1.8K replies 2.2K retweets 5.9K likes
Rose
@ARYWords
.@AndySkampt went from thoughtful goober to Altus Fanboy in 0.5 seconds the moment a shiny object came by. Just goes to show, none of this is about actual principles, it’s just about preserving power.
59 replies 390 retweets 659 likes
Those tweets hurt because I wanted to shout at them that this was all part of the plan and that they were being mean to someone who really was on their side. And they got a lot of likes and shares. But they also hurt because they were right. I fucking loved the Altus Space.
And then there was another category of tweet that stabbed me pretty deep. Here’s two versions of that one, one from each side:
Gordon Bank
@BLHGordon
I love that @AndySkampt has finally freed himself from the spell of @AprilMaybeNot and become a huge fan of her toughest critic. She was always full of shit and it’s so obvious that he knows that now.
200 replies 1.2K retweets 4.9K likes
Blank
@BlankenshipKansas
Hey @AndySkampt, you want to ever say anything about the fact that you’re publicly promoting a product from a guy who basically killed your best friend? Or are you just going to be a complete coward instead.
306 replies 5.5K retweets 10.7K likes
Direct questions are the worst. Cops must know this—when someone asks you a question, it is really, really hard not to answer it. It’s even harder when people dig up old tweets and put them side by side with new ones and you can’t really explain the discrepancy. And then other people see the discrepancy and they start liking and retweeting and rephrasing. And they also see your silence, and your silence looks like an answer. It’s an extremely effective interrogation tactic, and most people eventually crack and make either a tearful apology or an enraged counterattack.
This is why Twitter callouts tend to end so badly. Apology is never enough (and probably shouldn’t be), so you’re basically being asked to willingly give up power for no clear end. The best people actually do that. But the real shitfucks go on the offense, and then their communities get an infusion of victimhood narrative straight into their veins.
Which is why my response to controversy had changed. Let’s go through these tweets.
Shayla @Notshaylan
Replying to @AndySkampt
I don’t understand how @AndySkampt can be so gung ho about Altus. There are a thousand reasons to be really wary and skeptical of that company and how they’re running things. This feels like a betrayal of everything you stand for. Or stood for, I guess.
Andy Skampt @AndySkampt
@Notshaylan This is the greatest tool that has ever been made. This won’t just change how we learn, it will change how we understand each other. I’m betraying nothing.
109 replies 392 retweets 1.3K likes
Rose @ARYWords
Replying to @Notshaylan
.@AndySkampt went from thoughtful goober to Altus Fanboy in 0.5 seconds the moment a shiny object came by. Just goes to show, none of this is about actual principles, it’s just about preserving power.
Andy Skampt @AndySkampt
@ARYWords I know that the internet’s cycle is always to tear down things that attempt to build the world up, but you don’t have to be so mean about it.
59 replies 483 retweets 1.3K likes
Andy Skampt @AndySkampt
Someone tell Gordon that being interested in the most important innovation since the written word is different from being a critic of my best friend.
Gordon Bank @BLHGordon
I love that @AndySkampt has finally freed himself from the spell of @AprilMaybeNot and become a huge fan of her toughest critic. She was always full of shit and it’s so obvious that he knows that now.
598 replies 5.9K retweets 12.5K likes
Andy Skampt @AndySkampt
Look at this guy who thinks he understands my relationship with my best friend better than I do. Fuck off, Kenny.
Blank @BlankenshipKansas
Hey @AndySkampt, you want to ever say anything about the fact that you’re publicly promoting a product from a guy who basically killed your best friend? Or are you just going to be a complete coward instead.
1.6K replies 15.9K retweets 131.8K likes
That’s how you win. Don’t give an inch. Ever. Each of those tweets got more attention than they would have if I hadn’t replied to them, but by replying, I turned them into content to build my new audience.
So yes, One was right. I had a new way of getting meaning now. I used to get meaning from having money and having people like me and also maybe being good and kind.
I wanted people to understand that we are a trash fire of a species, but also most people are pretty cool.
But that was done with. I didn’t want to help people anymore, as gross as that sounds. Altus was a new wave for me to surf, and it had the advantage of being part of a strategy to help make this big, hypothetical thing happen . . . to eliminate Altus. Also, engagement on my tweets was up 200 percent, and I was on news programs and podcasts every day.
I could never have done it with my old purpose. Just a month before, when people were mad at me, I would do everything I could to diffuse it. I’d have long Twitter conversations with strangers just to try and understand the true source of a conflict. I’d listen way more than I talked.
Now controversy was good. Drama was good. I wanted to be very clearly on the side of Altus, even if part of doing that authentically was maintaining some modicum of critique. Being liked seemed like some boring, sad, selfish thing from these new eyes. My goal now was to help control, or bring down, or (who knows!) maybe even someday be in charge of the most important invention in human history. Who cared if people fucking liked me.
It was also extremely isolating. I wanted Bex back, but she had ghosted me. I texted her a pretty good apology after my fuckup. Let me dig
