<2022-09-24T23:36:07.000Z> LeTrav: I finally had enough of AF.
<2022-09-24T23:38:28.000Z> LeTrav: I suspect that the Metokur debate and Jaden debacle were mortal wounds but I stook around for a few more months in hopes that it could be salvaged. Destiny cutting ties with Nick confirmed AF is done.
<2022-09-25T03:18:54.000Z> porsalin: Sorry to hear man. You definitely did your best and you can't say you didn't give Nick and the movement the maximum latitude possible. You were one of the most reasonable guys over there - at least from my perspective. I know how you feel though - I still like Nick believe it or not and still want him to succeed. I just vehemently disagree with how he's gone about things throughout 2022 and I cannot look past the influence of Ethan Ralph and the carrying water for Baked Alaska as the two main reasons we are where we are. I truly believe should he cut those two chords and take a step or two back from his own ego the movement can be saved and maybe flourish again - especially with another Trump charge. He should never have dipped his toes into this e-drama pool and the entire Destiny saga was a huge and probably critical backfire. I wonder if maybe he's lost too many influential figures around him to help guide his thinking. His impulses used to be spot on but 2022 has been one giant fuck up after another. And sure not everything has been his fault but he's just not helped himself. We all warned him Ethan Ralph and Baked Alaska would be the death of AF but I feel like Nick's insistence that loyalty be his primary driver has put him in an unwinnable situation. 
<2022-09-25T03:22:26.000Z> LeTrav: I have come to conclude that Nick is the problem. He is not what he appears to be. The people who know him best have nothing nice to say about him. The fact that he launched a jihad against Jaden when as far as I could tell, he didn't do anything wrong.
<2022-09-25T03:22:41.000Z> porsalin: But again sorry to hear you've given up on it - I'm sure it was a tough decision. It just sucks because nobody wins really. The dissident right are stronger with robust movements like AF. In fighting and e-drama are both retarded distractions from what the main focal point has always been. 
<2022-09-25T03:29:09.000Z> LeTrav: Jaen and Simon said on the Kino Casino that Nick was reporting people to the feds and after this week, I now believe it.
<2022-09-25T03:29:27.000Z> LeTrav: I at least find it plausible
<2022-09-25T03:35:29.000Z> porsalin: It's quite clear Nick is willing to employ some of the worst tactics I've seen in my time on the internet to save face. We know he's not above doxxing, blackmail, deplatforming, defaming and snitching. Again I really want to like Nick as I believe there is something about him that could be incredibly effective if used correctly. But his character is just so fundamentally flawed and his malevolence is almost a sickness at this point. This sort of thing gets said a lot about so many internet personalities but AF has become a cult with Nick its megalomaniacal dictator. He has made it crystal clear that life ruination for those who betray him is not only an option but often the first strike. There's just no way for anybody to lead an effective political movement with Nick's track record. The laundry list of evil deeds grows by the day and isn't helped by the likes of Ethan Ralph setting the tone in that regard. And with nobody left to steer him in the right direction he'll just continue driving this entire thing off a cliff; taking a bunch of impressionable young guys with him.  
<2022-09-25T03:36:54.000Z> porsalin: He will always have a following but it'll be akin to Owen Benjamin's bears. And when's the last time you heard Owen's name? 
<2022-09-25T03:38:35.000Z> LeTrav: The thing is that to Nick "betrayal" can mean anything. If you quit AF, you are "betraying" him.  He's trying to life-ruin people who did nothing wrong.
<2022-09-25T03:38:37.000Z> porsalin: The whole thing is just a huge shame. Of all the internet figures I've seen self destruct Nick is not one I take personal pleasure from. 
<2022-09-25T03:38:49.000Z> porsalin: Precisely
<2022-09-25T03:39:47.000Z> LeTrav: The only way AF could work is if someone else were running it and Nick was just the talent. H does his show and nothing else. But he insists on micromanaging verything down to who people can be friends with
<2022-09-25T03:41:15.000Z> porsalin: His threshold for betrayal is so pitifully low. Look at Patrick Casey - he simply shared his genuine and heartfelt concerns about a legitimate problem with AFPAC. He didn't speak out negatively about Nick as a person and he addressed it all with poise and panache and with the respect of somebody who clearly found this entire thing very difficult. But the response from Nick and AF was so hideously acidic it really did reveal what sort of movement this is becoming. 
<2022-09-25T03:43:58.000Z> porsalin: Yes you're right - Nick desperately needs others at the top to steer him in the right direction. People to correct his course and save him from himself. I'm guessing he used to have that before the mass exodus of senior groypers left him stranded. Nick has to decide what he wants. A serious and effective political movement of likeminded and talented young men or a community of underlings and sychophants to signal boost his worst impulses. 
<2022-09-27T17:35:58.000Z> porsalin: I saw your efforts 
<2022-09-27T17:57:32.000Z> LeTrav: Any thoughts?
