International Solidarity FTW: an Interview with FallbackPants
Day 732, 19:22
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Published in USA 
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by
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by Socialist Freedom Org
Interview with Commander FallbackPants
Commander FallbackPants
During a brief visit to Queensland , my host was legendary former supreme commander of the Bear Cavalry, FallbackPants, seen here guiding me as we scoped out some potential sites for new undersea Communes in the Coral Sea:
One of the things that made the Bear Cavalry somewhat unique from its inception was its internationalist flavor, with no better example than FallbackPants himself, the Wonder from Down Under. After our swim, I had a chance to pepper Fallback with some questions about his role in the Bear Cav and his views on the New World.
Phoenix Quinn: How do you say "
FallbackPants: Most Aussies would understand that, but something along the lines of "You're a bloody bonza bloke cobber!" would probably do the job. And then any combination of 'mate', 'true blue' or 'dinky die' can't hurt
PQ: Well, mate. On behalf of the Bear Cavalry, the Socialist Freedom Party, and a grateful nation, I'd like to say "You are one helluva true blue bloody rockin' bonza bloke cobber!!"
Fist bump.
PQ: OK. So let's start out with some good dirt. Without flaming anyone, can you tell us who has a few Kangaroos loose in the top paddock? I mean, what's the single stupidest or strangest thing you've ever seen someone do or say in eRepublik?
FP: Ajay Bruno. No one else even comes close, although most of the big moments of craziness seem to have come from RL. Like when he declared that he should be crowned monarch of America. Or when anyone who didn't agree with him was either an idiot, a liberal, or both. Hitler would have been accused of liberalism for disagreeing with Ajay.
PQ: Commander FallbackPants, you were an active member of the Australian Communist Party, but you moved to the eUSA, pitched in with the Socialist Freedom Party and became the overall commander of the Bear Cavalry -- as well as being one of its more fearsome fighters -- during e-America's darkest days of invasion and occupation. What motivated you to help out the Yanks and play such an inspiring role in liberating your adopted country?
FP: Well, a bit of a history lesson here. I was a Senator in Australia for a while, and the Minister for Cultural Services, pretty much in charge of a team that had to try and help out all new players. It was a new Ministry and as a first time Cabinet member I'll admit I was fairly lost. Luckily with the help of (now Aussie Prime Minister) Cerridwen Voeland (in fact she pretty much ran it) it became an ongoing and important part of Australian politics.
But as my term came to an end I got kinda bored. I was sick of the squablling and bickering in politics and while the people there were awesome I just was over it. I ran for election in the notoriously un-Commie state of Queensland (my RL home) and lost. It was around this time that PEACE invaded North America.
In the Australian government I'd got annoyed at Indonesia's way of dealing with other countries, and hated PEACE's imperialist swagger. Plus I'd never really been a soldier before. So I moved to New Jersey and started following DoD orders in the war. When citizenship was implemented I discovered that I was suddenly a Yank. So I decided I'd make the most of it and join the SFP.
The active people in the SFP are absolute champions. I can't emphasise this enough. Within I felt very at home working with people such as yourself Quinn, Osmany Ramon, Mark Valshannar, Civil Anarchy, Zhao Ji....the list goes on. So when the creation of the Bear Cavalry was mentioned, I said I'd had a bit of military experience in the semi-elite Koalas in Australia (in hindsight clicking the fight button is not the same as finding targets, funding and allies) Ramon, then PP put me in charge.
The rest is history right?
PQ: With the enormous time difference between the US and Oz, I know it wasn't always easy for you. What advice do you have for players who want to keep in touch with and work with their eRep friends around the world who may be sleeping soundly while you're wide awake?
Click for larger image
FB: Don't go to uni classes and work nights. That's pretty much what I did! US to Australia isn't too bad. Your late night is my midday, so as long as you don't have day time commitments its not undoable. You just need to be dedicated to not actually achieving anything during your days!
PQ: It seems to me that maybe Australia is emerging from a sort of slumber imposed by the long occupation of some of its regions by Indonesia. Could you tell us a little about where the Lucky Country's been and where you think it's going?
