Why People so Eagerly Accept Socialism

Photo by Ingo Joseph from Pexels

This is something I was thinking on today while reading through a group I am a member of on Facebook. The group is a fan page for a guy who makes a bunch of different series on YouTube. I originally began following him several years ago because of his urban exploration videos, but since that time, he has grown and does a few series, very little urban exploration these days. 

The guy's intention is to actually be a director of some kind. And the videos he produces require a lot of work. He's got professional equipment, he travels to locations usually on the eastern side of the USA, and he does all his own research and editing. His videos require a lot of time, in filming and editing but also in research. Some of them can be very expensive as well, with travel expenses and equipment upkeep. 

Some time back he began a series on testing out hotel rooms. He basically goes to cheaper hotels and tears them apart. They are usually pretty nasty, but they vary on levels of worth it for the low cost to really should be shut down regardless of how cheap it is. These are usually places the homeless can afford to stay for a while and things like that, and according to him, he himself at one time was living in one of these places. But his test of the room can take 8 to 10 hours with three people, and he uses the general safety equipment, but also has Luminol to test for blood and kits to test for drugs. The series has become very popular, even garnering attention in newspapers and some TV news. He has even successfully had one or two of the worst cases shut down. 

Because of the blood and drugs, I assume, a good portion of his videos get demonetized by YouTube. However, in a stroke of good luck, his hotel series was picked up by Amazon! He can now show the series there, available to Amazon Prime members. So the other day, he made the announcement that the series was moving there exclusively. However, if you donated $1 a month to his Patreon, you could get a special link to watch the series anyway if you didn't have Amazon Prime.  

What followed was a drama I could not believe. Post after post appeared with people whining about how they were leaving because they could never watch any of his stuff again because he was restricting it to only people who could afford Amazon Prime. People made well meaning suggestions on how to get discounts or how it might be cheaper to just donate $1 a month to his Patreon for the special link, but every suggestion was pitifully declined. The sadness kept flowing, with story after story about how much they loved him and felt betrayed because he was no longer going to be uploading the series - just one series out of many - to his YouTube channel for them to watch absolutely free of charge. 

And I sat there with my mouth open. I know how much it costs me to run this website and everything else I have running in conjunction with it. That would be "more than I am willing to openly admit." I know how much more it would cost me if I did all the stuff I wanted to do, things like traveling for rallies, heading up to D.C. to cover events and newsworthy happenings, etc. I can't afford to do any of that. But it's a dream. So I know what this particular guy is thinking. He's dreaming big. His dreams seem to be taking shape somewhat, although slowly. But what he spends to make those videos is, most likely, 10 times what I am spending, if not more. 

Now, I subject my readers and viewers to ads. On this website. YouTube demonetizes me, too. But here, I subject everyone to ads and affiliate links. This guy is restricted by what YouTube is willing to monetize, Patreon donations, and the sale of some snapshots he takes on his trips. That's what he's using to pay his bills and keep making his videos. And because of the massive scope of his videos and projects, it is his main job (some of these videos can take weeks to put together). 

What does all of this have to do with accepting socialism? If it hasn't already become clear, the tie in is that people feel that they are entitled to what you have and services you provide simply because they exist and want it. Instead of being excited for this guy because one of his series got picked up by Amazon, they are guilt tripping him - successfully, I'm afraid - into handing over his services to them for free. They expect him to spend whatever he has to to create content - that they will complain to him if it isn't produced often enough for them - but don't want to supply any form of payment for that service. They expect it to come often and free. And if that should change, where he begins charging even for a small portion, they feel as though they are being betrayed. By virtue of them watching his videos, it is owed to them for free, even if it means it eventually drives him out of the business all together because he can't afford to sustain it. 

People are willing to destroy someone else to get what they have for free. And they don't even realize it. A lot of the whining posts were people seeking out those who felt the same and were also an attempt to get him to cancel putting the series on Amazon. They put no thought into how expensive that particular series is, and they don't seem to care. They aren't paying for it. And the refuse to pay for when asked. And they don't care that he has goals he wants to reach in his chosen profession, and instead of wishing him well, they demand he cancel those steps forward to provide for them for free. 

We have an entire segment of society right now that feels that way about everyone and everything else. Whatever they want is now a human right and should be paid for by others. These mysterious others are never taken into consideration. Who are they? How are they going to pay for it? What happens when they run out of money? 

And, of course, the other aspect. If there is nothing to be gained, why would one provide those services? In the case of this guy, if he is prevented from taking steps forward and from making back the money he spends, why would he continue? How can he continue? At some point, if he spends without brining anything in, he will have to put this on hold to take on a job outside of the industry, and he'll stop producing content. He'll never advance in his current career. And somehow, this segment of society doesn't grasp this concept. If you can't survive... if the money runs out... the service vanishes. 

This is for all segments of society, not just stuff like this. If debts can't be paid... if the money dries up... if a living can't be made... Services stop. Innovation stops. New things don't get created. Old things don't get upgraded. 

But we're at a point where an entire segment of society can't see beyond their own wants. They can't see how a socialist society would slow progress and stifle growth. That's always someone else's responsibility. But that someone else is eventually going to disappear. 

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