Controversial Funsies = Best Kind?
fingerguns
What is AIM all about?
The most commonly repeated phrase since the announcement of US-AIM is that IT'S ALL ABOUT FUNNNNN THAT'S ALL WE CARE ABOUT IS GOOD TIMES AND FUNNNNN
As one of the zillions of Americans absolutely dying of boredom, I get it. And I honestly WASN'T bored until recently. I go hard for my party and the work I've done there over the last few months hasn't only been satisfying, but it's been full on exciting. Take away the fun I make for myself in the Feds and what is there? Nothing. There is nothing at all. But making fun for yourself is what sandbox games are about, I thought? Eh, help is still nice, though.
I get 'blamed' for Taiwan and that's fine. I'll take it. Looking back, it was the best of some bad options and a good way to buy a little time on the alliance front while having SOMETHING to do. Also talking smack is fun. I'm not a military type...never have been. I'll kill literally anyone and think nothing of it. I relied on my war advisors and that was the best we could do at the time. I'm a bit surprised it stayed open as long as it did. It would've been nice to win, but it didn't seem likely. We were providing a good distraction for other CoT initiatives by being an EDEN damage sink hole. That wasn't really the plan, but that's what it became. Meh. Vanek closed it up and everyone cheered, but then he followed it up with a couple training wars. I don't really see the difference, honestly, but like I said, I'm not a military type.
Anyway, here is the official position on what AIM is-
"US-AIM (United States Association of Independent Militias) is a collection of independent military units coming together to foster cooperation and to coordinate damage in the interest of national defense."
I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! I got the privilege of hearing about this before it was launched and it immediately excited me. There is a general sense of wanting to 'buck the system' permeating nearly every corner of our society right now. Some want to do so politically (and I don't mean PTOers) and some want to do it militarily, and some really just want to do it socially. But so many of us want this and there are so many different elements at work right now, it's finally become a very interesting time in the eUS.
But there are also red flags straight out of the gate.
Just wanting something different or seeking out funsies doesn't mean we're all on the same page.
Surely you've seen all of the articles coming out about US-AIM. Here are some highlights-
(click the name to go to the full statement)
Cubby "The goals of US-AIM are to establish a network, improve communication across the many units, to kick some ass every now and then when showing up with full power, and, of course, to have fun. There are no strings attached as the member units all keep their independent status. US-AIM as an organization doesn’t want to and will not be forcing any of its members to fight in a specific battle or do anything else against their will."
bigcdizzle "Fun, along with wasting time, is supposedly the reason we all play this game. Sadly, having something fun to do has eluded the majority of eUS citizens for quite some time. We haven’t had a war to fight in months, and the ones we’ve had have either been training wars or have been neglected to the point that there is no fun to be had with them. US-AIM has come to the decision that if we, as independent MU’s, would like to supply our members with fun, then we must join together to create fun times where we can."
AlexJ "We need a direct war with an actual enemy. This game is becoming more and more stagnant by the day and training wars are not the answer to this either. Training wars are a bore for many players simply because you just fight back and forth, and in the case of fighting weaker nations, you end up fighting for them so they don’t lose regions."
"Playing it safe is no fun for anyone who isn’t in the Executive or Congressional branches of the government. The only way for normal players to affect anything is through the military aspect of the game, and there’s been nothing happening here for a long time. That needs to change."
Roper "We just want to have fun again. If that scares you it probably should, This many people sharing a common voice and goal is a very loud thing!"
CyberWitch "This alliance is free of all governmental politics. They don't give the orders here, and it scares them. I am okay with that."
Mr. A Smith "The present leadership has failed to see the big picture that US-AIM represents, people are getting tired of this dictatorship. We do not advocate the AFA and what they represent, but it is time for a change that is long overdue. We should no longer bend to the will of a government that treats it citizens as pawns on the chess board of their social experiment."
gnilraps "US-AIM is also a great idea because it expands the political voice of the general population.
And yes, I realize that I am doing two things right here. First, I am changing my mind about something. I had thought that US-AIM should remain intentionally NON-POLITICAL. And second, I am also conceding a point that has been made by those opposed to US-AIM who decried almost immediately that this would get political sooner or later....
