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Where Have All The Zero Hedge Veterans Gone, Long Time Passing?
Where Have All The Zero Hedge Veterans Gone, Long Time Passing?
By
Cognitive Dissonance
Imagine if you will for just a few moments that we reside within a small town in America or Europe or anywhere else in the world for that matter. The physical location isn’t important because we’re talking about a virtual world. Our community consists of several thousand residents of mixed race, creed and color and we are united mostly by our desire to hear and speak truth in a world nearly devoid of it. Many of us have been looking for exactly this type of safe haven for a very long time and can scarcely believe our eyes when we first stumble in from the wasteland.
In so many ways our little town is our cherished refuge from a world gone mad with corrupt central governments bent on exploitation and self destruction. Rarely does a day go by when we don’t leave our cozy homes to visit the town square and discuss the founder’s latest observations as well as the day’s news and events. Often we speculate on what’s coming round the bend and even catch up with a few old friends now and then. Home is where the heart is and for many of us home is Zero Hedge.
Most of our fellow residents are known to us by sight and nickname, but only a few do we know well enough that we would expose ourselves on a personal level and engage in a lengthy and sometimes deeply heartfelt conversation. Conversations I might add that are normally reserved only for those we truly trust in the “real” world. And yet amazingly these discussions are conducted out in the open and in full view of the world, virtual or otherwise.
But aside from these few friends the rest of the inhabitants living in our community are considered casual acquaintances or workplace friends, someone we know well enough to discuss local and national politics or even economics, but not much else. That doesn’t mean we don’t love our town and our neighbors because deep down we all share a special bond. We are all on the vanguard of truth speaking and for many of us this is a novel experience. On the surface we are very secretive yet surprisingly quite open. Zero Hedge is uniquely different by design.
Of course, there’s a very good reason why our community is constructed in this unusual manner. A shield of invisibility separates you and me from everyone else, a barricade of anonymity that was intentionally erected to provide a sense of safety and security for all, mainly because our community is surrounded by hostile and often unseen forces. The anonymity was and is designed to shield everyone in such a way as to enable frank and open conversations that would otherwise be stifled if conducted out in the open and among the antagonistic. And for the most part the community’s design has been a rousing success, particularly for the founder Tyler Durden and the rest of the fight club core who regularly use the town square as a bully pulpit to speak truth to power. The group’s anonymity forces those who would attack Tyler in order to restrain or bury free speech by way of ad hominem smears and personality bashing to either ignore Tyler’s message or confront it using verifiable facts and logical argument. In general the community has grown rapidly as both veterans, who were here when the first cornerstones were laid, and later arrivals cheer on the daily disclosures and running commentary. Speaking truth to power has never been so satisfying while still tinged with some inner fear. In some ways Zero Hedge has become our confidant, our mentor, our analyst and our sanity. Personally I consider it my own Radio Free Zero Hedge, a beacon shining bright during these increasingly dark nights. But some of our veterans have been stealing off into the night with barely a whispered farewell or even a quick explanation for their disappearance. Unfortunately this is where the community’s anonymity works against us. Other than the few occasions where residents have willingly dropped their masks and now conduct private conversations outside the confines of the community, there is very little discourse among the residents other than what is conducted within the town square. Thus there is no effective way of discovering where all our missing veterans have gone.
So in some respects our town is missing a part of its heart and soul, that intangible something that brings together divergent parts to create a living breathing community. While Tyler Durden is without question the voice and creator of Zero Hedge the activist and truth speaker, we the residents know remarkably little about our own community. Our town recently celebrated its two year anniversary and while there was much to cheer, I for one have been feeling for some time that something important is missing.
While every blog has its own personality and feel, over the course of time the readers generally get to know quite a bit about the blogs founder through editorials and conversation. The creator’s initially thin voice is slowly filled in with deeper tones and tenor and the body is fleshed out with substance and color. The voice becomes a personality, then for some it becomes a friend.
While Tyler renders an opinion within the text of nearly every one of his postings, his opinion is nearly always limited to the subject matter at hand and rarely do we get to glimpse even a snippet of Tyler the person. Most likely this is done because he wishes to remain totally anonymous and considering the explosive nature of some of his disclosures, I can’t say I blame him one iota. But this does leave a vacuum of sorts within the fabric of the community and so the herd will naturally seek its own substitute.
In contrarian communities such as ours where we’re all bucking the trend and swimming against the tide, there is often great emotion bubbling just beneath the surface. Our town isn’t just a financial blog; it’s a calling, a movement, an event, the place to go where contrarian views aren’t the exception but the norm. While Zero Hedge started out as an obscure hangout for financial nerds and wonks it quickly morphed into a place of inspiration and refuge. Along the way some of the residents have developed small followings or even minor cults, becoming community leaders plucked from the crowd by natural selection.
While some of these personalities are relatively new, several have been with Zero Hedge since the beginning. And many are now gone, missing in action, A.W.O.L. I don’t wish to imply that there’s skullduggery or grand mystery behind the disappearance of our veterans. After careful thought I think it’s something simpler, reasons that revolve around what Zero Hedge was and what it has now become. And ultimately something else that is well beyond the control or influence of this blog and which is beginning to spread within the general population.
While I’m in occasional email contact with two of the missing veterans, for the most part I have no direct knowledge of the reasons for their absence, only my supposition and gut instinct. Of the two I talk to on occasion, their reasons for leaving are obviously deeply personal and I won’t pry. But after recently flirting with the idea of leaving Zero Hedge myself, I believe I may have some insight into why some leave and come back while others leave and never look back. Let me try to explain what I think is happening.