<2022-09-29T02:43:24.000Z> LeTrav: They are covering my effortpost on Kino Casino this friday
<2022-09-29T06:27:22.000Z> porsalin: RPG read part 1 too I see. Kind of which I waited to watch that. He is right though - it's a God tier post. 
<2022-09-29T06:31:02.000Z> porsalin: I don't read too much in terms of long form material but I was hooked. It was concise, funny, very well written and your arguments were flawless. Time will tell how impactful it'll be if at all. I'm sure your post will be swept under whatever scrap of Nick's carpet not already stuffed with his gay past. 
<2022-09-29T06:33:34.000Z> porsalin: Most of all the post was fair. You didn't take the same liberties or push the same narrative traps most a-logs fall into. And you kept it specifically to Nick without involving external and irrelevant nonsense. 
<2022-09-29T06:36:43.000Z> porsalin: The Destiny section in particular was pretty eye opening. I didn't really put much thought into that whole saga and didn't quite realise the scope of how self-owning it was. And you're the one former groyper who gives Jaden a fair shake. It's just really well argued and put together - Jaden above all other things has triggered Nick's mask slip more than anything else. 
<2022-09-29T06:37:18.000Z> porsalin: And has exposed the real Nick to sunlight in a truly significant way for the first time. 
<2022-09-29T06:41:03.000Z> porsalin: The whole 'glengarry leads' analogy was top tier too. It's precisely correct - he really has no effective advocates on the outside. Just shows how aware he was of this with his desperate and damaging attempts to use Destiny for that exact reason. 
<2022-09-29T06:41:21.000Z> porsalin: We all knew precisely how that would go 
<2022-09-29T06:49:29.000Z> porsalin: But again great job. I like that you're not pivoting this into any sort of a-logging position and it's just something you've needed to say and out out there. Much respect for that.   
<2022-09-29T07:09:08.000Z> porsalin: I saw Anglin's response. So from what I'm understanding, the cope is that you didn't include something on Big Tech therefore the entire thing can be discounted. It's quite sad what's happening to Anglin and I'm not entirely sure I fully understand it. Ultimately I wouldn't lose too much sleep over what some washed-up blogger has to contribute to the conversation. He's default position these days is clearly to shield Nick at all costs. Whether he thinks Nick and Cozy are his last threads to relevance or whether he's just slurped a little too much of the koolaid dripping from Nick's testicles I couldn't say. But it's quite apparent he has absolutely no intention of addressing with what you've argued with any degree of fairness. 
<2022-09-29T07:13:01.000Z> porsalin: Again it's unfortunate. I always liked Anglin. I even tried reading his responses from a far more balanced perspective and give him his due where possible. But it's just post after post of childish non-sequiters, irrelevant distraction and a lot of deflection. But again I revert back to my position that Anglin is a washed up blogger barely even on the fringes of relevancy. So it's pretty much that whole 'if a tree falls' thing. He can keep knocking down trees - there's nobody in that forest. 
<2022-09-29T15:52:51.000Z> LeTrav: Anglin has the same issue I had: sunk costs. I laid a ton of clout on the line for Nick and pride makes it hard to admit you are wrong. But at some point, I had to go against Nick BECAUSE I had laid so much clout on the line for him or else I would be complicit.
<2022-10-01T23:25:32.000Z> LeTrav: BTW, this is the best new shoegaze band I’ve heard in a while m.youtube.com/watch?v=trScBzQPofY
<2022-10-09T15:43:28.000Z> LeTrav: At 1:04:20, Destiny states his opinion that Nick Fuentes is gay.youtu.be/-mhDWVndGvM?t=3860
<2022-12-15T04:19:05.000Z> porsalin: It’s been a while since I’ve checked in with you. A lot has happened it seems. Very interested to hear your thoughts on things. And more specifically Nicks call to bring everybody together with his blanket amnesty? 
<2022-12-15T15:23:40.000Z> LeTrav: Haven’t heard the blanket amnesty bit. Did add that bending the knee to him was a requirement?
<2022-12-15T15:30:56.000Z> porsalin: twitter.com/finnthegroyper/status/1602178804369469441
<2022-12-16T21:01:34.000Z> LeTrav: I’m taking a wait and see attitude about the Kanye stuff. If nothing else, it will be a learning experience for dissidents even if all we learn is what not to do.
<2023-01-05T05:46:09.000Z> LeTrav: Heard you were in Jaden’s chat. If you understood how fueled by pettiness Nick is, the MTG thing makes more sense. MTG is Milo’s big connection. She disavowed Nick and Kanye but not Milo.
<2023-01-05T05:49:17.000Z> LeTrav: I believe the Ye 24 thing is over and Nick doesn’t want to admit it yet. In a way, Milo is coming out of this in a stronger position than Nick. Nick has lost every connection possibly including Kanye. Milo at least still has a member of Congress on his side. Milo got the photo op with Kanye but was out of the picture before the Hitler stuff.
