True is False
What you're reading is an attempt to delve deeper into the ninth aphorism featured in Guy Debord's 'The Society of the Spectacle'.
Here's the actual passage:
In a world which really is topsy-turvy, the true is a moment of the false.
This line has been quoted to death by so many people from so many walks of life that it's almost difficult to not wince when seeing it again. That doesn't make it any less impactful, especially in light of something that happened in the last 24 hours: Sam-Bankman Fried's (henceforth referred to as SBF) imminent arrest.
Upside-Down
People have been clamoring for the arrest of this morally bankrupt dork since FTX collapsed. Much digital ink has been spilled in attempting to understand the sheer incompetence with which SBF and his team (if you could call it that) were running his Ponzi scheme (yes, it takes a bit of flair to commit a crime as well).
So naturally, people ought to breathe a sigh of relief when they hear that SBF is finally being arrested, right? Apparently not, as one YouTube commentator had pointed out:
He's probably safer in custody at this point. I heard he screwed over some bad people.
At first glance, this might seem like a fairly reasonable comment in light of the times that we live in. But, do a double take and you'll realize how absurd things have to be for us to even normalize something like this.
Falsity as Truism
As a non-interested bystander on the internet, here's how I saw this whole thing pan out:
SBF ran his 'exchange' into the ground and siphoned a lot of people's money into enriching himself and his motley crew of dunces. His ragtag operation explodes in his face and he faces the ire of over 5 million people who've lost a lot of money.
Finally, he gets arrested and his reactions are not exactly positive. In fact, some even believe that going into custody works well for SBF as it decreases the likelihood of him getting 'disappeared' by one of the many people he had wronged.
War is peace. Ignorance is strength. Incarceration is safety. True is false.
These phrases are absurd, yet they have a twisted logic to them that is becoming increasingly accepted. Debord's prescience is surprisingly scary.
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If any of this sounds relatable, please write to me. Part of the reason I write this is to seek out more people who feel the same way I do about the modern Internet.
If you enjoyed reading this, you might like my cleverly disguised rants on LinkedIn too.