At times it appears as if Zero Hedge resides within a time warp or rift. Tyler and company produce such a blinding stream of posts that often it’s difficult to remember what was discussed yesterday let along last week, month or year. Because of this linear rush of time, rarely do we sit back and consider what Zero Hedge was, only what it is now. This is one of the missing pieces I mentioned earlier, the critical element of perspective and history from the residents point of view that’s not part of the mix.
All communities have a sense of history and continuity which acts as a binding agent, tying the past to the present and which the residents take with them as they walk into the future. This is done with a combination of books, oral histories, community days and events, impromptu gatherings of friends over beers and so on. During times of community stress, it is this history as a group that is relied upon to sooth rattled nerves and smooth out life’s bumps and bruises.
While there is most certainly a singleness of purpose and deed within Zero Hedge, it is primarily Tyler’s show along with the occasional penetrating contributor. For the community at large, we are mostly spectators and hanger-on’s with varied opinions and sharpened elbows. While many are satisfied with the Rugby style discourse, I sense in others a desire for a deeper connection, a more intimate and friendly environment, reminiscent of the old Zero Hedge town square when the veterans ruled the roost.
Many of our lost veterans provided breadth and depth to our conversations as well as a big picture perspective when shouting, hysteria or trolls threatened to overwhelm. While each had his or her unique idiosyncrasies and ideology, nearly all had a strong sense of ownership and protective custody. How many times did we hear a veteran declare “Don’t mess with Zero Hedge because if you do you’re messing with me”? Newbie’s that wandered in from the cold and immediately started whipping their shtick around were quickly slapped side the head and sent to the back of the bus for remedial education.
Like that strong willed but kind uncle who visited during the holidays and whose presence moved the room, our veterans were an important part of the internal control mechanism that all unorganized groups develop as a matter of instinct and survival. Natural leaders emerge and are respected not just for their inherent authority, but because of their common sense approach and fairness even to those they oppose. Thus form and function develops out of chaos and the community coalesces. What was once random noise and movement becomes coherent and comprehensible.
While Tyler has always been the booming voice of Zeus bellowing from atop the Zero Hedge mount, Tyler for the most part is content to let his postings, opinions and biting tongue find their mark. But back when the veterans roamed the land there was another strong presence that is now sadly missing as well. Marla Singer was our Athena or Themis, the community’s Goddess of order, civility and decorum. At your own peril did you mess with Mother Nature for with the flick of her sharp tongue serial transgressors were quickly removed from The Hedge.
Marla wasn’t malevolent, vindictive or even egotistic, thought it was obvious we were dealing with an opinionated intellect that could swallow most of us whole in one single bite. What contributed to her presence and gave her natural authority was her capacity to be playful, self deprecating and wonderfully witty. Her late nights spinning tunes on Radio Zero or her presence in chat did more than anything else to build our budding community identity. None the less, after ample warnings and prods from her big stick, she didn’t suffer fools well and many repeat troublemakers were quickly kicked.
This was a stabilizing force that was the implicit bite behind the veterans bark and thus our small community continued to grow with vigor in part because the roads were swept clean at night. This doesn’t mean Zero Hedge stifled creative thought or energetic disagreement. On the contrary, because the residents knew that well reasoned and logical arguments would be fairly aired while disruptors and airheads would be muffled, Zero Hedge quickly became known as the place to come for thoughtful discourse and stimulating against-the-grain ideas.
We sometimes forget how radical Zero Hedge was perceived as being back in the day. Early on in its development concepts such as manipulated precious metal markets, stealth Fed pumping or the Plunge Protection Team, all factual reality that had been tirelessly trumpeted for years by a small cadre of truth speakers, were laughed at outside the contrarian community as the ranting of the delusional.
Then Zero Hedge and other dedicated blogs and alternative media sites joined together in singing the song, adding their considerable weight and influence to these issues and pushing them to the front of the news cycle. What was formerly verboten is now accepted even by the mainstream media as a given and an integral part of the overall black matrix.
So where have all the veterans gone, long time passing? Why would they leave when we’re beginning to lever open some locked doors and we’re breaking through the wall of lies? The most obvious reason is that the community has changed and, at least in the eyes of some of the veterans who have left, for the worse. There is little doubt that change has occurred though much of it is a function of growth and popularity and thus just a fact of life. If you’re selling something that’s in demand, in this case financial and political truth, you’re going to suffer growing pains as you scale up to fill the vacuum.
But the civility and camaraderie, the sense of ownership and protective custody that I talked about earlier, is now missing or at least greatly diminished. While Tyler specially and Zero Hedge in general have always told us that they have no obligation to moderate the comment section, the presence of Marla in the early days acted as a de facto moderator creating an artificial environment that as it turned out wasn’t sustained. As Marla slowly withdrew from active participation, civility and order withdrew as well to the point where today obvious and self described trolls and disruptors have taken up permanent residence within what was formerly considered safe territory.
However I don’t think this alone was enough to disenfranchise all the missing veterans though I sure it was for some. There appears to be another more important and seldom discussed dynamic at play here that works hand in hand with the community changes and which the blog is not responsible for in the least. What is rarely discussed within the contrarian community in general and among the truth speakers in particular is a concept or phenomenon that I call truth speaker’s fatigue.