<2023-01-05T05:52:34.000Z> LeTrav: MTG disavowing Nick and Ye was possibly a contributing factor in Milo being ousted because she was one of Milo’s big connections. MTG is a proxy war with Milo.
<2023-01-05T16:50:14.000Z> porsalin: Yeah I dropped by. I felt like the attempted blackmail of a sitting congresswoman and former political ally through secret and non-consensual recordings was a huge deal. To me it signals the end of AFPAC as even a semi-serious political event. Sure we could argue Kanye's hitler tour has already burned every legitimate bridge to mainstream politics but this recording, much like Milo's vault, exemplifies that this group and Nick above all are not to be trusted. 
<2023-01-05T16:54:28.000Z> porsalin: Anybody sympathetic to Nick even during or after Kanye can see perfectly clear the vindictive and coercive nature of his professional relationships. Even before the recordings it was pretty evident that the expedience of Nick's heel turns on people he was singing the praises of the day before was a serious problem. It's just awful political strategy above all else. A good political actor resists burning unnecessary bridges over petty squabbles. It's childish and naive.
<2023-01-05T16:56:11.000Z> porsalin: But again I just can't get over Nick openly discussing blackmailing a sitting congresswoman over a personal slight - and further admitting to having his people record non-consensual conversations for political capital. It's fucking braindead. 
<2023-01-05T16:57:24.000Z> porsalin: I think you're absolutely right on Milo. For all his foibles, and there are many, he has a degree of strategic intelligence Nick will simply never have. Milo acts like a politician. Nick acts like a fucking toddler. 
<2023-01-06T02:10:26.000Z> LeTrav: It’s amazing that even with the last minute Ye bump, 2022 still ended up being an L for Nick. He finally fulfilled his dream of becoming a household name but he lost the love of the streets.
<2023-01-06T02:21:50.000Z> LeTrav: I hated PPP but ya know, after the Powerchat controversy where the entire sector turned on them and they went from darlings to pariahs, PPP actually took that as a learning experience. He’s toned the arrogance and has been more proactive about addressing audience concerns. 
<2023-01-06T02:25:28.000Z> LeTrav: Nick, on the other hand, has learned nothing. I don’t have any hope for him but if there is hope, he’s gonna have to hit rock bottom. In the coming years, he’s going to see more and more people who were once his fans surpass him in relevance and he’s going to have to start asking himself some hard questions.
<2023-01-06T02:31:13.000Z> LeTrav: But he has a long way to fall before he hits rock bottom. I think they Kanye coup bought him another 2-3 years of unquestioned loyalty from his die hard fans. Because of Kanye, Nick can now go 2-3 years without another W and people will remain loyal.
<2023-01-06T02:35:04.000Z> LeTrav: A lot of Nick’s mythos is that he is a miracle worker. He gets sitting congressmen to go to his events. He made the front page of Drudge. He really NEEDS big wins on a regular basis to maintain his image as a miracle worker. If the Kanye thing is over, there is no way Nick could ever top it. Everything else is anticlimax.
<2023-01-06T03:12:57.000Z> LeTrav: As to your question as to whether AF was ALWAYS a cult. Here’s the thing. Nick used to have generally good taste in enemies. His taste in friends has gotten steadily worse with time but at first it was that if you want to be in AF, you can’t associate with TRS or Richard Spencer. You could even be in TPUSA. You just couldn’t hang with openly antisocial people.
<2023-01-06T03:19:44.000Z> LeTrav: But then Nick started giving that to people who clearly were not bad people. IMO, AF became a cult after the Metokur debacle. Being AF now meant that you had to hate this guy who is beloved by normal people whose only crime was beating Nick in a fight that Nick picked with him. And the Jaden shit…
<2023-01-06T03:24:01.000Z> LeTrav: The Metokur debacle was a big break because AF went from “if you want to be in this, you can’t associate with antisocial people” to “you can’t associate with normal people”. In the upper echelons of AF, it was already a cult. But the Metokur thing is when it became official.
<2023-01-07T23:00:27.000Z> LeTrav: There might be occasions where it is strategically advantageous to burn a bridge. It might win you favor with that person or group’s enemies. It frees you from their baggage. You could say that burning bridges with wignats gave Nick more freedom to approach mainstream conservatives without their baggage. But there was no strategic advantage to be gained in going after Metokur. It’s not like there is some huge anti-Metokur contingent in the internet. The only people who hate Metokur are losers.
<2023-01-07T23:08:29.000Z> LeTrav: One of the reasons Metokur is so beloved is that while Metokur will laugh at anyone, he is not sadist. Jim only goes scorched earth against people he feels really deserve a comeuppance. So the anti-Metokur contingent is a collection of genuinely shitty people who got what they deserved: Ralph, Sargon, Mersh, Baked Alaska… These are the people Nick could count to rally around him in a crusade again Metokur that would alienate the rest of the Internet.