The Ego Has Landed. When Factions Eat Their Young.

Political factions. Love them or hate them they seem to be here to stay.

I used to have a pretty dim view of them if I'm honest. Then I found one that I thought was a group if like minded individuals who wanted the same things as me politically.

And they were.

So I joined.

I'm not a member anymore.

I'm going to have to be VERY careful how I write this as I don't want to give away where I work and there are people still in this faction that are there because they are really trying to make a difference.

I applaud these people. In a lot of ways I wish I was still one of them, but for the sake of my sanity I had to walk away.

So, am going to write about what I have witnessed in factions generally. Nothing specific.

And hope that I come out of this relatively unscathed.

Fuck. I'm shaking as I type this!

So, you join a faction. You feel a sense of elation that politically you are not alone.

You attend caucus. You take part in the debates. You may disagree from time but it's nothing earth shattering and you can live with sticking to the line. When you really can't do it your comrades respect this. They respect you for being so principled.

You spend the next couple of years euphoric because you are doing good work.

You think that joining this faction was the best thing you could have done.

Then one day...

The caucus becomes carcass. There are new members with their own agendas.

The Egos have landed.

Your voice is lost. Debate is a farce. You are told the line and expected to stick with it.

Any attempt to assert your opinion is batted away. Your credentials are questioned. Your politics are questioned.

You start to question yourself.

You speak to a senior member of your faction about your concerns. The bullying you have witnessed, the change in atmosphere.

The egos turn on you.

You get sidelined. Ignored. Maligned.

You get lied about, set up to fail and bullied.

Yet you still believe in the principal of why you joined in the first place. You still believe you can make things better. You stay.

You cry at night. You have your medication upped. You don't recognise yourself any more.

The final straw comes and you leave.

You feel elated, taller.

The egos unleash everything they have at you. Friends and comrades can't be seen to be talking to you in case they are next in the firing line.

The egos smear your name as much as they can. They try to take everything away from you.

Then just as you think you have escaped you hear that it is all starting again with someone else.  The egos have found a new plaything.

You vow never to join a faction again.

You blog.