Similar to disaster charitable giving fatigue, truth speakers fatigue is at its core about lost hope and belief. The person afflicted often feels that after investing considerable emotional and intellectual capital, little or no headway has been made and the methods used appear to be useless. Since the initial effort was driven almost exclusively by emotional adrenaline and with little thought to specific strategy and measurable outcomes, it is easy to lose momentum after several perceived defeats, emphasis on perceived.
As I said earlier, many of us have been wandering the wilderness for years recognizing something was terribly wrong, but not knowing specifically what was wrong let alone how to deal with it. Suddenly we find Zero Hedge and are infused with a sense of hope and belief. We come to believe that because we are surrounded by like minded individuals and are stronger as a group we might finally be effective and become a force to be reckoned with. Maybe, just maybe we can really make a difference and slow down or even stop the insanity.
Becoming involved with speaking truth openly and repeatedly, particularly if it’s our first time, can be a powerful and intoxicating elixir which often leads to flights of unrealistic expectations and unreasonable goals. I speak as one of experience, having drunk heavily from the cup on a few occasions. One is infused with a sense of power and destiny after seeing that many of man’s problems can easily be rectified by clear thinking, honesty and awareness. What we fail to fully grasp early on is that we come by this knowledge via desperation and a sincere desire to stop our own internal pain and suffering.
While our intent is genuine and heartfelt, over time and after repeated disappointments that our disclosers are making little headway, we slowly come to the realization that not only are there many powerful forces trying to bury the truth, but that those who would most directly benefit from the truth, our fellow sufferers, are among the most difficult to shake awake. This is the cut that is the deepest of them all, the ugly realization that they simply aren’t ready to sever the ties that bind themselves to their own misery.
This understanding is similar to waking one day and realizing deep within your soul that you married the person next to you for all the wrong reasons and that now it is over and never really was. Or that after many years of climbing the corporate ladder, you suddenly realize no happiness or fulfillment will ever be found where you just spent half your life working. Faced with the realization that little progress has been made in breaking through the never ending lies and finding themselves emotionally spent to boot, I suspect several veterans simply gave up and faded back into the black abyss.
Similar to the turmoil of a midlife crisis, a few may never recover from this devastating loss of faith and will wander aimlessly and without purpose, discarding first their career, then their family and finally themselves. Others try desperately to reinsert themselves back into the Matrix, swallowing again and again every blue pill within reach in a hopeless and ultimately futile quest for the blessed ability to just forget. Still others will sink into abject apathy as a form of emotional self protection.
And then there are those who after much soul searching and anguished debate come to understand that the problem isn’t really out there but rather within. After two or three internal renegotiations and subsequent scaling back of expectations that always lead to additional failure, we come face to face with the second ugly truth, that it is our ego we are wrestling with, that we could not save even ourselves let alone the world.
It was our pain that led us to seek truth and it was our pain we wish removed by spreading the truth. While we expressed the desire to make the world better, it was ultimately for our own benefit that we wished it rebuilt. As with the unloved spouse or unfulfilled career, we were laboring for all the wrong reasons and thus futilely spinning our wheels.
If this shocking revelation can be internalized and then accepted, only then do we begin the next phase of our journey of truth, one where the reason and intent for our action is now squarely aligned with our expectations. We now know that we are here only to work on ourselves. If by chance others happen by and grab onto the life raft we now occupy, this is a wonderful bonus but not by intent or design.
Now properly sized for the next leg of our journey and thoroughly busy digging deeper within, we discover one of the ultimately liberating truths. Whereas before when attempting to spread awareness and awakening, in the eyes of those still sleeping we appeared frightening and threatening. All we really had to offer was the opportunity for them to witness their own pain and suffering without the benefit of a numbing agent or self administered anesthesia, hardly an attractive package even when it is offered for free.
Now that we are engaged in traveling our own path of self centering and discovery, first of ourselves and then our place in the world, involuntarily and unconsciously we begin to exude strength and confidence. Suddenly we become an attractor, an example of what can be. Now we have substance to offer others which leads to greater happiness and inner peace. Since we are no longer forcing anything upon others, but instead we now own and wear what everyone else desires, now we are seen as valuable and attractive. This inner knowing cannot be taught or passed on, only found within and then tried on.
If at this point we choose to pick back up the truth speaking baton we quickly find that we are vastly more effective. While the necessity to overcome the lies is still there, we no longer project a sense of urgency or even desperation that was present before and which the sleep walkers sensed both consciously and unconsciously. Whereas before we were perceived to be a threat to their apathy and feigned indifference now the sleep walker senses our inner calm and stability while hearing the same information as before.
With their internal barrier to what we are saying now softened or even withdrawn, we have a more receptive audience rather than defensive or even hostile. While this alone doesn’t mean they will actually awaken, it does mean the seed has been planted in a more fertile and hospitable environment. Just as you and I needed repeated exposure to the truth before we began to wake from the dream, so will they. But now the process has started and the bridge to awareness is at least in sight.
I don’t know if any of the missing veterans, or anyone else on Zero Hedge for that matter, has left under the circumstances I just described. But firsthand experience working with others in various truth movements, along with conversations with friends who are walking similar paths, tells me that I’m most likely close to the truth with at least a few. If we could question our missing veterans as to why they are no longer around, I suspect each would have specific reasons for their departures. And while on the surface I’m certain all their reasons may be valid, we all tell ourselves stories in order to bury the bitter and unspeakable truth.
Does any of what I have written ring true with you or can you indentify with any part of this essay? I read the comment section of Zero Hedge on a daily basis and from my perspective there are many residents who are walking wounded and who are depressed and in denial about it. I have come to understand that any pain I may be feeling is a loud and clear signal that something’s wrong and that I need to change direction. My pain is not to be avoided but rather respected for what it is, a message that I’m not sized right and that I need to refocus within.
