Schools of thought of the Mike Burke experiment

Let me start off by saying that I've never tagged any of my posts please read until now. Normally I am not too bothered if something I have to say goes unncticed but I find this point to be incredibly important.

When Mike Burke first posted the now infamous "farewell post" I missed it. I later asked him to send it to me and I read it a few times. While the content of the email was quite shocking, I chose not to pass judgement on Mike because his decision was solely that...his decision. Due to this fact, I also refrained from responding to the "Catalyst - Mike Burke response" and various other posts dealing with the issue. I read them because they were interesting and insightful, but I do not believe that anyone should be condemned by others for their own personal decisions. Especially since, in the scheme of things, musical preference is not something that will necessarily make or destroy your life. I did however email Mike personally and question him about the logic he used in making the decision. I thought it was flawed. We also shared a short debate on the place of white people in hip hop. However, again, the conversation was not personal, rather theoretical. After a few messages back and forth the topic was deaded and I went about my life normally. Sure, I would miss Mike's posts but I didn't figure that he would leave an unfillable void.

Now the farewell post has been revealed to have been an experiment...or in the minds of many rmhher's, a hoax. Some people feel violated, some feel emotionally scarred, some feel as though they have been played for fools, some are impressed at what Mike pulled off etc. etc. I feel as though a lot of what is being said now is not being thought out properly. Some people feel hurt and they are acting on that, saying "Fuck Mike Burke" and what not. The following is my effort to put the "experiment" in fools do not realize the incredible thought, detail and intelligence that this took to pull off. Nor do they realize that in the bigger scheme of things, this "hoax" is very small in magnitude. Before I commence, I must get some necessary "legalities" out of the way.

*******DISCLAIMER********

I am not in any way associated with Mike Burke, nor am I on his jock for what he has done. I have had no communication with him over the past few weeks and these opinions are strictly my own. This is also not intended to hurt, upset, nor bother anyone. It is simply intended to make you think.

************END DISCLAIMER*************

And now....

Schools of thought regarding Mike Burke

1) The "I feel as though I've been played for a fool" group of individuals:

Let me start this off by saying that I can understand why some people would feel this way. I don't feel like a fool for arguing with Mike's logic but I did say a few sentimental, lay it on the line, I hope we continue to communicate, type things in my emails as I'm sure you all did. Seeing as this was an experiment, these sentiments were unnecessary. However, since we probably all wrote them, no one looks like a fool. It wasn't as though one person was targeted. Mike took a group of people to see how they would react to a hypothetical situation but he did it on a large scale to ensure that he would get genuine responses. He did a damn good job of it too. My guess is that the people who feel hurt by this do not know the least thing about experiments. Anyone who does probably appreciates the risks an experimenter must take in order to get valid and reliable results. You must walk a fine ethical line with a lot of things as Mike has done here (somewhat). This was the only true way to hear everyone's genuine feelings. Mike set out to make everyone think and that's what he did. If you are upset that you wrote too much on the subject then why the hell would you frequent a newsgroup where everything appears in print. Please consider that writing down your thoughts is an excellent practice to get into. It allows you to reread them and adjust them, thus adding clarity and focus. Thus, you shouldn't feel like a fool for having written down your thoughts on the matter. And if you are merely upset because you feel personally hurt by Mike then get a life. He's not your tried and true friend that would take a bullet for you, he's solely a guy you occassionally discuss hip hop with.

2) The "Mike Burke is a pretentious asshole" group of individuals:

I do not find Mike pretentious. He realized his place and his importance to a group of individuals and he used it in an imaginative, constructive way. He wasn't just fucking with people, he was conducting an experiment. Regardless, if he is pretentious he has reason to be. Many an individual on the ng is on his jock and some acted as though their life would be over without Mike Burke injected humour in posts. In that sense, it's easy to get a big head. Still I don't think he's pretentious. No one who felt real important would completely put it all on the line for a mere experiment. Point blank, he doesn't care if you hate him now...he knows the experiment served a purpose.

3) The "Mike Burke is a genius" group of individuals:

I've only seen a few of these but I think this is stretching it. Mike did something very clever but it is nothing that hasn't been done before in different contexts. He did nothing groundbreaking or innovative. He applied an old technique to a bunch of people to get results. He basically taught some old dogs some new tricks. He should get respect for that.

4) The "Who Cares" group of individuals:

Kudos to you people. It sparked debate and interesting conversation so it served it's purpose. Outside of that, the "experiment" is over and it's on to a new topic. Since you don't really know anyone on this group that personally, you shouldn't feel betrayed. If you took the time to write something and now you wish you hadn't, there's 10-20 minutes of your life you can't have back. I'm sure you've wasted more time doing less constructive things. The best thing to do here is not to care. Unless you are really interested in whatever results Mike feels he's obtained. In that case, email him and bug him until he posts something. Maybe then you'll feel as though everything was justified if you read something more in depth. Mike is obviously not someone who is bothered writing long posts.

5) The "It served a purpose" group of individuals:

I think that those who are here for deep conversation and the like can appreciate the "experiment" irregardless of personal feelings. This is a very detached yet very advanced perspective.

These to me are the 5 MAJOR schools of thought on this matter. I say major because I'm sure Joe from Tupelo may have a different perspective but I'm trying to get group consensus here. If you have anything to add, please do. If you wish to comment on why you belong to which school, go ahead. I am personally a mix of 4 and 5. Being a psychology major though, I am really intrigued by what Mike has done and I respect it.

If anyone wants to know more about experiments, email me personally and I'll explain the reasons behind why Mike had to do what he did. Don't feel bad professing your ignorance because up until a few years ago, I wouldn't have known the subtleties of experiments either.

The end result:

Those who have no problem with Mike will be happy to see him back and respect what he did. If you're not happy that he's back, boycott his posts. I'm sure he won't care and if you don't mind missing out on a joke or some deep discussion due to personal pettiness that's your decision. I won't judge you for it.

Welcome Back Mike...

Peace, Mike Dodd
I got game like I read the directions - Boots