"I am calling upon those who serve in the US Government to embrace US-AIM for the incredible potential it represents. "
My immediate impression after reading these articles is that there is already a bit of trouble because there are a number of motives driving different groups. Nothing to get too worried about, though. This is super common in alliances. You need to have some sort of common interest, but thinking you'll be 100% on the same page is just ridiculous. Clearly when it comes to US-AIM, some groups are genuinely just looking to have a good time and fight in a battle that has some sort of point. Others are flipping the bird to our politicians and fantasizing about a future junta government. Some are trying to dictate foreign policy without being 'political.' Some are just trying to recruit.
That's alliances.
A number of the politicians that are often held up as the trrbl elitists ruining the country have a lot of experience working with alliances with even less in common than we see here. There are intricacies. It's often delicate. Knowing what is important to the parties involved and knowing some of their secrets is what allows for negotiation. You have to compromise, you have to be patient, and you have to work a hundred angles at once. As much as we would like this game to be as simple as 'who has the biggest epeen on the battlefield,' it simply isn't. There are targets, and those targets have interests and allies of their own. US-AIM could benefit from some of the foreign affairs experience of the politicians just to keep their own group together.
But let's talk about the foreign alliances for a minute, because that seems to be the main reason why jimmies are rustled.
EDEN is pretty much dead, which leaves CoT and TWO in a situation where they need to figure out who is with them and who is against them. Most of us knew we would eventually reach this point, which is why the eUS jumped in with CoT to begin with. It would eventually just be them and TWO and we sure as hell weren't joining TWO. There are nations in both alliances who will reconsider their alliance now that EDEN is out of the picture. It's a sensitive time for foreign affairs and I, for one, am glad I don't have to be involved in any of that! lol When I say I don't care what the target is, I just want to kill, I mean literally that.
There is obvious backlash against the actions of US-AIM specifically for those reasons, though. Through words, not battles, the government trying to push and pull the international landscape. Zerg rushing a battlefield just for funsies makes that difficult. I wish I had a lot of articles to link to here, but unsurprisingly, those who are not fond of US-AIM aren't publishing...yet. Here's what they're saying, though, on the forums-
(click the name to go to the full statement)
Artela "Let's get one thing straight, any organizations who fight against the Foreign Affairs interests of the whole country are rogue. No. I'm not going to dress that up and make it look fancy, I'm going to tell it plainly and how it is. That action by AIM has set back Foreign Affairs work that was ongoing. Attacking random places because you feel like it is not the way to gain any credibility. If you want exciting places to go fight at least check with the damn executive first so you don't undermine work in progress!"
Publius "You make light of this, but three things are certain:
1) By not even consulting with the Exec on where not to fight you weaken the eUS' ability to influence foreign policy. A strong state projects a unified front.
2) By yielding this, you allow other strong states like Serbia and Poland to drive foreign policy.
3) Also as a corollary to 1, you contribute to making the world and its alliances more static.
If the interest of AIM is to strengthen the eUS, it must work with the Exec. If it is to have fun and give some people more power that is great too, but don't hide under rah rah eUS."
Liquid Oxygen "JCS is an impossible task. They want importance, but they don't want to pay dues. They want to influence policy, but they don't want to work with the policy makers. They want an equal spot at the "table," but they don't want to contribute to it.
Not to mention, they're so full of Euros now, I highly doubt any of them can make ANY claim to being all about American interests...kind've reminiscent of Swine Team 6. *cough*"
Kemal Ergenekon "You want a one-line summary? AIM acts like iNCi did. The difference is: iNCi was for fun to begin with, while AIM still pretends to be "eUS, Patriotism, rah rah"
I know for a fact that most AIM members were contra-iNCi at some point in time, which is the ironic part."
Synesi "I pray to god that this is not the first time you guys have had fun in 2 years."
Max McFarland "I'm also deeply skeptical that this will not grow into a political movement over time. Frankly, good. It could be good for us to have an actual national opposition movement in our politics instead of (or in addition to) the AFA. It will make us less effective as a nation, but it will make the social, political, and military landscape more engaging and enjoyable for many, as there will be countless fights to be won over the direction of the nation. Our allies will get pissed, ofc, but we already have a reputation for that and it's bound to happen again eventually anyway. Like now."
Derphoof "Here's an idea. If they want to decide what the government does and what "goals" should be, they should get into government.
Don't like what congress is doing? Elect a different PP who will fill congress with different people, people who align to your opinions. Don't like what the executive is doing? Prop up a candidate that aligns with your opinions and try to get him/her to win the election." More from Derphoof here
Emerick "I just want to point out that I'm fully aware of how the gov views Spain, and I barely even play. How could alleged active citizens be so in the dark?"
