On my CSM 10 endorsement post, Gevlon commented:
"Gevlon 2:58 am
Every Goon is a "Goon First". Having an outside-acceptable candidate is just a scheme of the Goons to hijack non-Goon votes. In the council he'll represent Goons and Goons only."
There have been several members of recent CSMs from Goonswarm, including Mynnna, Sion Kumitomo, and The Mittani himself, representing in 3 of the past four councils. Never once have the words "he is only looking out for Goonswarm" been said by any other council member about any of those three. In fact, the exact opposite opinions have been stated by several people for each of them. For whatever their faults, the Goons love EVE and take their responsibilities for the CSM extremely seriously.
So when I look and see a candidate who happens to be endorsed by Goonswarm leadership, I assume that person is probably not a dummy nor a slacker; I don't preclude that possibility but going by previous examples I feel safe in my assumption.
Gevlon, however, assumes the worst of a candidate simply because of the alliance ticker and no amount of evidence can convince him otherwise.
You know, its a common human defense mechanism to turn people we don't agree with into The Other. It dehumanizes them, makes it easier to dismiss, disadvantage, and destroy when the chance arises. No one sane likes to hurt good people, but hurting The Other is OK; they're not like us, they're practically inhuman.
What's that called when someone judges a person based on preconceived notions of the group the person happens to be a part of? Right, prejudice. Stereo-typing is another name. Sure, goons have done a lot of things over the years that many find deplorable but so have many other groups in EVE, big and small. We as a community recognize that the game's structure and design allow for people to enact many of their darkest tendencies because we realize at the end of the day its a game, and as long as it remains on Tranquility then most things are allowed.
The CSM is bigger than the game world it represents. Alliances don't run for CSM, people do. And I judge those people on their words and ideas out of the game, not by the ticker on the character in the game.
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Well, in Gevlon's defence (sigh), Mittens did outright state that he was only going to care about and represent those who voted for him, i.e. Goons. Since the Goons' stated objective is to ruin everyone else's game, I simply cannot trust any Goon candidate.
ReplyDeleteA lot of candidates have held that position that they only represent their electors, which is why we have a council of 14 members to balance each other.
DeleteAnd the 'Goons' stated objective' was: "We're not here to ruin the game, we're here to ruin your game." I.e. they love EVE and want your tears by their actions in the game. Destroying the game would dry up all the tears.
Seriously, if goons wanted to destroy EVE, you think they could not do it?
And what about the Document of Shame that The Mittani wrote and all signed? How would it not destroy the game if all blocks could rat in 1-1 distant regions without any reason to attack another?
ReplyDeleteThat wasn't really what it said at all. I would argue that it called for a bottom-up income stream that would be prone to disruption by relatively small, inexpensive, and mobile forces... that that's exactly what a lot of players are looking for.
DeleteSorry Kirith, but I'll have to disagree. The Goons that run are usually pretty sharp, but they've nominated some real stinkers from CFC alliances.
ReplyDeleteThis discussion is specifically about the Goon candidate, Endie.
DeleteFrom what I have read so far Endie would be an excellent candidate to vote in. But I don't really like Sion (based on the very shallow pool of information I have).
ReplyDeleteGevlon's comments remind me of American politics (admittedly from an outside perspective as I'm English), where you can't vote for that commie democrat/redneck republican purely based on their party without even looking at their policies. Vote for people who will best represent you and the population at large, rather than limiting your options with blind hatred for the "enemy".
ReplyDeleteConfirming that I know many people who simply run straight down the "party line" when voting, without knowing individual stances on issues.
DeleteAmerican bipolar politics is fueled solely by demonizing the other.