Ultimately we are ineffective in any endeavor we may engage in and we might even be damaging to ourselves and those around us if we are in pain and in denial about our need for treatment. This would be all too obvious if our legs were broken, but for some reason it’s completely lost on us if we are spiritually broken. Ultimately in order to heal it doesn’t matter where you’ve been or where you are now. A wise man once told me that what’s important in life isn’t so much that you’re on the correct path, but rather if deep down inside you there’s a desire to be on the correct path. Once the student is ready, the teacher will always appear. The search for answers always begins within.
Cognitive Dissonance
01-24-2011
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I noticed a rapid deterioration in the quality of posts since the Dork arrived - something must be done.
Anyhow has anyone seen that guy Damon Vrabel - I don't think he has a alter ego on this site but that guy was good - analytical and to the point without unnecessary complications - sad to see him just give up.
Former members of the US officer class such as Damon may be the USs only hope.
he's got his own website "SwarmUSA" or something like that. Another member posted a link in their comments
BTW, what is the length of time (or date of joining) do you need to be a member of ZH to qualify as a veteran?
As an aside, I have been writing in my own blog about similar issues as ZH since Dec-08, does that count??? http://recision.wordpress.com/
As for the fatigue issue, yeah I know all about that. I even worked for a political party many moons ago. So I have previous personal experience. I was told at the time by one of the party veterans that when you have told people and told them and then told them again to an extent about three times what you would consider the limit of your tolerance for repeating the message... it is about then that other people are starting to wake up to what you are saying.
Perseverance is all.
There's no actual time limit. But if you don't have some kind of prosthesis yet, you're not really taking the whole thing seriously enough to be a ZH 'veteran.'
I've got two hip replacements... (too much time sitting in front of the computer?)
Does that count?
LOL :-D
Every successful online community goes through the same process, first the core of the community, later known as the old timers, veterans etc establishes its atmosphere, the word gets out and attracts newcomers, then the core gets overran by the neophytes and eventually loses interest in the pursuit of something new.
So much've been written about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_community#Learning_trajectory_.E2.80.94_online_community_participation
http://shannonswenson.com/online-community-lifecycle/
http://www.google.com/search?q=lifecycle+of+online+community
I agree. The diaspora is a symptom that the blog has been "successful", which means it reaches a wide audience.
In fact, its so successful that the best parts get reposted elsewhere and you don't need to come here anymore to know what is here.
It's like going to see your favorite band in a little club and then coming back later when they are playing in a big stadium. Who needs the crowds and the noise?
Superb Cog. When you’re on a journey, and the end keeps getting further and further away, then you realize that the real end is the journey.
The Navaho have that wonderful image of what they call the pollen path.
Superb Cog. When you’re on a journey, and the end keeps getting further and further away, then you realize that the real end is the journey.
The Navaho have that wonderful image of what they call the pollen path.
Thanks Cog for keeping the spirit of rememberance among the zh family. I'm taking a break from babysitting (newbie 1/7 such a bella;) and agree this is home, have to share a story, after relaying the corruption and collusion between our banks and govt, I actually got a thank you thank you thank you big hugs for the information i shared. It actually was the first time someone had thanked me instead of the usual glassy stare of disbelief or move toward distracton. Zerohedge will live on, as truth will always come out, as far as breaks, hardly no one can keep up with the amount of info that spews from Tylers and Marlas here, and as hope needs restored and spirits need fed, only a step away and a renewed filling can erase the negativity that surrounds us. Our zh "family" takes the necessary breaks to begin again, fighting corruption......is hard! And mass communication can be messy! Thankfully we have you, zerohedge (and all that that implies) and music to fill the soul. Keep the Faith! Truth Wins!
I'm just posting because I want to click on my name and remember how long I've been on Zero Hedge
http://verbewarp.blogspot.com/2006/09/autopoiesis-naming-universes.html
.VerbeWarp
Cause only impacts that of similar nature and resistance is the first action which determines the final Effect through an adjusted Cause - This process is 'evocation'.
ZH is my favorite read of the day... If only because it consolidates the important news without the happy days MSM filter. Sometimes Tyler is too brief and the comments fill in the blanks. I can generally tell who's faking it and who has brains.
I've been here a while and have read the archives going back to the very beginning. There is a fatigue factor in hearing that the sky is falling every day, and it never does. When the next bear market leg down comes (because there's always another one), people will come back with a vengeance.
BTW - I don't miss many of the "old" timers. Cheeky was a bore with his math wonkiness and everyone was a "fuck face". Gordon left after Denninger literally destroyed his gold essay. And Chumba started the "bitchez" posts, which were funny when he did it but tiresome when copied widely. Some of them commented on things they knew nothing about, without citation - so it was hard to tell what was uninformed.
I agree with your BTW... Cheeky was the most needlessly abusive "expert idiot" posters on here. Just because he learned a math word he tried to use it at every opportunity.
hmmm...
weekend hunch + fragile ego = confirmation.
Thank you Cog, for writing such an intimate exploration.
The number of comments and their quality demonstrate the personality and diversity that is ZH. While there are many who no longer post, often they show up for quick comments. I saw Cheeky just today. Chumba has been back and B9K9 checked in the other day.
I think there is much to the notion that people become tired fighting the battle. They are content to prepare or live the life they have prepared for.
