Dandelion effect

''The following is about a universal constant in Dozerfleet Comics franchises. For the similarly-named photography company, see Facebook: The Dandelion Effect.'' The Dandelion Effect is a phenomenon in the Stationery Voyagers and Gerosha universes that corresponds to martyr sympathy sociological and theological theory. It is also closely related to Lorenz Chaos Theory, and to the so-called Butterfly effect or, as some call it, the " Butterfly of Doom ."

In addition, the Dandelion Effect shares common ground with an Internet-specific variation known as "the Streisand Effect," which is in-turn similar to the Herostratus effect.

Basic postulation
''Any effort to stamp out a particular cause or eliminate interest in it, if done through violence and if failing to erase all parties that could possibly escape; will inevitably result in the creation of sympathy for escaped victims. This will in turn result in renewed interest and fervor.''

This is often simplified metaphorically by many ministers when trying to explain how the first-century Christian church spread in spite persecution under Rome: "If you kick a dandelion when it is mature, you will scatter its seeds. Their growth will soon spread out of control, and their popularity will avenge the dandelion you kicked several-fold."

In essence, the only sure way to destroy a movement entirely is to uproot it before it has a chance at maturity. Any lingering component not paid attention to will only rebuild what was torn down, and will start operations over. Likewise, excessive escalation of response to any problem will more-than-likely entice a moral backlash from offended populations. This is best-illustrated by the formula below:

Vocations

 * The Antian Civil License Union wanted to end the Minshan writings' authority over the public psyche in Antia, so that their faith of Secular Humanism could overthrow Antian and Braldonian legal traditions that interfered with their self-serving agendas. As such, they sought to destroy the foundations of Minshan concepts of law and order, and start a chain reaction.  While they were largely successful, they made the mistake of hiring a hitman to murder Erik Lomken and then paid the Antian media to not mention one word.

This did lead to the church losing its credibility stance in Antian culture; and it did lead to the eventual rapid decay or Antian morality and the decline in membership of the Minshan faith. However, the success of the ACLU getting what it wanted was only due to the murder of a witness for Creation. Since they were hasty to use such violence, however, they instigated the curiosity of Erik's son Gordon Lomken.


 * When Gordon goes to investigate his father's death, he finds one man willing to testify to the murder. An assassin takes this man out, but fails to also kill Gordon.  This, in turn, led to Gordon devoting his entire life to fulfilling Erik's wishes.  Gordon became the most unstoppable Minshan apologist in Braldon.


 * Likewise, Ivan Witherpool tried to finish what the ACLU's hitman started decades earlier. Ivan managed to kill Gordon and all of his family, save for Mitchell and Eliot.  The House of Lords attempted to avert this, but would lament later that they had "kicked too many dandelions" when their hitmen fail to get the job done.  Mitchell and Eliot become determined after the failed attempts on their lives to deliver Gordon's literature to a man who poses an even bigger threat to Daldonists than Gordon himself ever did: Cal Bacon.


 * Even after Mitchell and Eliot achieve refugee status in Kentalky, the House of Lords makes a last-ditch effort to hire hitmen to stalk them down and kill them. This only results in the hitmen hospitalizing Eliot and burning the most dangerous of Gordon's literature before getting themselves killed.  In turn, they inspire Mitchell and Eliot's fervor to fight the good fight even more.


 * Mitchell and Eliot are able to use their trials to garner sympathy from Cal Bacon and Ronda Moleary, leading to the creation of an early pro-Creation movement in Kentalky.


 * Eliot alludes to the Dandelion Effect as his reason for shooting the last assassin at the Lomken Estate from behind: to buy him and Mitchell time to pack and flee before word of their survival inspires more would-be assassins to make an attempt.

Repercussions

 * Spike Inkfong's relentless attempts to get the Voyager program shut down permanently result in three heroic Metallic Voyagers being crushed under a pile of rubble when a building collapses. Their apparent deaths traumatize the public into demanding an investigation into Inkfong's motives.  This in-turn exposes that Inkfong is being motivated by his secret ties to la-Qualda, which seeks to destroy anything which might undermine Astrabolo.  Public sympathy for the Voyager program skyrockets, in spite continued mistrust of the Xylien Society.

Surfaces

 * Repeated efforts by the Crooked Rainbow to eradicate the Voyagers only result in Rainbowers hurting their own cause, including an incident where they call down the wrath of Filforth on themselves.

Examples in the Ciem trilogy

 * Duke Arfaas' repeated efforts to kill Candi and her family members only result in Candi garnering more support and allies.

Wikipedia

 * Butterfly Effect
 * Chaos theory
 * Streisand effect
 * Causality

TVTropes

 * Butterfly of Doom
 * My Death Is Just The Beginning
 * Call It Karma
 * Genocide Backfire
 * Hoist By His Own Petard