FP: Australia was one of the first countries to be overrun by the Indonesian military. It was before my time, but Aussies RWared and negotiated with Indo until they got a couple of states back.
For a long time I was a supporter of diplomacy, it doesn't take a military genius to realise that Indonesia would wipe the floor with Australia. But after a couple of terms in the Senate it became clear to me that Indonesia had no plans of returning Western Australia (second in the game probably only to Western Siberia in resources).
When WA was freed by EDEN and Bro forces I was pretty happy to say the least. I wish I'd been able to get the Cav to fight in my homeland, but that same day we freed Alaska, so I'm still pretty happy about that.
I hope this is the start of an emergent Australia, the country has been living in fear of Indonesian retaliation for too long, and as a consequence has been pretty isolationist. With a bigger population it has the potential to be a super power, it has some great regions (but only a few of them, making for bigger walls, but less stategic maneurvering).
Its a great community and ideally I'd like to see it allied with the US, I know it seems like an outrage to the Yanks and Canucks, but I'd love to see Australia do something potent enough to join the Bro's. If not I'd like to see Austrlia take a leading role either in Sol, or independantly as a force against imperialism, as a country that has been occupied, we should be helping others get out of it.
PQ: So, are you leaving the game altogether, just taking a break, going for a walkabout, re-focusing your energy on Australia, or...?
FP: Well I've just started the Australian Workers' Federation to try and get a trade union movement going Down Under. I haven't actually done anything with it yet but I have big plans, so friend that up and subscribe to the newspaper (it'll get article's soon I swear!!)
The ACP has recently dropped out of the top 5 so I think I'll try and do something to help them out there. Maybe run for PP eventually.
That said, I've just finished uni and will need to get a RL job somewhere, so depending on where I end up may impact what I do in Erep for a while
PQ: What's been the most fun thing about eRep for you so far?
FP: The Cav. Without a doubt. Organising wars with groups like SEAL Team 6, the Sons of Liberty, or even the much maligned Terrorists has been a blast. The times had organising with yourself, Ramon and Zhao especially were fantastic, then seeing a battle with the Bear Cav symbol flooding the fights list was great.
There were some pretty big f**k ups too, but you take the good with the bad. In all, this has been a blast and I've loved every minute of it.
PQ: The New World has changed dramatically since you first took command of the Bear Cav. PEACE GC is falling apart. Western Australia and a number of other regions formerly occupied by PEACE have been liberated. Italy just signed an MPP with the US and Canada. Eden and the Brolliance one the one hand, and maybe the Slavic Alliance on the other, seem to be the emerging super-powers. What's your take on what might be coming down the road?
FP: I'm hoping for the collapse of super alliances and the creation of a multipolar system (somebody studied International Theory!). No more EDEN/PEACE dichotomy, but rather 4 or 5 medium sized alliances, more like the Bros or Slavs. With the cost of alliances going up to 100g I think this is suddenly an option too.
What I hope doesn't happen is small states being absorbed into the superpowers for protection instead of allying. Losing your political autonomy to a huge power isn't the best for the country, regardless of whether the superpower is Indonesia or the United States I'll be against it.
PQ: Do you have any advice for the new Bear Cav supremo, CivilAnarchy?
FP: Its all about communication with other RWar groups, and finding the right balance between how much you keep to yourself and how much you tell everyone.
Without the element of suprise RWaring doesn't work. But you can't expect 50 people to move and fight without prior warning. Its a hard line to straddle. But I know Civ will do fine. More than fine, awesomely. With the economic minds of Osmany and Tom Jeff, alongside military minds such as Quinn, Zhao and himself, he's got a great team.
Without them the Bear's wouldn't have become anything near the force they have.
Who knows, I may return one day. Or I might go and start an Aussie Militia to come and fight alongside the Bears again
Ursa Fi comrades.
