In fiction, you’re simply not personally affected, so you don’t have to face any adversity or negative consequences. It costs nothing to see yourself as part of the revolutionary movement, and you don’t put yourself in danger.
Apparently, many people simply don’t want to admit what monsters their leaders really are, even though it’s actually obvious. This is the result of decades of propaganda, I think: The U.S., for example, has always seen itself as the friendly superpower that brings freedom and democracy to the world. Now that it is obvious even to the biggest idiot that this has always been a lie - since the regime has abandoned the facade - people are looking for other explanations to maintain the worldview they have long held to be true - such as the excuse that the current U.S. president is being controlled by evil forces from other countries (Russia/Israel) and therefore does not represent his own, indeed so righteous, country at all.
Listen as cypher groans about life in the resistance. Constant fear and anxiety from the bots, shitty food bricks etc. We all like to pretend we are tough as nails and can take any hardships, that attitude changes quickly, especially when you can see and even manipulate the alternative life in the matrix.
I think there was a point where cypher wanted to fight and be a genuine part of the resistance, the stress eventually got to him. How many “chosen ones” before neo did he see come and die? Eventually it seems hopeless and he could probably game the matrix just right to have a good, albeit artifical, life for himself. It would be like having an option to go back in time and buy amazon/apple/nividia stocks at just the right moment.
Resistance is often painted as easier than it is. It sugar coats the losses. It makes losing 25 people to kill 5 agressors a “victory”. The actors stay fit and strong even if their characters are getting 1 meal a day.
Seriously, thank you. Those who are puzzled why everyday middle class Americans aren’t rushing to join an anarchist revolution ought to look at how the resistance is has been going in Iran this year, even before the US attacked.
Middle class Americans may struggle to afford the things they had a few decades ago, but they’re still a long way from willing to risk sniper fire in the day and bombings at night.
A good friend of mine is Palestinian and he spent time in Syria during the war. He told me what it was like to have bombs going off near his house. To have pieces of shrapnel fly past his face and embed themselves into the wall. He lives here in Canada now. He wants nothing to do with fighting in wars. He just wants to make a life for himself and his family.
I think there are mainly two reasons for this:
In fiction, you’re simply not personally affected, so you don’t have to face any adversity or negative consequences. It costs nothing to see yourself as part of the revolutionary movement, and you don’t put yourself in danger.
Apparently, many people simply don’t want to admit what monsters their leaders really are, even though it’s actually obvious. This is the result of decades of propaganda, I think: The U.S., for example, has always seen itself as the friendly superpower that brings freedom and democracy to the world. Now that it is obvious even to the biggest idiot that this has always been a lie - since the regime has abandoned the facade - people are looking for other explanations to maintain the worldview they have long held to be true - such as the excuse that the current U.S. president is being controlled by evil forces from other countries (Russia/Israel) and therefore does not represent his own, indeed so righteous, country at all.
Listen as cypher groans about life in the resistance. Constant fear and anxiety from the bots, shitty food bricks etc. We all like to pretend we are tough as nails and can take any hardships, that attitude changes quickly, especially when you can see and even manipulate the alternative life in the matrix.
I think there was a point where cypher wanted to fight and be a genuine part of the resistance, the stress eventually got to him. How many “chosen ones” before neo did he see come and die? Eventually it seems hopeless and he could probably game the matrix just right to have a good, albeit artifical, life for himself. It would be like having an option to go back in time and buy amazon/apple/nividia stocks at just the right moment.
Resistance is often painted as easier than it is. It sugar coats the losses. It makes losing 25 people to kill 5 agressors a “victory”. The actors stay fit and strong even if their characters are getting 1 meal a day.
Seriously, thank you. Those who are puzzled why everyday middle class Americans aren’t rushing to join an anarchist revolution ought to look at how the resistance is has been going in Iran this year, even before the US attacked.
Middle class Americans may struggle to afford the things they had a few decades ago, but they’re still a long way from willing to risk sniper fire in the day and bombings at night.
A good friend of mine is Palestinian and he spent time in Syria during the war. He told me what it was like to have bombs going off near his house. To have pieces of shrapnel fly past his face and embed themselves into the wall. He lives here in Canada now. He wants nothing to do with fighting in wars. He just wants to make a life for himself and his family.