I appreciate that ZH will never be what any one or group of posters would have it become. It is a living organism, with all the normal viruses and diseases. It can express hope, cry the alarm, teach it's children and soothe savaged spirits. It is dangerous and forbidding and to many new readers- intimidating, but for me, it is an opportunity to feel the heartbeat of a community.
Often, I find myself feeling protective of it's voice. That is probably not a good sign. Still, it is a voice in the financial wilderness and an important one. We fail to recognize the value of something, until it is gone. With the increasing control exhibited in media, the attempts to deceive from places we once trusted and looked to for "truth"- whatever that is...ZH is a refreshing cool breeze.
It is laissez faire journalism. It requires due diligence and personal responsibility. It forces you to examine your beliefs, support your arguments and define your reality.
Cog, you and many of the regular posters are a very important part of this process. Thanks.
you have to consider that all you have to offer is
a glimpse into the abyss, and then a transformation
into the the future and the unknown, with plenty more abyss to follow.
to be honest you are offering the unknown to replace
comfort and telling people it is better even though you
don't know if that is true for them. it has been described
as the next phase of evolution of man? but it depends
on man knowingly choosing it, choosing to enter or face
the abyss.
i'm pretty sure i'm repeating something that was said above somewhere.?
and the thing is even if you see something in there it is not for
you to describe it for someone else, they must do it them self, and
you must let them. you can only entice them, or invite them, or scare
them into it but if they are not prepared to look there you are not only
wasting your time but perhaps endangering them some. but, life is
dangerous all on its own. ? so, here we are again. looking into
the abyss. as dimele says..."its only an abyss."
I used to comment more regularly. I feel bad, because I think if I dedicated more time to this site, the news cycle and traded for a living I would have more time and energy to comment and contribute information. Now I feel like I'm leeching.
I talk to a great variety of people each day. While the many if not most of the people I talk to are teachers and bartenders, their fields of interest vary greatly but most of them are good conversationalists. When I feel it appropriate, and the person potentially receptive I bust out the content here as the topic. It is very pleasant to see, in motion, a change in perspective.
We can identify the specific factors in our system that are the problem and try to prescribe potential solutions, but we are used to conducting this discourse starting with common premises. (fed, loose monetary policy is bad; gov't is captured by financial interests etc.) Most people don't accept these premises; it is a hard pill to swalllow already. I've directed my energies from extrapolating the premises to actually making the premises more accepted amongst the people who have other passions and interests.
Most people want to know more, but their education is stunted by dubius sources such as the news. A proper combination of effort and patience can be a vital piece of a larger chain reaction.
Shoot!
I never even bothered to look at how long I have been here, until now.
One year, 24 weeks. WOW! Has it been that frikkin long? I joined while I was on a pro-longed bout of unemployment. Imagine that! And truth be told, I rarely comment on anything at all, just take it all in. I am not really qualified to comment with most of the others here, as I am not an investor, nor do I make my living doing anything that involves money. And I can go nowhere near the kind of post that CD sometimes does. Maybe if I drank a little more adult beverage???
BTW, I tend to like long-winded posts, and generally read every word of them. Jim Quinn of The Burning Platform, got me used to that. So C.D., keep it up, pal. I'll read everything you write, probably won't post a comment, but I'll read it all. And WB7 too, he's the most! ;-)
I miss some of the old timers, Cheeky Bastard being the #1 on my list. Most of the others I could not even name, theres too dang many. Check in and say howdy, at least, will ya?
But I'll continue to stick around, read whats important, toss in the occassional comment that no one will give a rats behind about.
I appreciate you all, but enough of the -----bitchez! Please! If there was an ignore button, bitchez would be my key word, BITCHEZ! ;-)
For the record cogdis you are a shitty writer and you need to realize that fewer words is better. Seriously.
Well, I am new here. And, I am not sure who are the original settlers and who are not, and to me, it does not matter that much. A blog is a blog, and to grow - which I assume most blogger's desire - they have to bring in fresh people to post articles and to comment on same. To do this, the original denizens necessarily get diluted. Being the "first" on a blog in itself is not something that requires respect. I remember years ago I moved into a neighborhood and after we settled in, started building a swimming pool. One of my neighbors - an old guy - accosted me one day across our common chain link fence, and told me he was surprised that I did not check with him first before I started building a swimming pool...since he was the first person to build a house in this neighborhood. Well, you can guess at my response to that. And...that is the same syndrome one sees everywhere: the workplace, neighborhoods, social sites, clubs and blogs. It is human nature, I guess.
ZH is a valuable site for a lot of people - not just financial and investment wonks. Because of it's counter-culture stance, it draws a lot of people who you finance types would never in a thousand years, bread bread with...and that includes the likes of me. I am not an investor, I am not a survivalist, I do not own stocks, bonds PM's or anything else that is being manipulated by people with a hell of a lot more power and money that I have. I am just a normal fool who likes discourse on a wide-ranging variety of topics.
Most people on this site - including me - are full of shit. But, that is what makes it interesting. Yes, one has to wade though a ton of garbage to get the gems, but the gems are only here because this site is open to all opinions. That is the price one pays for intellectual freedom.
If those nostalgic for the old days want a return to "normalcy," then use your influence to have people like me banned. If you want to keep swimming pools out of your dry neighborhood, then pass laws against them.
Good article, CD....but as a newbie, I had to respond...you know that:)
I miss the vets as well CD, I don't comment much anymore for many of the reasons already eloquently stated by others, but mostly because going through the comments to find the gems and wisdom has become a time sink for me these days, as there are so many partisans, ego-poofters and shills these days to wade through.
