A little more context about Jamie McGonnigal.
He lives in Hyattsville, Maryland, which is right next to Bladensburg. This location is significant, it's a hive for a certain kind of thinking.
There was a SCOTUS decision yesterday
regarding the Peace Cross. For those who don't know, it's a 40-foot high WWI memorial located in Bladensburg commemorating those who lost their lives overseas.
The lawsuit was brought by the American Humanist Association, who hate it on the grounds it represents favoritism towards Christianity. They have several members living there who have been fairly vocal about anything commemorating the past that offends their views on atheism.
DC is kind of like a cosmos, people cluster around specific areas based on their trajectories and you can tell something about a person (and who they socialize with) based on the neighborhood. Georgetown is where the ultra-elite live, Dupont is where the activists are, Capitol Hill is full of lobbyists / Hill staffers, Petworth is where the up-and-comers gather. This stratification still exists as you move outside the city. Alexandria, for instance, is where you'd find a lot of scientists, defense contractors, finance guys, and the like.
Hyattsville / Bladensburg is a satellite. Historically, it's a place where you went to do dirty work, it's where the dueling grounds used to be and a large part of the population there today are retirees and illegal immigrants. There's a lot of auto mechanics, industrial supply shops, cleaning services and other blue-collar industry in the area that doesn't speak to influence or power. The towns are located on the border of a much more prosperous county that enjoys a better educational system, lower taxes and superior property values - household wealth averages increase signfiicantly by walking a few blocks west.
In terms of that DC cosmos, the people who inhabit this place often work for non-profits, they are older, they tend to be activists, and they characteristically focus on edge-case social issues that lack prominence. They're hangers on, they have claim to some past glory along with some fault that keeps them from enjoying the respect of their peers. Although no one would admit it, they're kept around for the rare situations others see them as useful and mostly get passed over in favor of anyone else.
As a result, you get this mix of tiredness and bitterness amongst the residents. They are well educated but lack the personal qualities required to achieve their potential. It's common for small, vocal minorities clutch onto some terribly insignificant issue and blow it way out of proportion. The Germans have a word, Lebensmüde, which classically means tired of life. It comes to mind as a way to describe the average town-hall meeting there. People discuss how to tear down the past rather than ushering in a better tomorrow, conversation focuses on offense moreso than possibility.
It's important to remember Jamie sees himself as an
accomplished producer, activist, voice actor, and organizer. The fact he would bring the sophisticated political organizing skills he gained at NOI to something as silly and pedantic as anime absolutely fits the profile. This is a person overcompensating for his own missed opportunities, seeking to right some wrong from the past. The cognitive dissonance emerging from the difference between his self-image and reality must be immense, I'm sure he enjoys a special kind of inner turmoil and attaching himself to the Vic situation is an attempt at catharsis.
It's shameful looking at the failed project Jamie has become.