Interesting stuff there. Predictable responses, sure, but let's unpack it a little bit. Those reactions are almost entirely directed at the JCS, not the slew of other independent MUs that have become a part of US-AIM. If not directed at them, skeptical because of them. For so many of those other MUs, this really is as simple as wanting to have a good time and they chose a target that is in an enemy alliance. If the entirety of your knowledge is COT = GOOD, TWO = BAD, then it probably does baffle them that this would be interpreted as anything other than "coordinate[d] damage in the interest of national defense." The JCS comes with a bit of baggage. I find it hard to believe anyone would be unaware of that (but I'm as surprised as Emerick that active players are claiming ignorance about the complicated situation with Spain, or fail to see how attacking Spain is not a defensive move).
It's like trying to work in politics without getting any Pfeiffer stink on you. Or getting into the country through the AFA without being labeled a terrorist. It's SUPER hard. And all of these MUs involved in US-AIM will have to deal with the history of the JCS as they move forward. They can either share the burden or help get rid of it, but it will be difficult to just pretend it's not there. For what it's worth, I made 2 attempts to talk to the JCS when I was President. The first time, no one would talk to me until CyberWitch was there. The second time, CW basically told me to go fingerbang myself, so I didn't try again after that. Perhaps that was an error on my part, but I really didn't see much difference between me forcing gov MUs to fight where THEY want ME to fight and them forcing JCS MUs to fight where I want THEM to fight...except the fact that I was elected and they weren't. They made it clear negotiation wasn't on the table. It is what it is.
For the sake of comparison, it's pretty similar to eUS and eSerbia. Although I really couldn't tell you who is who in this comparison. Gov vs JCS is...rough. But I don't think it's completely impossible if the timing is right and the right people are involved. I was the wrong person and my term was the wrong time, but that doesn't mean it will never happen.
The 'A' in US-AIM should stand for Alliance. That really is what's going on here. We all know alliances can be very difficult. Trying to balance the interests of different parties is a massive undertaking. Sharing a unified voice when people aren't on the same page is exceedingly hard. This is true fractally (is that a word?).
And now we are left with a very interesting question- will our government be considered part of this alliance or are they the enemy? Do we all have to choose sides now?
Maybe Artela should apply for trial membership in US-AIM? Think they would vote her in?
Here are a few commentaries I've read that seem to take a more balanced, objective look at what's going on. Interestingly enough, both of these fellas are in the newly elected Administration. That could be very good news for everyone.
New Azazel: A Chance To Be Better
Paul Proteus: Fun Is Dead, Long Live Fun
Thanks for reading,
My apologies to EVERYONE mentioned in this article for taking statements out of context. I strongly encourage anyone reading this to follow the links and get the bigger picture if your mind has not already been made up.
Comments
tl;dr
no sheat
Interesting and Informative as always. I look forward to seeing you again one day... perhaps.
Sorry I have a life and do stuff on weekends.
eRep>Life or haven't you learned!!! Sheesh
Derphoof wrote a really great piece too. (Far better than mine that wasn't clear enough on WHAT I was disappointed in.) http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/creating-a-masterpiece--2256587/1/20
I have hopes still though!
The "A" stands for Association. http://i42.tinypic.com/pvi9g.jpg
The devil's in the details.
oh lol...I swear I knew that. *goes to edit*
You still have a misunderstanding. Being an alliance is exactly how it would NOT work. I feel you are missing what is different here.
That being said, even US-AIM will fall apart someday. Everything does.
I go off the info I have, Cubby. People in it call it an alliance and it's set up pretty much like an alliance.
Listening to CyberWitch? Congrats, CyberWitch! Progress!!! It's already working.
CW seems to be a pretty bright fella
"This alliance is free of all governmental politics."
An army without allegiance is no army at all.
How crazy would it be if we worked together enough that we had fun AND didn't fuck up foreign affairs, too crazy?
Too crazy
I think that's what MOST people are hoping for lol
CW's quote is retarded. Straight up retarded.
Awwww Em, I missed you too big boy
I can't say I remember ever talking to you
I remember you, Emerick. Can I get a hug? It's from a Marine, so it's not gay or anything.
I remember you, JBB. I remember you always having long-winded and well thought out explanations of your opinions. So I respect you, and I will hug you.
I remember you, Emerick. Can I get a hug? It's from a Marine, so it's not gay or anything.
Slew, checking in.
Just want to bring up a point.
This alliance is not a full time thing, each MU will still do their own little things most of the time. About once a month or unless a critical situation appears, we get together and coordinate a fun attack for our members. Inactivity was getting boring.