Cheeky, GG, MsC, Chumba, Mako, B9, RockyRacoon, you, BK, etc, etc did/do not waste my time. Many (not all) newer commenters do.
After the Giffords event, for example, I couldn't tell if I was on fox, msnbc, huffpo, common dreams, or ZH from the comments...it didn't used to be this way.
As someone said earlier, I have done the math, read the history, seen the rhyming cycles...no need to continuously watch the slo-mo train wreck anymore.
I read daily as always, gotta know when to get off the can before the sh*t hits the fan, but otherwise my time is running my business, raising my kids to be aware of the the ponzi and 5000+ year old debt scam, teaching, building community, trying to have the next paradigm ready to go when its needed, at least locally.
Change happens, it must, and always will...
FWIW CogDis, you got me out, off the interwebs, and into the community trying to do something to help create a world we'd want to live in...not politically, but on the ground...I live in "fly-over country", politically we don't matter (yet, as we do produce the food for the "coasties"....), so we are very locally focussed, as if the coasts didn't exist.
Your 5 part series earlier REALLY helped me through a horrendous personal disaster/tragedy/challenge, I thank you for it. With utmost sincerity and gratitude.
I read ZH every day, and if I have nothing to add positively to the conversation, I refrain. In the comments and contributors, I look for certain people (old and new) who have something to add, even if I disagree with them (thinking Leo, Robotrader in particular here, I hate the bashing they get, but they are big boys, they don't need my sympathies, their alternative view is good to challenge my premises).
Thank you CogDis and the others mentioned in these two posts, you done edunacationated me, motivated me and got me DO-ing something...my gratitude to you.
And to the junk-monkey(s) that inhabit this place now....have at it...knock yourselves out...doesn't matter anymore, so it's an exercise in futility for you, but enjoy!
Thank you CD.
Certainly strikes some resemblances and nerves, that are not quite so raw any more.
As you say, hard to preach to the unlistening crowd. So I no longer do, but too much has come to pass in spades. Not even that recognition seems to sink in a times. Most of the time I avoid the subject (avoidance), and let the consequences of the unrelenting world teach their own lessons.
Why does it seem like an ebb? (veteran posters) I have an inkling of the gossamer glove getting stretched very thin.
Take a thing like electronic eaves-dropping. I ranted about that one long before ZH. But the inertia with the sheeple is indeed enormous. And MS and the other vendors are in bed with the beast. They could have made good encryption integral to e-mail a long time ago, with an opt-out for the postcard crowd. Privacy snooping would then be running at a routine XtraNormal cost. This issue was known in the time of the BBs, and Windoze 3.2 wasn't quite the workhorse. Too many bottles of blue pills, because the lid on the red pill bottle is sheeple proof. :)
CogDis, the site was, as you yourself said, in the beginning a small town, where going to the saloon or barber shop would lend the opportunity to see the desired and well-loved set of characters. The erstwhile hamlet is now a bustling city with 500K-1M visitors per month. There is a lot less of a chance to bump into a familiar face without the benefit of a paging system or a "cellphone".
Also, this post has been an exercise in disproving its own thesis ;-) -- just look through the comments, your veterans ARE here. This is the kind of discussion that (to me) can be enjoyed by the fireplace with a nice glass of (cognac? bourbon?) and a smoke.
When I first came to ZH in early 2009, the reader commentary as much as TD's articles were the entrance to the rabbit hole. The readers posts/links/thought processes took me on journeys I would most likely never have seen otherwise (you included). But as one's mode of perception changes, as the previously obscuring veil to reality drops, the level of participation declines as one needs less assistance in learning.
While I am tempted to advocate a '+' or 'Recommend' button alongside the JUNK, a post like this shows that there are still those willing to share their experiences, wisdom, missteps without any moderation needed. On THIS particular post, the noise/signal ratio is just fine. But with ever more new faces in the crowd, it's tougher to recognize the voices worth listening to.
Perhaps a quieter, old-school pub on a side street? An anon IRC chat? (I have no idea as to the security afforded by or the resources required for such) Marla's sessions never seemed to exceed a couple of hundred at a time, usually just a few dozen. Or, as a tangent and for a rather different task than chats, anyone know of a self-extracting cellular organization model whereby a given group can set up connections with only a handful of others, until all in the set are directly connected to at least 1-2 without the whole structure being known to ANYONE?
But I mainly wanted to thank each and every ZH contributor (past and present, pro and amateur) for an incredibly educating, even if often depressing, couple of years. A long time ago I made it a priority to try to find/seek out valuable/worthwhile people in the course of my life - this place has certainly been (and continues to be) a target-rich environment.
CD,
Your post really struck some nerves some of which I don't like to admit to myself. Long time lurker..rarely a commentor...always appreciate your articles. Have tried to re-insert into the matrix from time to time but it never lasts and I always end up back here. Dont know who has the time to go through all the comments..tired..gotta sleep and wake up and go earn some FRNs tommorow.
For obvious reasons, I didn’t bother reading; but since the title indicated that this article was about “veterans”, something actually useful and constructive is (no doubt) in order:
http://adoptaplatoon.org/site/?page_id=17
http://www.dav.org/donate/Default.aspx
http://www.pva.org/site/c.ajIRK9NJLcJ2E/b.6305401/k.BCBB/Home.htm
CD, great post.
If you are looking for veterans, I've lurked for years. Registered here about a year ago I think. Always read ZH on blogspot. But, I think I've been lurking since before that even.
