Geniune Phonies

When the Art of Faking It; Becomes Art

Genuine Phonies: Why Original Thinkers Get Burned While Imitators Get Branded

“The Phonies Are Coming! The Phonies Are Coming!” So through the night rode Paul Revere... — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We all know the myth: Paul Revere galloped through the streets of Concord, warning colonists the British were coming.

Except... that’s not what happened.

Revere never made it to Concord. He was detained. The guy who actually finished the ride? Samuel Prescott. But Prescott didn’t rhyme as well as Revere. So history left him out.

This wasn’t just a poetic choice—it was a cultural blueprint.

We don’t reward truth. We reward the version that sells.

📣 When Your Voice Comes Back to You With a Logo

The other morning, I got an alert about an article. In my pre-coffee haze, I scanned it and thought, “Huh. Did I write this?”I didn’t.

But I recognized it.My tone. My rhythm. My worldview.

Now—let’s be clear—I’m not a major voice. Which makes me the perfect target for a culture built on mimicry and rebranding.

We bleed.

They bottle it.

And sell it to vampires.

Meanwhile, you sit there with a pit in your stomach wondering, “Am I crazy?”

You’re not. You’re just watching your echo get funded while you’re still waiting for credit... or a paycheck... or a single damn thank you.

⚡ Culture Doesn’t Steal Ideas. It Steals the Echo.

Tesla gave us the future. Edison gave us the marketing.

Elvis didn’t invent rock and roll—he sold it. Cleaned it up. Made it safe for the masses.The corporations made millions. The originators got silence... or scraps.

Even movements aren’t immune.

Woke became a checkbox.“Shell-shocked” became “PTSD.”“Poor” became “underserved.”“Homeless” became “unhoused.”

Language gets buffed for polite consumption. But smoothing the edges doesn’t help the people—it helps the platforms.

🧬 The Price of Being Early

Here’s the evolutionary twist: the real originals? We’re the threshold species.We speak in future tense. We carry the culture forward. We write things down while the storm’s still coming.

But because we speak too soon, it sounds like static.

So they tune us out.Until someone louder or prettier repeats the signal—and then it’s “visionary.”

You get ignored. They get a TED Talk.

🎩 The Emperor’s New Brand

Hans Christian Andersen nailed it.

The emperor parades through town naked. Everyone claps, terrified of telling the truth. Until a child says it plain: “He’s not wearing anything.”

That’s how cultural myth-making works.

We praise the empty. We reward the polished. We leave the originators out of the credits.

And when the spotlight hits the imitation? It blinds everyone to where the light came from.

🕯️ Why Originals Get Burned

This isn’t just unfair. It’s predictable.

• Cultural Lag: People fear what’s ahead of their time.

• The Tall Poppy Effect: We cut down those who stand out—especially if they’re older, working-class, or not “in the club.”

• Familiar Feels Safer Than Real: The second person to say it is a genius. The first? “Too much.”

• Power Validates the Echo, Not the Voice: You speak truth. Crickets. A loud influencer copies it—applause.

  
  

🔥 You’re Not Crazy. You’re Original.

You’ve been told:

• “Too intense.”

• “Too weird.”

• “Too early.”

  
  

And then someone says the same thing in a blazer with a ring light—and suddenly, it’s genius.

Here’s the truth:

Original thinkers are punished for being early.Copycats are rewarded for being loud.The system protects the echo—not the origin.

So call it out. Name it. Don’t let the vampires tell you it’s flattery.

And if you don’t want the spotlight, fine.

But at the very least?

Give credit where credit is due.