Strigoi

Memetic possession in geopolitics

Ținând de Mâinii Strigoii-lor

Boris Kustodiev, Illustration from the magazine “Vampyre,” 1906

“Holding hands with the undead,” a literal translation of the title of this blog, refers to the many ideological specters I held onto during the most tumultuous period of my life so far. This was a tumult that occurred entirely within the confines of my own mind and of course, the digital technologies that today serve as an extension of it. This title carries with it several overlapping meanings: A reference to the dead ideology of 20th century communism and contemporary attempts to revive it, a reference to suicidality and physical decay, a tongue-in-cheek way of referring to online-only interactions, and most significantly, a reference to vampirism, given that the strigoi of Romanian folklore are the origin of the modern vampire myth.

There are other names that internet commentators use to describe the phenomenon explored in this essay, though usually only to describe their political enemies. …