Peruse this that I found a while back:
http://equityprivate.typepad.com/
Scroll about half way down that page to a post titled "Is there a future for Going Private."
After reading that, the very next post is *very* typical to Marla beating sense into an idiot with unquestionable logic. Read that too.
I miss Marla.
Interesting...
Junked already. Ummm, Ummm, Ummm.
You could not possiible have read my link that fast.
CD,
It was a lot to get through but well written and insightful. Thanks from a quiet veteran.
I have been here since Day 2, I believe, though I took advantage of "Anonymous" as a moniker until change was forced upon us. I contribute the occasional article, though not as an official (allowed to post soft core porn) Contributor.
As a finance "wonk", I came to ZH because the ideas here were fresh and the audience was possessed of a wealth of experience in matters that interested me. Over time the nature of ZH changed (new Tylers?) and the topics were broadened to include matters well beyond financial. That change itself lost some regulars, though not many, because the Tylers had a knack for uncovering interesting topics.
As the range of topics widened, however, the make-up of the audience slowly changed. As many of the newly arrived got comfortable with their new neighborhood, they began to impose their own views and personalities on to the site. Since some of these new ideas resonated with a certain segment of the populace, more like-minded individuals discovered and were drawn in to the community. Indeed, some of the ideas that might generally be considered offbeat tend to draw the most fanatic and vociferous believers. There eventually became a groupthink on the site, that in my opinion, detracted from the enjoyment (though I read every day I can get an internet connection because there is always at least one outstanding article per day). Healthy debate disappeared and was replaced by ad hominem attack. It was at that point that many of the veterans began to slip away, though some probably also left because of gloom fatigue or because the world did not end "faster than most people think".
To a large extent, there is now only one opinion allowed on ZH, and this opinion---The Zerohedge Platform---is adhered to by 95% of those who comment. Like a Southern Baptist Revival meeting, posters cheer each others' statements of belief in, and witness to, the One True Faith, and want to condemn to the fires of Hell (aka the Yahoo! boards or Market Ticker) any apostate, heretic, or anyone whose belief waivers. The oft-used term "wake the fuck up" is a euphemism for "I speak the only truth and cannot possibly be wrong". Dissenters, i.e., people with different opinions, are "obviously trolls or paid disinformants" and "should be banned". People demand ignore buttons so that the message can stay pure. That is bullshit.
There may well be one absolute truth, but not a one of us knows what it is. The world may not end tomorrow (I'm thinking maybe next Tuesday instead). PM's may not go to da moon. The dollar may not disappear. The stock market may not crash. You may not need to use the arsenal you have built up in your basement against the marauding hordes or G-men in black helicopters. The current crop of Rothschilds may be inbred mutants and acorns who fell so far from the tree that they are in a entirely different forest. Building 7 might have been on fire all day and its structural beams may have expanded to the point that the integrity of the building was degraded. I don't know. You don't know. We simply have opinions and should have the modesty to admit it.
Maybe what happened on ZH is the nature of communities. Maybe we all want our neighbors to be like us. Maybe we want to live in gated neighborhoods and not let in any of "those people". If so, that's too bad. Sometime, "those people" have talents or knowledge we lack.
Two thousand years ago people much smarter than me knew the Earth was flat. Good thing a framework for debate eventually emerged. Perhaps if we reestablish a similar framework on ZH, some of the veterans might return.
At the risk of ruffling the feathers of an oldtimer, you really lost me when you blurred the distinction between empirically verifiable fact and opinion.
Not everything in life is an opinion. Some things are actually facts. If you jump off a building, you will fall at a rate of 32 feet per second per second until you hit the ground. The velocity at the point when you hit the ground will be 32*t feet per second. (assuming you don't reach terminal velocity)
When I see a self-described "finance 'wonk'" start to treat matters of physics regarding WTC7 as opinion, I have to wonder. If you really think a steel framed building burning all day can result in a symmetrical free-fall collapse, characteristic of a classical controlled demolition, then why don't you check out the evidence from the Meridian Building in Philadelphia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Meridian_Plaza
I'm all for debate and discussion, but I have a hard time when I see what I perceive as blatant ignorance and/or mis-truth. If you think that the solution is allowing any and all opinions as a substitute for substantive debate, then I think you misunderstand what a quest for the truth is all about. It's this kind of fuzzy thinking and inability to clarify and substantiate arguments that leads to endless argument that eventually drives people away.
I, for one, always look forward to your posts chin.
"Two thousand years ago people much smarter than me knew the Earth was flat."
Exactly so...moving at warp speed on "what we think we know now" invariably leads to the other old worn out scientific phrase of "this changes everything we thought we knew".
Maybe a better rounded curriculum would help...perhaps a class or two in wood shop (measure twice, cut once) would have helped in their chosen studies.
Regards.
+1.
Actual respect for considered opinion not your own...
Best as always Chindit13
Correct. Nobody knows the real truth...some guess correctly at temporary truths, and those tend to become zealots of their own version of the truth. Nothing personal against anyone, but it seems financial types are right at the top of the list of people who believe their own constructions of reality to be the ultimate truth. To some degree, that is why we are where we are.
Uh, yeah, nobody knows the real truth...???
Bullshit.
Hey, gravity says differently. Like 6.5 seconds and steel. Pretend to be confused. It is out in the open. That's how you lose. Over and over again.
Oh, BTW, Lincoln was a mass murderer. Chindit, I remember your comment.
Facts don't work in your favor.
