MetaJess

There is no good word for this, but it’s the opposite of paternalism, where you pretend that obvious naifs desperately looking for mentors are competent adults, flatter their adulthood conceits, and tacitly encourage their natural tendencies that lead to postures useful to you.

In the worst case it’s grooming into radicalism. You don’t need to even actively encourage it. Just not discourage it. If it’s a youthful tendency that would otherwise provoke pushback, mere lack is encouragement.

Something deeply disingenuous and yucky about this passive-aggressive grooming. I much prefer open persuasion/evangelism or even undisguised (but non-coercive) paternalism. This conjuring trick of “you’re an adult (choose this path where I’m avoiding challenging you)” is yucky.

Exactly, in the sexual predation sense. It’s a pretty strong charge to level so I’m reluctant to use the word in an unqualified way. But that’s the rhyme.https://twitter.com/willyintheworld/status/1284947702447517696?s=21 …

Basically, if you’re 35 plus, do not encourage in much younger people, tendencies/dispositions you yourself acquired over a long period, with adequate checks and balances from counter-tendencies. It’s somewhere between irresponsible and malicious.

It’s like teaching takeoffs while withholding the knowledge that landings are far harder to master. You’re setting your padawan up for a crash landing, not shortening their learning curves.