Part IV – “The Blog”

Now, it might be evident this far into the story that I was becoming a little disgruntled with my fellow basers. It seemed that at every turn, I was being propelled down a rabbit’s hole of ethical and practical issues that I needed to reconcile with what I had thought lay at the end. I had believed that the goals I still wanted to see realized were those of the Base. Usually I’d just tighten my keffiyeh and move on, but it was already cutting off my circulation – I could take no more.

I was becoming more and more cautious of what I said, and I began to confide in fewer and fewer people. I needed an outlet with which to express myself. I remember a fellow co-worker who always ran against the current at work decided to leave one day; he started a Facebook group. Some say the Base sabotaged the page; others believe people straight-up found it childish, and word of their opinions got to the group’s creator. The end result of its disappearing one day, though, was inevitable.

So I did what any disgruntled employee does: I started an anonymous blog.

First, I considered naming it something relevant like “On the Inside of the Base” or “Gossip Guy” but they just didn’t click – pun intended! During the time the blog ran under those titles they must have gotten twenty hits a day – aggregate.

Eventually, I re-named it MJ180: my first initials – I had to leave out my last name in order to remain anonymous – and the number 180 to represent the u-turn that I had made in relation to the Base, the Patriarch and his followers. I wasn’t looking with them, in the same direction, towards their perverted goals any longer; I was turned around 180 degrees, looking right back at them. And they could never know, at any cost.

I made sure wear my loyalty on my cyber-sleeve, too. I flashed shots of campus landmarks that I’d found on the university website across the top of my blog. Hopefully, then, anyone who happened across my writings would understand that even if I did seem to be swimming against the current (and most of the propaganda that appeared on campus), that I was doing it with the best interests of the student body and our glorious university at heart.

In case you’re wondering, yes; I asked the university for permission to use the pictures. They were initially very obstinate: I know how our school has to respond to so many requests from so many students for things like new student cards (‘well, why’d you lose it to begin with?’) or course changes (‘you mean you can’t decide on your own courses?!’). I understand completely when I hear that another student is having trouble with the university with such things: it’s their own fault for making the mistake!

When they found out about MF180, though, they were much more courteous. I was even invited to use the Priority Student Service Centre in the basement of the administrative building that most students don’t even know about! You know… the one where they you aren’t treated differently for not speaking French.

I think those pictures made all the difference, you know. Within a week of launching my blog, readership was brisk.Finally – an avenue with which I could make my opinions on the Base public! Without delay I seized upon any chance to comment critically – even if I wasn’t completely informed on the issue, I had a duty!

At one point I even started scoring the student union’s councillors on their meeting performace based on criteria that I thought of while watching Survivor one night. I took some heat for only scoring the parts of the meetings for which I was present, but I still think they’re generally accurate.

The Patriarch was worried. One evening, a week or so later, I was summoned to the Tavern.