Commander FallbackPants
During a brief visit to Queensland , my host was legendary former supreme commander of the Bear Cavalry, FallbackPants, seen here guiding me as we scoped out some potential sites for new undersea Communes in the Coral Sea:
One of the things that made the Bear Cavalry somewhat unique from its inception was its internationalist flavor, with no better example than FallbackPants himself, the Wonder from Down Under. After our swim, I had a chance to pepper Fallback with some questions about his role in the Bear Cav and his views on the New World.
Phoenix Quinn: How do you say "
😉ude, you totally rock!" in Australian?
FallbackPants: Most Aussies would understand that, but something along the lines of "You're a bloody bonza bloke cobber!" would probably do the job. And then any combination of 'mate', 'true blue' or 'dinky die' can't hurt
PQ: Well, mate. On behalf of the Bear Cavalry, the Socialist Freedom Party, and a grateful nation, I'd like to say "You are one helluva true blue bloody rockin' bonza bloke cobber!!"
Fist bump.
PQ: OK. So let's start out with some good dirt. Without flaming anyone, can you tell us who has a few Kangaroos loose in the top paddock? I mean, what's the single stupidest or strangest thing you've ever seen someone do or say in eRepublik?
FP: Ajay Bruno. No one else even comes close, although most of the big moments of craziness seem to have come from RL. Like when he declared that he should be crowned monarch of America. Or when anyone who didn't agree with him was either an idiot, a liberal, or both. Hitler would have been accused of liberalism for disagreeing with Ajay.
PQ: Commander FallbackPants, you were an active member of the Australian Communist Party, but you moved to the eUSA, pitched in with the Socialist Freedom Party and became the overall commander of the Bear Cavalry -- as well as being one of its more fearsome fighters -- during e-America's darkest days of invasion and occupation. What motivated you to help out the Yanks and play such an inspiring role in liberating your adopted country?
FP: Well, a bit of a history lesson here. I was a Senator in Australia for a while, and the Minister for Cultural Services, pretty much in charge of a team that had to try and help out all new players. It was a new Ministry and as a first time Cabinet member I'll admit I was fairly lost. Luckily with the help of (now Aussie Prime Minister) Cerridwen Voeland (in fact she pretty much ran it) it became an ongoing and important part of Australian politics.
But as my term came to an end I got kinda bored. I was sick of the squablling and bickering in politics and while the people there were awesome I just was over it. I ran for election in the notoriously un-Commie state of Queensland (my RL home) and lost. It was around this time that PEACE invaded North America.
In the Australian government I'd got annoyed at Indonesia's way of dealing with other countries, and hated PEACE's imperialist swagger. Plus I'd never really been a soldier before. So I moved to New Jersey and started following DoD orders in the war. When citizenship was implemented I discovered that I was suddenly a Yank. So I decided I'd make the most of it and join the SFP.
The active people in the SFP are absolute champions. I can't emphasise this enough. Within I felt very at home working with people such as yourself Quinn, Osmany Ramon, Mark Valshannar, Civil Anarchy, Zhao Ji....the list goes on. So when the creation of the Bear Cavalry was mentioned, I said I'd had a bit of military experience in the semi-elite Koalas in Australia (in hindsight clicking the fight button is not the same as finding targets, funding and allies) Ramon, then PP put me in charge.
The rest is history right?
PQ: With the enormous time difference between the US and Oz, I know it wasn't always easy for you. What advice do you have for players who want to keep in touch with and work with their eRep friends around the world who may be sleeping soundly while you're wide awake?
Click for larger image
FB: Don't go to uni classes and work nights. That's pretty much what I did! US to Australia isn't too bad. Your late night is my midday, so as long as you don't have day time commitments its not undoable. You just need to be dedicated to not actually achieving anything during your days!
PQ: It seems to me that maybe Australia is emerging from a sort of slumber imposed by the long occupation of some of its regions by Indonesia. Could you tell us a little about where the Lucky Country's been and where you think it's going?
FP: Australia was one of the first countries to be overrun by the Indonesian military. It was before my time, but Aussies RWared and negotiated with Indo until they got a couple of states back.