Not once during all the conversations, politics was mentioned as a possibility. EZC just go out of an affiliation, surely we won't jump into another one.
BTW, JCS people were very easy to get along with. They brought up some very interesting and informative comments, they maybe the easy target, but they were not the ones that initiated the talks about US-AIM.
I think it's true for everyone that when you want to quickly dismiss something, you go after the low hanging fruit. It doesn't always work, but I get the desire. It's like trying to tie every politician to Pfeiffer or every forig to Ajay. The label makes it easier to disregard, but it may not be an accurate label.
It'll be interesting to see how this develops, for sure. I'm happy to just be a voyeur right now. I got my own stuff cookin.
Can't wait to get a taste of that roux. It's been simmering for hours!
awww...you basically just said you don't read my paper. whomp whomp
There's still more to come, though. Now that you don't think I'm the devil anymore, maybe you'll notice it lol
Very well put together. Ample information, many different views. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Again, recently I named FG as one of my favorite writers at this point and she still is, voted as always, was a good read, good points brought up~
Finally a good read *wink*
pffft they're all good.
Good shit FG. Keep up the great media presence.
good god I like being fingerbanged
Well... I for one love USA-AIM ^__^
"If they want to decide what the government does and what "goals" should be, they should get into government." x2
voted
Spain's been pissing on America's hat for to long.
Good read. Interesting points, and most importantly they're laid out in a logical and diplomatic manner.
Good stuff FG.
Nice summary. The media was literally dead before this "problem" arose : ))
I, however, loved the statement from Max: we can be children, or we can be a grown-up society. The choice is ours (:
This article is pretty awesome. I expected you to fingerbang AIM, but this is as objective as any article gets. I suggest everyone to read it in detail and not just tl;dr.
I read it, I voted it. I hope everyone doesn't just skim it.
Nicely done FG.
10/10
The history of the eUS is full of political and military disasters visited upon us by "serious" players who have "impressive" political resumes.
For the past few years, even before the eGov't could use the great gift they received, Ajay Bruno, as a boogeyman to ensure full compliance, and label everyone who dissented as an Enemy of the State, the eUS has been in a state of stagnation.
The people who are participating in AIM are desperately searching for some reason to keep logging in every day, rather than ekilling themselves and spending their time on something more entertaining instead.
I don't blame the professional ePoliticians. The Admins have set up this game so that there is virtually no possibility of civilian oversight or meaningful input into their own government.
Vote out this government and start a new one? How? The average citizen has no access to the private "debates" of congress, congressional votes are private, and with the addition of the party list system, no one even has an idea of which congressman to complain to if there's a problem.
Every month, a new, faceless government is replaced by a partially different, but equally faceless government that is responsible only to party leaders and elders; not to any electorate. People do get connected to MU leaders who they have known for months or years. It's really the only functioning community in this game.
So far, the AIM movement is explicitly non-political to the best of my knowledge. I can understand how someone who has invested 20 hours a week over days and weeks to become Secretary of the Interior or whatever might feel upset about seemingly flippant comments (taken out of context, as you admit) made by people who "don't get" how government is supposed to work.
Please try to remember that this is a game. If it's not fun, people will leave. They have been leaving for years. Go through your "friends" list of a year ago and see how many are still alive.
And suppose the worst happens. The AIM somehow splits the entrenched eUS gov't, RGR is elected, and the eUS is wiped.
No one will die, not in RL.
And seemingly competent, very serious, highly experienced, governments have tried their best. Only to have their most noble aspirations (you still obviously feel the bruises of the Taiwan initiative-- you join a long list of ePresidents who had their hopes unrealized). Why, these very serious, earnest people have not even been able to prevent the eUS from being wiped... more than once.
At this point, what do we have to lose?
I think running an 'AIM candidate' could backfire. I'd suggest taking a note from the Fed play book and being a group that demands inclusion from all candidates. If someone is trying to become President without some sort of plan to include AIM, then they are not a viable option.
I know some people want to be anti-government and others in AIM want to use the group as the voting bloc to finally get them into office, but I personally think long-term success will happen through cooperation.
The AIM movement is explicitly apolitical. We don't want our own party; we don't want our own candidate.
(I say this as a USMC grunt and nothing else. I speak for no one but myself)
Oddly, I think we agree about some of the more appropriate aspirations for this movement.
