Tag: reddit

The Fall of Anti-Work

For the last few weeks, I’ve been covering the many ideas and problems of the anti-work movement. There’s a lot to cover and it’s been fun breaking it all down. But I could never have predicted that in the middle of my series, the movement itself would break apart in a spetacular display of poetic irony. Today, we’re retelling the disaster of January 25th, 2022.

Earlier this week, an interview was released between Fox News host, Jesse Watters, and anti-work Reddit moderator, Doreen Ford. You can watch it on YouTube here. I think it speaks for itself, but I’ll describe it for those who prefer to read. Watters asks some of the most basic questions one might come up with regarding the anti-work movement. In addition, he probes for a few personal details. What results is utter hilarity.

Doreen appears via a garbled mess of pixels from a cheap webcam. He looks like he hasn’t showered in days. In the background, we see a messy room and an unmade bed. Throughout the interview, Doreen fidgets and seems determined not to make eye contact. The visuals alone are enough to conclude that this individual is a perfect representation of the lazy leftist stereotype. At first, Doreen makes an attempt to explain that the movement isn’t necessarily about removing work, but about allowing people more freedom, flexibility, and respect in their chosen vocations. But he goes off the rails quite fast when Watters asks about laziness.

“Laziness is a virtue in a society where people constantly want you to be productive 24/7”

Doreen Ford, Reddit Moderator

It only gets worse. As it turns out, Doreen is 30 years old and works 20 hours a week as a dog walker. Oh, and he would like to work less than that! When asked about future endeavors, Doreen said he wouldn’t mind working as a dog walker the rest of his life, but might also be interested in teaching philosophy and critical thinking. As you might expect, Watters uses this to his advantage, nearly bursting from laughter at a few points, ending the interview by saying, “Thank you so much. We gotta run. We gotta pay the bills.”

And that’s all it took to bring a movement to its knees. Within the hour, the entire anti-work subreddit (think of it as an online forum) was up in arms. Why was Doreen the one representing the movement? Who approved of letting someone so incompetent on TV, let alone to speak for the 1.7 million members of the community? Who was this awful person who had tanked their credibility for the foreseeable future? They wanted answers.

The War

As soon as the dissension began, the moderator team took action. Whether it originated from Doreen, other mods, or a mix of both, they decided to remove all posts and comments about the Fox News interview, especially critical opinions. The community noticed this and rebelled instantly. What started as outrage for a botched interview evolved into outrage over censorship in the name of damage control. Moderators claimed they were dealing with a “brigade,” meaning cruel comments from people who were not members of the community coming to laugh at them. But in reality, a huge number of long-time anti-work members were banned. It was painfully ironic that the people who believed in freedom from oppressive employers were so eager to silence reasonable criticism from their own community.

In response to this, the moderators closed the subreddit by temporarily making it private. But the damage was done. People knew what had happened and trying to cover it up only made it worse. Someone started a new subreddit called Work Reform. Hundreds of threads all across the website were popping up talking about the dumpster fire that had taken place. The anti-work subreddit was opened again within a day or two, but even more moderator shenanigans were now unfolding behind the scenes.

Doreen was busy. Soon after the interview received backlash, he went to work defending himself and banning people in the process. Needless to say, he didn’t take the criticism well. Eventually, he decided it was a lost cause and deleted everything about the incident from his account’s history. After a post from his own Facebook was uncovered that confessed to what could only be described as sexual assault, his reign was over and he was removed from the subreddit. But Doreen wasn’t going lightly. Another account was created and in only a few hours, it was promoted to moderator and began banning people. The community noticed immediately. After this account received scrutiny, it was deleted and yet another account took up the mantel, defending Doreen at every turn. Even more accounts have surfaced since then. The community was convinced at this point that Doreen was the one making these accounts.

In addition to this, it was revealed that several other moderators had connections with Doreen or problems of their own. One was his roommate. Another had a record of interest in pedophilia, incest, and beastiality. Another was in a relationship with Doreen. This particular mod, looking to calm the masses, also posted a statement on the subreddit sharing, among other things, that he was 21 years old, “long-term unemployed,” and a radical anarchist. Oh, he also already completed several other interviews with media outlets! Everything that could possibly have further eroded any shred of trust left between the moderators and the community was coming to pass. It was looking like the end of anti-work, and for good reason.

The Aftermath

As the insanity started to slow, many moderators were replaced or removed, including the ones I’ve mentioned. New mods were put in place who clearly had more experience not saying things that made them look like complete and utter fools. The front page is void of complaints for the most part. The new and improved statement addressing the recent catastrophe has been received fairly positively. As of now, it looks like the community is on a slow road to recovery.

What cannot be ignored, however, is that this was a huge turning point. The entire community was split several times over into different camps and new subreddits. The embarrassment anti-work now has to deal with is unparalleled. They had a caricature of their cause show the whole world that they are just as disgusting and childish as onlookers might suspect. They learned there were ignorant kids and sexual deviants leading their group. It’s impressive how easily it all came tumbling down. I think it speaks to the kind of people who are attracted not only to the idea of not working, but the power that comes from running an internet space. That they love it enough to do it for free should tell you all you need to know.