For a long time I was a supporter of diplomacy, it doesn't take a military genius to realise that Indonesia would wipe the floor with Australia. But after a couple of terms in the Senate it became clear to me that Indonesia had no plans of returning Western Australia (second in the game probably only to Western Siberia in resources).
When WA was freed by EDEN and Bro forces I was pretty happy to say the least. I wish I'd been able to get the Cav to fight in my homeland, but that same day we freed Alaska, so I'm still pretty happy about that.
I hope this is the start of an emergent Australia, the country has been living in fear of Indonesian retaliation for too long, and as a consequence has been pretty isolationist. With a bigger population it has the potential to be a super power, it has some great regions (but only a few of them, making for bigger walls, but less stategic maneurvering).
Its a great community and ideally I'd like to see it allied with the US, I know it seems like an outrage to the Yanks and Canucks, but I'd love to see Australia do something potent enough to join the Bro's. If not I'd like to see Austrlia take a leading role either in Sol, or independantly as a force against imperialism, as a country that has been occupied, we should be helping others get out of it.
PQ: So, are you leaving the game altogether, just taking a break, going for a walkabout, re-focusing your energy on Australia, or...?
FP: Well I've just started the Australian Workers' Federation to try and get a trade union movement going Down Under. I haven't actually done anything with it yet but I have big plans, so friend that up and subscribe to the newspaper (it'll get article's soon I swear!!)
The ACP has recently dropped out of the top 5 so I think I'll try and do something to help them out there. Maybe run for PP eventually.
That said, I've just finished uni and will need to get a RL job somewhere, so depending on where I end up may impact what I do in Erep for a while
PQ: What's been the most fun thing about eRep for you so far?
FP: The Cav. Without a doubt. Organising wars with groups like SEAL Team 6, the Sons of Liberty, or even the much maligned Terrorists has been a blast. The times had organising with yourself, Ramon and Zhao especially were fantastic, then seeing a battle with the Bear Cav symbol flooding the fights list was great.
There were some pretty big f**k ups too, but you take the good with the bad. In all, this has been a blast and I've loved every minute of it.
PQ: The New World has changed dramatically since you first took command of the Bear Cav. PEACE GC is falling apart. Western Australia and a number of other regions formerly occupied by PEACE have been liberated. Italy just signed an MPP with the US and Canada. Eden and the Brolliance one the one hand, and maybe the Slavic Alliance on the other, seem to be the emerging super-powers. What's your take on what might be coming down the road?
FP: I'm hoping for the collapse of super alliances and the creation of a multipolar system (somebody studied International Theory!). No more EDEN/PEACE dichotomy, but rather 4 or 5 medium sized alliances, more like the Bros or Slavs. With the cost of alliances going up to 100g I think this is suddenly an option too.
What I hope doesn't happen is small states being absorbed into the superpowers for protection instead of allying. Losing your political autonomy to a huge power isn't the best for the country, regardless of whether the superpower is Indonesia or the United States I'll be against it.
PQ: Do you have any advice for the new Bear Cav supremo, CivilAnarchy?
FP: Its all about communication with other RWar groups, and finding the right balance between how much you keep to yourself and how much you tell everyone.
Without the element of suprise RWaring doesn't work. But you can't expect 50 people to move and fight without prior warning. Its a hard line to straddle. But I know Civ will do fine. More than fine, awesomely. With the economic minds of Osmany and Tom Jeff, alongside military minds such as Quinn, Zhao and himself, he's got a great team.
Without them the Bear's wouldn't have become anything near the force they have.
Who knows, I may return one day. Or I might go and start an Aussie Militia to come and fight alongside the Bears again
Ursa Fi comrades.
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Comments
Ursamaxx!
the Bear Cav rocks!
and the Aussie Bears will rock, too.
The Bear awakes?
Those were good times, tense but I don't regret it.
Ursa Fi, man. Good times, good times.
I miss you dudes already. Ursa Fi!
Haha!
"You're a bloody bonza bloke cobber!"