Slagathorian

I see a lot of people talking about Matt Dinniman denouncing @TheCriticalDri2 despite working with him previously, claiming he now "regrets" it. I'd like to offer some perspective. Anyone who wants success within the mainstream's traditional pipelines knows that even mild association with people in our corner of the internet puts that at risk. Is it illogical? Yes. But the mainstream doesn't operate on logic... it operates on status. Perceived legitimacy is powerful, and alternatives with large followings are seen as threats to their power infrastructure. So anyone still pursuing those mainstream channels will eventually be pressured to denounce or distance themselves from people in our circle, or they simply won't get the opportunities. The mainstream's cultural influence has waned, but they still control the pipelines. It's very rare for someone to access those channels while openly associating with "alternatives." We know this is foolish. People like Drinker are enormously influential and successful in their own right, but this is about power, not merit. We've had the privilege of working with The Critical Drinker on Rippaverse projects, and he's been nothing but professional. As with many in our space, his loudest critics don't actually listen to what he says, which is why they portray him as someone who hates every movie despite that being verifiably false. They need you to be whoever they need you to be in order to justify what they're going to do or say about you. Rippaverse itself has turned down or lost opportunities because of this dynamic. They'll demand you distance yourself from certain people or they won't collaborate with you. Not because you're bad, but because they want to stay in the good graces of those who've built a narrative that you are. This is why I don't have a clean answer for how we get past this era. They deploy tactics that people like us — not "right-wing," just normal people — aren't willing to engage in.