Controversial Funsies = Best Kind?

Day 1,994, 08:34 Published in USA USA by 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.