Most of my friends don't really like eRepublik politics. Could a POTUS candidate gain more votes by at least acknowledging that we exist, and we have a right to exist? Possibly. Consider Josh Frost's article where he essentially says, we have proven we can do (military) damage, and damage is power, and that means we have to be dealt with in one way or another. http://www.erepublik.com/en/newspaper/the-angry-kitteh-255812/1
In RL, most of my USMC brethren are pro-government. Many are RL veterans. I don't want to destroy the government; I just want it to listen to us.
I should add-- I do respect Fingerguns. We rarely agree, we often snipe at each other. But in this game, she is a rare persona. She's wicked smart, argues well and fairly, and brings that rarest of commodities, FUN to the game.
And so while I respectfully may disagree with Fingerguns, I am always glad to see when she's written a new article.
Fun facts:
Government lost its influence on MU's as the gold price droped. OMS is no more, USAF funding gets huge cuts. We all know how much money SF used to get and why other MU's joined USAF or OMS in the first place. Government holds little meaning anymore when it comes to influencing battles. USAF does 15% of eUS influence, 17% if you count Citizens Militia; as compared to around 30% of AIM. Out of the remaining, around 15% is what you would call rogue militias that has almost nothing to do with what government does or are completely against it. The remaining 35% include lots of small scale units and a few other stronger ones including SHIELD, OWLS, ANONYMOUS, Neutrality who *might* do as government wishes because nothing is keeping them from doing otherwise.
If Artela/government deems AIM as rogue then almost half of the damage this country does is coming from rogue units. And politically or militarily, government has no leverage to use against them.
So I'm not sure if its the best approach to call AIM rogue just yet. More likely this approach would create a political bloc as FG suggests, or make the association/alliance more anti-government. Personally I am not anti-government and I vote the unity candidate, I also happen to find myself in this AIM which to me feels no different than yesterday.
disclaimer: I'm not taking any sides in this comment.
It may have been unfair of me to publish knee-jerk reactions from Artela and others. They have dedicated a lot of time to negotiating with forigs to influence alliances and whatnot. It's a long-game and a lot of work has been put into it. I understand why they were immediately annoyed. Also given the history and stuff...I dunno. I get it.
But for this to work, both sides need to listen to each other. Based on her statements, it seems she needs to see this isn't 'rogue.' Only AIM can convince her of that. AIM needs to see that the gov is willing to communicate and cooperate and have some balls on the battlefield. Only the gov can do that.
People being obstinate has helped create some of these problems, so hopefully flexibility and cooperation will be the solution. I hope.
Other than my one article, I have been pretty quiet on things. But I am really sick to death of the lie you continue to perpetuate concerning our convo in the JCS channel. And since it was a single convo, during your whole presidency, and I keep logs from in there, how about we clear the air a bit, and stick to the facts. You joined that day, Jadiv said hi, Krimpie peed on you, Oblige coughed on you. We spoke about a couple of battle plans you had, and you asked our feelings on them. At NO point did I tell you to go f^ck yourself, either implied or otherwise. Now I realize the govt hates JCS, I get that already. But do you think, just possibly, we could use facts for once? If the govt wants any form of relations with JCS (and at this point I sincerely doubt they do), starting with the truth would be a he11 of a step forward.
Also, I didn't dream up AIM. But by God I wish I had. I think it's wonderful getting all the independent MUs werking together, and we are proud to be a small part of it. It is fun, meeting new ppl. reacquainting with old friends, and we(eUS Mil) do stand by our govt, we will defend her in a direct attack, and help her attack any TWO members. We(eUS Mil) just don't like some of the current CoT allies. Croatia was a positive step forward in our eyes. But many more steps are needed. And the reason I stated eUS Mil, and not AIM, is because the wonderful thing about this group is we are all allowed to think and feel how we like without reprisal.
TL😉R version:
Stick with the truth
Get us some more MPPs
US-AIM
My perception of things- you weren't interested in discussion and the room was hostile. Feel free to publish the logs if you feel it's necessary. You might be the only one who actually cares, though.
The facts are as you say- JCS has their own foreign affairs agenda. That has made the relationship between gov and JCS very complicated, even when the people in the gov are not 'establishment.'
I do agree, though. I think US-AIM is probably the best possible chance of getting people on the same page. The fact that it isn't JUST the JCS will make a huge difference when it comes to negotiation and coordination with the gov. At least I hope it does. Unity put a very 'establishment' PotUS into office, but the cabinet could bring the necessary change to help this succeed.
I'm optimistic, but merely an observer. I'm in a party MU and hold no political positions.