"Alt Everything" - Camps and Circuits

Obviously, primarily fostered by the internet and social networking--and I think this is overwhelmingly a good thing--there has arisen what could be labeled an "Alt-Everything!" In the past, there were the various surface milieus; social, political, religious, etc. It was relatively simple. Now each category or "camp" each has numerous sub-categories, each large enough to be considered whole industries in of themselves, and each subdivided into smaller camps. When you search out an author on Amazon.com, there are suggestions for other equivalent or similar books and subjects; when you search out a person, subject, or movement on YouTube, there are suggestions for equivalent or similar videos. Since so many camps conflate with one another, you eventually will find yourself in an entirely different camp.

Most of us have one or several camps that we consider to be of the utmost importance. In addition, there are perhaps a dozen or two other camps that we feel somewhat connected to, but have decided are of lessor importance or we may not like everything they have to say. In our minds, we truly would like to believe that our own personal/relative position within all of this is a movement or train of thought unto itself. Perhaps half of us are usually willing to take the "mostly good" with the bad, while others run at the slightest hint of something that they don't like; although it's all predominantly something of a mysterious grey area. Still yet, and this is very strange, there are certain individuals who will spend a significant amount of time trolling what they consider "enemy camps." Furthermore, they will occasionally go so far as to actually troll very small sub-groupings of the enemy camp... often those of which are largely unknown even within that particular camp!

All of this has allowed the marginalized to have a voice. However, this can encompass any area or endeavor. Certainly it can be political, and far beyond the mainstream concept of the political landscape. Some are genuinely organic, some are part of a definite plan and specific financial backing, there's controlled opposition, and white/black/grey propaganda. There are one-issue zealots, who may or may not be correct in their endeavor and assumptions. There could be honest Anarchists who have a definite ideology, and there are fake Anarchists who are merely Communists under a different title... "Soros' Anarchy." A genuine Anarchist would detest Communism every bit as much as Capitalism. There's Alt Right, Alt Left, radical Right, radical left, and many sub-camps within each... Antifa, Earth First, Peta, anti-globalization, Atheism, activists of every kind, identity politics, doomsday Christians and/or "preppers," militias, sovereign citizens, etc. etc. Some far Right camps can hold some far Left beliefs; some far Left camps can hold some far Right beliefs. Germany actually has laws to prevent the far right and far left from cooperating with each other in order to gain political power.

Of course, there can be various camps merely of general interest. There are so many categories, sub-categories, and sub-sub-categories in music; and I admit that this is not my field as far as the bigger picture, although it's very interesting. There can be "Rock and Roll," of which "hard rock" can be one category, then there's "heavy metal" within that, then "black metal," "Celtic metal," "Viking metal," and numerous other classifications. Another example, originating out of the Punk rock and New wave of the 70s and 80s, came Post-Punk, and in more recent times "Darkwave." Darkwave filters down to it's own sub-categories: Cold wave, ethereal, gothic rock, neoclassical, neofolk, Neue Deutsche Todeskunst. These are just a couple of examples of so many.

Christianity is another example of a category with a large number of sub-categories, and sub-sub, sub-sub-sub, etc. Whether religious, political, or anything of a belief system, it's amazing how pithy so many can be. No matter how damn small the concept or movement is, there are some who will want to start a separate faction and quarrel based on some small disagreement. Religious or spiritual movements often encourage much drama. In a different type of example, one time I lashed out a bit on an individual who I thought was continuously analyzing, over-analyzing, moralizing, questioning, and criticizing the tiny movement of Stregharia (not a person who is actually a Streghe). I would be surprised if there were more than 1,500 Streghe's in all of North America!

Somewhat conflated with Neo-Pagan and Occult movements are spiritual movements, the ancient alien camp, then it graduates into the after death/soul journey, UFO, and general truthseeking camps; and each one of these has sub camps, and sub-sub, etc., each with perhaps hundreds of key individuals past and present. Now with so many internet radio and podcast programs, all of these people can get on "the circuit." Although I really don't want to say this, there are at least some whose chief interest is to make money, and each category is something of "an industry." Of course there are some people who are heroes, and it's just a mixed bag.

Personally--in general, and despite some degree of misinformation, disinformation, and deceit--I would tend to support all of this over the controlled mainstream. Starting in the 60s, and even prior to that, fringe movements of every type required someone having to "move to coastal California" in order to have a real voice and following.

~~FREE THOUGHT~~

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