This is a perfect example of what changed on ZH and why many of the old crowd scuppered off. I'm not confused, and you do not have the facts, but you're happy with what you think you know, so enjoy.
Is it a perfect example? Strongly-worded viewpoints tossed into the ring?
I very much enjoy your viewpoint. Just not all of it. I would like to see your facts demonstrating that Lincoln was not a mass murderer. WTC 7? These are very important issues, but according to you, "We cannot know, we shall not know. It is all opinion."
Just like jm's recent piece about conspiracy - abstract thoughts that there might not really be any conspiracies. ZH's raison d'etre is to expose the conspiracies. If all you want to do is read about investments great for you! Invest away. Ignore what you will, profiting along the way.
Is this still Fight Club, or are we supposed to act like this is a Gentleman's Club? Instead of whining about it post your thoughts and create the environment you want - encourage other veterans to do so - you fail to mention gov't elements around here - are they not part of the cacophony? What do you expect when truth is laid open so plainly?
You're just fine with the Bankster Occupation. Enjoy.
hey chindit13:
YOU are one of those quite silent guys that threw in their knowledge in the comments - thats what made ZH my favourite place to learn about what kind of thing is going on behing the MSM headlines.
I have often thought about whether the audience is more important than the authors of a news-outlet - at least since there are online-news-boards...
I therefore permitted myself from posting my generally not very unique thoughts here in order to not disturb what has been discussed between very experienced and informed individuals.
I cant imagine whats the definitive reason for the developments, but I know one thing for sure: that I will try my best to keep ZH what I liked it to be in the first place: a forum for unconvenient truth!!!
Greetings Chindit 13!
Fantastic post chindit13.
Well written and thoughtful.
He wants facts to become opinions. For civility, or something. Ad hominem attacks replaced reasonable debate? LOL. How can you effectively pull that off in a community of anonymity?
There are facts related to all of the information on ZH. Maybe if we can have moderated truth we'll get all the vets back.
Or, just keep on money-makin'!! Supposedly we'll never know what happened.
I liked your article this time, CD. I have been less enthusiastic in the past about some of your writing, which I found to veer toward solipsism. This article was well-written and I felt that your main point about looking within, acknowledging our personal failures, vanities, and weaknesses in a spirit of humility and moving from there to a position of greater self-confidence--I think you hit the nail on the head.
Myself, I've begun to question the all-importance of the intellectual stance in all matters--the need to appear logical and intelligent in order to convince others. I was part of a captive audience that listened to a speech by MLK, and I realized that there is something in his use of language that really appeals to me. Many black orators are able to communicate the same way, lacing their speech with all kinds of colorful biblical references. I then had to listen to a speech by a typical white intellectual and I was struck at how lacking in "flesh" and how like drinking weak tea that speech was, even though it was convincing on a logical and empirical level.
In the distant past ancient cultures always had this poetic way of seeing the world in which religion played a dominant role. That was how people sustained themselves and their community. The actual objective truth of the religion is not the question. It simply provides a way of communicating in a poetic fashion the deepest truths and feelings of the people and functions as the glue that holds them together in a synergy of dance, music, and art. I believe this is a fundamental human need that we dispense with at our peril. When I heard a beautiful song about crossing the river Jordan, it began to give me hope that there is a way out of this terrible mess we are in. It was as if I could look to the other side of a vast abyss. But that was just a song and we need to cut back on the arts so that we can educate our young in math, science, and engineering so that we can compete in the world economy, right?
+1000 Brilliant post! I have been doing some work in this area as well. I used to want nothing more than to be intelligent, or to be considered intelligent by others. But you're right when you say it is just another description of life, albeit probably the most wordy. Science, poetry, jazz music, and religion are all descriptions of our reality. They differ in that they are catered to different needs. Science describes the world in a way that the left brain eats up with a spoon. Art goes after the right brain, and poetry targets the soul, and so on.
I consider myself to be a pseudo-atheist in that I get where they're coming from and agree with a lot of their assertions, although, I think they miss a lot of esoteric knowledge and wisdom. Many atheists dismiss so much out of hand that they can be as bad as any religious zealot. I have observed that many of the more vocal atheists have a compulsion to destroy belief. This seems shortsighted to me, FWIW.
I have heard songs before that have made me cry. I have never read a research paper that did the same. So I think I get what you're saying. It's kind of all just monkey mind trying to make sense out of complexity. Keep singing your song friend, you're not alone in this...
Stupid Fuck: i've said it before: FUCK YOU AND YOUR KKKOMUNEEETEEE!
save your teenage angst ridden tripe for your fucking diary.
the only people worth reading on here are krasting, middleton and smith period. and i get their stuff off of their own sites. here I get them with some good insightful commentary by any of the readers, but only when you're far away from the typer you pathetic asshole.
here's an idea shit head: start your own site with all your VVETERRRRAAAAANS and spare the world your whiny pathetic clap-trap. jeesus fucking christ!
well, it's been lovely having you! ciao, aloha, shalom...
Take heart! You'll get those meds in balance soon enough.
BRAVO! That's the spirit of the early days.
barliman
I like your writing style CD. I think the "speaker's fatigue" for me partially comes from not wanting to do the concerted study anymore. Its like the math has been done, we know it doesn't add up, and never will, and thus... I want to do something to help accelerate the creative destruction.
I took my family to see the new Zeitgeist movie. I thought it was well done, and had a lot of good thoughts. This is the direction that I would like to see Zero Hedge move, or not. I know I left my revolution around here someplace, it just gets dizzy from the spinning and hard to focus.