Resist Meetup
For my photographic workshops I’ve been using a service called MeetUp.com. Today I launch a campaign to resist MeetUp. This all comes from one of their announcements late yesterday.
The way MeetUp works is an organizer can pay $15/month, and others can search for activities at no cost. For example, if I want to organize bicycle rides, I could pay $15/month to advertise my rides, and others, looking for someone to ride with, could search, find my rides, RSVP, etc. The organizer pays the fees.
MeetUp last night announced that they are creating free groups for those who want to protest against the government immigration laws, and more specifically, against President Trump’s policies. In other words, free MeetUp sites to subversives.
Against Subversion
In a republic, like the United States, subversion typically leads to unrest. Unrest leads to riots. Riots lead to civil war. It’s my opinion that the peaceful solution when you don’t like what is happening in your republic is to mount a grassroots campaign to petition your representative.
We don’t live in a mobocracy… I mean, democracy. If we did, same-sex marriage in California would be illegal, Hillary Clinton might be our president, and you’d see ballot initiatives going back and forth as both sides fight over various laws. That’s the problem with a democracy. The other problem is, it is mob rule. It feeds the bullies.
We live in a republic guided by a constitution. Subversion has no place in a republic if peace is to be maintained. Those who typically take to the streets in a republic are those who have too much time on their hands, and/or lack the understand of how our constitutional republic works.
#resistmeetup
That’s why I’m resisting MeetUp. They are encouraging subversion. There is also another reason for resisting them.
If John Doe wanted to start a group on MeetUp and pay the $15/month I’d be okay with it being a subversive group. However, when Jim Smith has to pay $15/month for his art group while MeetUp gives John Doe a free site, I have a problem with that.
It would be like Target saying, “Free shopping spree to anyone who wears a “Down with Trump” t-shirt today.” (Remember… I’m not a huge Trump fan, but I’m not a subversive either.)
I’d stop shopping at Target.
Terminated
I terminated my membership on MeetUp. Two of the groups I belonged to on MeetUp – both of them terminated their paid membership and the groups.
Sad, but that’s they way the ball bounces when you tick of your customers.