And they all lived miserably ever after, because the people who use the list were always miserable people to being with, and everyone else has to live with the fallout of the miserable abusive people's list."
Ending? I was hoping for a sequel personally :)
The village thought the list was gone. The idiots had scattered, their spreadsheets exposed, their platforms abandoned. But penance is never simple and forgiveness is never free.
From the ashes of the first list rises a phantom one - not written by hand, but conjured by bots. Thousands of voices echo in perfect unison, drowning out truth with manufactured outrage. The villagers, desperate to prove they are not idiots themselves, join the chorus, mistaking noise for wisdom.
This time, the menace is invisible. The lists are endless, the penance eternal. And those who fail to learn the lesson of the first story will find themselves trapped in the second - a world where the idiot is no longer flesh and blood, but code and algorithm.
The phantom waits. Begin the penance does.
People like Randi, and maybe this nurse who hates cheerleaders, will adopt whatever they can to get their ends sought out. It's just the next phase of fascism shining through, although instead of a 'Master race' this time it is more certainly the most 'Inferior class' which is all encompassing.