Corey Rebhahn: Hyperianism Went Wrong Almost Immediately

“Irene told me that she fell out with Morgue because Hyperians were calling her inferior for having health problems.”

Subject: On Morgue and Hyperianism

 

Greetings,

 

I am sure that you have already received some word from X and Morgue on possible conflicts within Hyperianism that Irene and I have found ourselves in. The silence on emails from X, from Morgue, and from yourself may indicate as such, though I am still writing to you to inform you about our perspective and our story on the matter.

 

Before I say anything else, I want to say outright that we fully trust Illuminism and meritocracy and will continue to support it with whatever means we have at our disposal. Where we have found our conflict is within Hyperianism, though not with Hyperianism. Because of this, Irene and I have quietly distanced ourselves from Hyperians given their treatment of us, and we do not wish this matter to be public as I still believe that other Illuminists have their choice to make and we do not want to impose ourselves. If Hyperianism is to improve and is to continue, then others will have to step in, but it has become clear to us that we are not suitable for the task and will not be suitable for the task.

 

Based on our observations, a number of ranking Hyperians (not Illuminists — they have been principled) have chosen to place pettiness and personality contests ahead of Hyperian principles. Unfortunately, Morgue, for fear of conflict, has decided not to deal with this and to let this all slide. Though I can understand such a decision given previous conflicts that had arisen in Illuminism, I am not able to sustain that decision on my own, and neither is Irene.

 

We have found that within the Hyperian circles, behaviour is prized over results; celebrity is prized over merit; and the contributions of empowered females (Irene, Andrea Pacione, Christina et al) are minimized in light of overly sexualized personalities, imbalanced emotional types, and the like. It’s hard to watch that sort of stuff happen and not be frustrated.

 

Irene’s own contributions are sidelined and I have watched her ideas and film clips be lifted without credit by others in Hyperianism. We have watched certain Hyperians ask Irene to be “more sexual”, or to try to use the story of her [illness] as an explanation of how Hyperianism has helped her overcome things. She did not come to Hyperianism because she was weak, she came to Illuminism because it reflected the strength she has, and Hyperianism was just an arm of the same. To reduce one’s own experience to a marketing ploy is nothing less than insulting.

 

We reached a breaking point in early February when an excellent musician [Note: We believe this is a reference to Wrath] was being attacked and minimized because of his own blow-ups and frustrations. Irene and I decided to intervene here because this was someone of obvious merit, whose contributions could not be replicated, and who needed positive encouragement instead of bitebacks. We understood that yes, while he was a loose cannon, he is also brilliant and simply needed the right encouragement — encouragement that none of the inner group was giving him.

 

One person, Susan Mitchell — a close confidante of Morgue — diagnosed him as a psychopath and started a rumour mill in the group about that. Mind you, I work with psychopaths every day: I grew up under their tyranny; I was victimized by them in high school; I even dated one; half of my day job is dealing with psychopaths. I can pick them up from a mile off and I know how to test for them conversationally. Susan last took a psychology bachelor’s over 30 years ago at a second-rate university and hasn’t practiced since. I became furious about this and took it straight to Morgue, who didn’t seem to take me seriously and trusted Susan despite her knowing nothing about psychology. We haven’t spoken since, and while regretful, that might be for the best.

 

I spoke about this all with X and he has decided to put all his cards in the Hyperian basket. Okay, so be it, let him succeed where I failed. I do not blame him for that and I wish him the best. He did not take any of these issues seriously either, but they are just a few examples of a building dysfunctionality that will implode the Hyperian movement. I cannot do anything about this, Irene cannot do anything about this. For us, it is better to cut our losses now, but if we are wrong — and I hope we are wrong — then I can only wish them the best.

 

It was not any big things that truly hurt our experience with Hyperianism. It was many little things that threw us off until we reached this point. I feel a certain regret writing this email, but it is not a regret that I write this email, it is a regret that it couldn’t have worked out better. Perhaps we will return later to this, though this is an open question. It is not that we will dissent against Hyperianism or the like — we know better than that — but sometimes it’s okay to walk away and continue to be independent. We can only produce more conflict and frustrate ourselves if we stay.

 

We simply wanted to inform you of our side of this, of what we think are our concerns and how we got here, and of things to look out for in the future. We do not want to create any unnecessary drama, and we will not bad-talk Hyperianism or Morgue beyond what I have said in this email and only to you, and after this we will hold our peace. My conviction and trust in Illuminism cannot be shaken, even when I disagree with the way our comrades carry it out. What I won’t do is take part in a folly.

 

I will continue my work in writing, in meritocracy, in my investigations of ontological math, in my quest to educate people in ontological math. I will continue in my creations and in my self-creation. Irene will do the same, and she will do it with no lack of enthusiasm as before. Just know that our trust in you and our desire to serve the Illuminist cause is unshakeable and unbreakable. We will continue to demonstrate this in all of our past and future works. We will do nothing to foster any conflict, nor will this change Cimmeria’s demeanour to Hyperianism or anything of the sort. It’s a quiet break, and we hope it will have minimal impact.

 

Regards,

 

[N] & Irene

“We have suggested to Morgue that the next Hyperian ‘movie’ should feature you, Irene and him. Due to the ‘tension’ that now exists between you, he hasn’t got back to us on that one. Is that idea of any interest? It would of course allow you and Irene to place a very direct stamp on the direction of Hyperianism and give you the platform and high profile you both deserve. If you’re up for it, we’ll run it past Morgue again.”

“To be frank, we have almost no interest in Hyperianism per se. It has no agency. It is not making anything happen. It is not creating any kind of interesting scene, and just looks like another appendage of New Ageism, with the emphasis on Veganism and Outsiderism. It has no forward momentum. Everything about it depends on Morgue, and it is just a continuation of a Morgue fan club by other means.

 

“Morgue’s audience growth has seriously stalled, which means the message and presentation of the message needs to be reshaped. The current scene has gone as far it will go.

 

“The Hyperian group is, optimistically, 10,000 strong. It needs to be ten times that for Morgue to be any kind of real player. What is Hyperianism doing to expand itself? Nothing at all. As ever, it’s just an internal talking shop, with people seeking social approval and reinforcement.

 

“It has none of the energy, zeal and focus that you encounter in right-wing groups, no matter how monstrous these are. Other-directed people are practically useless as serious activists. They are too easily distracted.

 

“Here’s a great movie about Stanley Milgram. You should check it out, or watch it again if you have already seen it.

 

Experimenter (film) – Wikipedia

 

“How can its lessons be applied to Hyperianism?!”