No Vote Lists, Brute-Force Flagging & DownVoting: Gagging Kills Meritocracy

I have heard mention of a Whales "No Vote List", which is shared amongst many of our most powerful Steemians, passed between them in hidden backchannels. This may or may not be the case, it was probably inevitable if it is - power does corrupt. Even in the absence of such a list, there is abusive down-voting occurring - the harm such things cause the STEEMIT UNIVERSE must be addressed.

You see, in private enterprise, non-disclosure agreements meant to secure intellectual property, is crucially important in protecting the value of a business entity from falling into the hands of competitors. However, we see more and more, in both the private 'and' public sectors, the use of "Gagging Clauses", to silence employees and government workers, preventing them from discussing or making public, misdeeds, malfunctions, and malfeasance. Problems, if discussed openly, could be understood and solutions found, from outside these organizations, which are by their nature limited.

Beyond the right to know, when it comes to issues that government is responsible for, or has caused, not drawing on the collective wisdom of the population to find remedy, is itself a corruption - bureaucracies (or elites) attempting to protect themselves, with consequences suffered by those kept in the dark.

I mention this only to illustrate that this behavior, of the leadership of organizations seeking to protect themselves, will naturally limit speech that they see is counter to their own point of view. This they believe hardens them against detractors, but in fact it is a profound weakening, especially when it comes to something like STEEMIT - meant to set free all voices.

Gagging, is anti-evolutionary - only when there is resistance is there growth, without challenge, the system will become fundamentally weak, self-isolating and eventually irrelevant. Banishment For Thought-Crime is antithetical to free speech and decentralized free exchange of ideas.

Selfishness, my brother, is the cause of blind superiority, and superiority creates clanship, and clanship creates authority which leads to discord and subjugation.. - Kahlil Gibran

On STEEMIT, those who are seen favorably by "The Whales", have become our voice, because they have received the most rewards, and as a result draw the most attention - they are the personalities, warranted or not, who represent us - this is a direct result of the actions of a small percentage OF US - the very definition of an elite. If at the same time, a large group of people are silenced by this group, but the victims unknowingly continue working away on STEEMIT, hopeful that they may one day become "a voice", even if they go against the grain, against the point of view of those who have been allowed into the Throne Room - this is contrary to the fundamental spirit of the thing.

I mean seriously, this Gladiatorial shit needs to end ..

Certainly some, many, including myself should not be heard at all .. have offered very little, who are just a straight up pain in the ass - THEY STILL deserve fair-minded, mature judges who will allow them to break from their normal pattern of behavior, and produce something shockingly worthwhile - something important, something valuable to all, that deserves to be held high upon the Trending List!

If STEEMIT wishes to be a true meritocracy, if the many being ruled by the few does not sit well with your personal philosophy, then resist the temptation to behave like gangsters. It is not the fault of The Whales that they got so fat, but they can still be a Gandhi even if they look and feel like the motherfucking Kingpin. :-)