Some people in this industry don’t actually want truth.
They want order.
They want quiet.
They want everyone to play along so the machine doesn’t get disrupted.

Here’s the pattern.

You’re on a bicycle.
You’re stopped.
Someone walks up and shoves you to the ground.
Everyone sees it.
Some even know exactly what happened.

Another person comes over, helps you up, dusts you off.
Good.
Decent.
Human Bean.

But the moment someone points at the one who pushed you,
the crowd turns.
Not on the person who did it.
On the person
for breaking the illusion that everything is fine.

I see this on LinkedIn constantly.
Anyone who calls out a bad manager, a dishonest recruiter, or a predatory company gets disciplined by the comments section.
Not because they’re wrong,
but because institutions protect themselves by punishing dissent.

And this is where Rick’s line becomes useful:
“Your boos mean nothing.
I’ve seen what makes you cheer.”

That’s the real filter.
The quality of a crowd determines the value of its approval.
Most crowds aren’t worth listening to.

If you’re building something real,
if you’re setting a new standard,
if you’re here to tell the truth even when the industry hates hearing it,

remember the final rule.

If you want to conduct the orchestra,
you turn your back to the audience.