By now you’re probably as sick of reading about this little piece of internet history as I am of writing it. I can only take so much degeneracy at once. That said, we’ll likely be continuing this series next week, where we return to a philosophical look at why this strange movement emerged in the first place and what it has become. There’s more to all this than unwashed communists, despite what you’ve seen. Enter your email below if you want to be notified when that goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.

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Sources:
https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/sdesxw/megathread_rantiwork_goes_private_after_fox_news/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/sdz6oy/megathread_part_2_rantiwork_reopens_rworkreform/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/sez90m/megathread_part_3_abolishwork_fox_news_fallout/

The Anti-Work Movement is Anti-Biblical

If you’re active on the internet these days, you’ve probably heard of a new group of like-minded individuals developing in various corners of the web. They call themselves “anti-work” and they believe that regular, everyday jobs in today’s America are a raw deal. Their opinions cover a wide spectrum, but it’s common to see takes like “work should be optional,” “eat the rich,” and “hunter-gatherers had more free time than we do.” If you have even a modicum of intelligence, I’m sure you can already see the problem. Over the next few posts I’ll be taking a deep dive into this strange mentality and all its colorful flaws. We’ll eventually get to the economic and philosophical arguments, but let’s begin by looking at the concept of work itself.

Work is Necessary

The first fruit I’ll pick is, admittedly, low-hanging. Work is necessary for any society to function. You can’t have food, water, shelter, or life without some effort. It takes work to farm. It takes work to build. It takes work to keep each other alive. On a very basic level, work isn’t optional and it never will be. John Smith of Jamestown, Virginia understood this. “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” Heck, even Lenin said it, of all people. But don’t take their word for it. This phrase has its origins in the Bible.

“Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 (ESV)

The apostle Paul tells us clearly that we are all to earn our own living through work. Idleness is unacceptable. But what does Paul mean when he says he has the right to receive the church’s resources? He means that the church has an obligation to take care of fellow Christians and those who have dedicated their lives to preaching the Word of God. This is why modern churches pay their pastors. Nevertheless, Paul says the reason he did not act on this right was to lead by example in working hard.

Purpose in Work

Now that we understand the necessity of work and can see that the Bible commands us to work rather than rely on others, the next thought we might have is that we don’t really want to work. Perhaps we’ll do it because we have to, but we’ll be sure to do it begrudgingly. After all, it’s just a paycheck. What’s the point of doing anything but the bare minimum? If it’s unfulfilling and drains our time and energy, is it really worth investing more? What is the purpose of work? Well, there are a few practical reasons we can find in the Bible.

“In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.”

Proverbs 14:23 (ESV)

This one is pretty obvious. Work produces profit. You reap what you sow. Mere talk is worthless without action and productivity behind it. We ought to be careful when we talk about our lofty ambitions that we don’t let our tongues outrun our feet. Sometimes the right decision is to shut up and get to work.

“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

Ephesians 4:28 (ESV)

Another reason to work is to produce wealth and resources to share with those who need them. We are called as Christians to be generous and loving, especially to our fellow brothers and sisters in the church. It’s hard to be generous and care for others when we’re barely able to care for ourselves. However, this is not to say that giving less is worth less. Our attitude towards giving is what matters. We should give in accordance with our ability. Jesus makes this clear when he speaks so highly of the poor widow who gave only two coins to the temple (Mark 12:41-44). Keeping that in mind, it becomes apparent that most of us living in America are filthy rich and could stand to give a lot more than we do. We should not invest too much in our earthly futures, but our heavenly ones.

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV)

Paul tells us in Colossians that we are to work as if the Lord himself is our overseer. As Christians, we are not looking forward to our retirement on the beaches of Florida. We are looking forward to our eternal life with God after death. We are his creation and we are loved. It should be our utmost pleasure to serve and worship him. Part of this is obeying his command to work heartily and use the hands he gave us to create something meaningful with our short lives on this earth.

“Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

John 6:27 (ESV)

Aside from obedience and joy, it should be clear that it is in our own interest to work for that which will last after this earth is long gone. That means looking for ways to further God’s kingdom now while we still have time. Work is not just a good thing, it’s a necessary thing. But it’s critical we do the right kind of work. Laboring for that which perishes isn’t much better than doing nothing in the first place. It’s when we labor for that which endures that we will find not only practical benefits, but spiritual ones as well.

Conclusion

For the Christian, work is an act of worship. For everyone else, work is still extremely important. You can’t survive, much less progress towards improvement or profit, without working hard. The anti-work movement fails on both fronts. It places “self” in the seat of power, demanding to be fed and entertained for nothing in return. It blames others for matters of personal responsibility. Worst of all, it defies the almighty God and the purpose he has given us to work in his name.

Next week, we’ll take a look at how corporations take advantage of their employees and how employees can fight back with more power than they know. Enter your email below if you want to be notified when that goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.

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