A fear of mine is that competitive gaming will usher in a new fascism based on "rank" -- sort of as you're displaying here. I was in master league when I playe

A fear of mine is that competitive gaming will usher in a new fascism based on "rank" -- sort of as you're displaying here. I was in master league when I played Starcraft competitively, so I don't discount the real lessons you can learn from intense focus towards a clear goal, and the acceleration provided by competitive arena. But there are plenty of people who cheat or buy their way toward "success" in games, because they are chasing the "status" they get from a silly little virtual badge. I know a handful of these folks in real life. They have many other problems, but are very "successful." I know a World of Warcraft Gladiator (rank 1 arena champion for a season) who botted honor at the expense of other players (in-game currency to attain higher quality gear) and in real life juiced his company's image by purchasing online accounts and controlling conversation in forums. I've shared a meal with a current professional gamer who nonchalantly engages in crypto fraud. Winning is absolutely not everything. Some of the greatest things we can attain in this life will require mass cooperation of humans, and those experiences require dedicated folks with faith in humanity--people who aren't always looking for every crack in the law to screw over their fellow man to get rank 1. I've seen lots of heartwarming content on TikTok, and left most Counter-Strike and Call of Duty lobbies feeling very dispirited.