i think being a successful or even mediocre grifter requires a sort of cunning and easily-ignored-but-present sympathetic capacity that most people simply lack. for every snake oil peddler, there are dozens of people who lack the wit for the first part.
kyle is a high school dropout with terrible instincts, prone to violent outbursts, obsessive retaliation, and the impulse control of a particularly shitty toddler. his escape from justice was entirely handed to him by a system that is tailor made to protect people like him from consequences and that, not his maneuvers, made him a rally point for reactionaries.
it's like george zimmerman. sure, these people don't get locked up for the murder they do, and conservatives throw money at them in "support", but they are absolutely too mean and stupid to function, let alone turn that support into a vehicle for their advancement. at best, they avoid the total destitution and long term incarceration that would generally find them if they weren't a famous darling of reactionaries.
To build off of a point that you made beautifully (that I have tried to articulate in the past and failed) I have to remind myself that while it would be a slam dunk for me to keep that gravy train rolling, I would have never been in his position in the first place. He was necessarily immature to become an icon in the first place. While I'm looking for a commemorative, signed rifle deal or partnering with LEGO or something to cause more outrage and sell merch, he's alienating the base.
i think being a successful or even mediocre grifter requires a sort of cunning and easily-ignored-but-present sympathetic capacity that most people simply lack. for every snake oil peddler, there are dozens of people who lack the wit for the first part.
kyle is a high school dropout with terrible instincts, prone to violent outbursts, obsessive retaliation, and the impulse control of a particularly shitty toddler. his escape from justice was entirely handed to him by a system that is tailor made to protect people like him from consequences and that, not his maneuvers, made him a rally point for reactionaries.
it's like george zimmerman. sure, these people don't get locked up for the murder they do, and conservatives throw money at them in "support", but they are absolutely too mean and stupid to function, let alone turn that support into a vehicle for their advancement. at best, they avoid the total destitution and long term incarceration that would generally find them if they weren't a famous darling of reactionaries.
To build off of a point that you made beautifully (that I have tried to articulate in the past and failed) I have to remind myself that while it would be a slam dunk for me to keep that gravy train rolling, I would have never been in his position in the first place. He was necessarily immature to become an icon in the first place. While I'm looking for a commemorative, signed rifle deal or partnering with LEGO or something to cause more outrage and sell merch, he's alienating the base.