Random Thought Of The Day #442

Day 442

You know... I was starting to write something about what a "community leader" is, what their function is and what power they actually have, but honestly? I'm too still-not-awake and far too brainfucked this morning to actually put together much of a cohesive thought.



This is what Authority looks like. See? They wear costumes.



I'll just throw out the bullet points here without really explaining it. I think that the term "community leader" is nebulous and that they really don't have any actual power.

I think a more apt term would be a "volunteer community facilitator". They don't lead shit. They facilitate a location for meet-ups. They are "known" persons. But any "authority" that they are granted in decision making for the groups that they represent is completely at the immediate consent of those within the group. The minute that anything is done that the group members disagree with in great enough numbers, there ends their authority. Because nobody is required to patronize any particular group.



When you don't have authority
you're kinda not a leader.

 And anyone is free to create their own groups if they so choose for any reason. Maybe it's as a special interest group, maybe it's because the time or location of the existing group meet-ups don't work for them, or maybe it's because they disagree with the direction of the existing groups. And at least a handful of people will support or patronize it.

Whatever.

In the end, what is presently called a community leader is a misnomer.

If you can be a "community leader" because people know who you are, your voice or opinions carry some degree of weight or you organize a group, that would make me a "community leader" as well. And I sure as shit ain't one. I'm an asshole with a keyboard, a big mouth and too much free time to write things at 7 or 8am during the week. And even when I was attending events within the larger established community and not just organizing random @ElitistFucks meet-ups, I wasn't one either. I was just outspoken. There's a difference.

I don't really have any funny caption for this.

These volunteer community facilitators do serve a function. They take on a responsibility that others don't have the time, money or energy to do and for that, they should be thanked. But thanks does not equate to authority. It doesn't equate to power. It is simply appreciation for their effort and their attempts. They are not elected officials. In many cases, they're hand-picked successors to previous group-runners. Or they're simply people with their own agendas that they want to promote through their own notoriety.

None of which entitles them to any more than our thanks, even when we disagree with them. It does not grant them any power. Simply an appreciation from others.

That's pretty much all I gotta say about that.

This is a pretty disjointed post, but fuck you... I'm still barely awake. And my brain has yet to engage today. 6 hours of sleep in 2 nights will do that, I guess. Sadly, I could only find some moderately amusing pictures for any of this stuff today.

But here's some deadpool instead, even though it's entirely irrelevant.

PIMP