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One of the things I hate and love at the same time is individualism. It’s hard for me to explain, and this blog is quite hard to know where to start from, but I think it’s quite an important topic.
People are naturally different, be it due to their upbringing or just the way their brains are wired (I don’t wanta get into that), they like different things and behave differently. In this respect we are all individuals. My good friend Ross told me the other day that our walks are as distinctive as our fingerprints. I’m not sure if I believe him but there are definitely a number of things that make us different from anybody else.
However, society has conditioned us to behave and act a certain way, and with good reason. Our natural instinct when angry at someone is to cause them pain, but natural instinct is what we have been put on this earth to overcome, and if we succumbed to it as I have just described, we would be in a right mess of it. That was a rather extreme example, but it illustrates that we behave how society tells us to behave. This is conformity. We act and dress like everyone else because that is the norm and therefore must be right.
Once upon a time however, someone wanted to be a rebel and not conform any longer. He became the world’s first Goth. No offence to Goths and Emos here, but you annoy me. Now I know a load of you all, and quite often you’re nice enough people, don’t get me wrong; but you think you’re so great!! I must seem really up myself at this stage but please bear with me. I pick on Goths and Emos here because they are the ones who are different because they want to be different. They decided that it sucked to conform, and they wanted to be non-conformists. As a result they dress in all black, often with heavy leathers, and listen to heavy metal music. I guess this is fine if that’s what you want, but because they all wanted to be individual, they ceased to be individual.
There is a great video up on Youtube called the Emo Song; heed the following lyrics:
I’m an Emo kid
Non-conforming as can be
You’d be non-conforming too
If you looked just like me.
These lyrics are brilliant because they speak the truth. Some people out there think that they are individuals because they look the exact same as all of their mates. They would certainly be individuals if they dressed like a Goth but hung out with chavs, but they don’t.
Perhaps it’s wrong to do this, but the world labels people. In a way it’s perfectly justifiable; we naturally and even sub-consciously suss out the people around us so we can gain a better understanding of things. If I see a person wearing a Methody uniform I logically assume that that person is a student at Methody. If I see a person with oriental skin I logically assume that that person has oriental heritage. If I see someone dressed in a Metallica t-shirt, black leathers with green hair spiked up a foot into the air, I logically assume that they are a Goth who is probably madly in anger with the world for conforming to everything, and they should be just like him because he has broken away from the vicious cycle of conformity. As I say, there are some things that are good to conform to; but to not conform for the sake of not conforming is ridiculous. I’m sure some Goths dress as they do because they just like black; but far more see these other Goths who ‘don’t conform’ and they are ridden with teenage angst and want to take out their anger on the world. Society labels Goths as bad, and let me tell you why.
Goths primarily listen to heavy metal music. Heavy metal music often (but in fairness not always) contains lyrics about how great the Devil is, getting drunk, being violent, taking drugs, war, hating the world and suicide, mixed in with gratuitous amounts of swearing. They don’t really contain anything to do with day-to-day issues and feelings that really affect most people, like being in love perhaps. Now I’m not one of these people who think that if you listen to a song about killing a person that you’re going to go and shoot your brother; but music can definitely alter moods and talk to you, and affect how you feel and think. All this singing about suicide and stuff; why do you think kids cut their wrists when they’re depressed? Because they heard it somewhere (quite possibly even the news) that this was the thing people did when they were depressed, and so they tried it.
The people who write and sing heavy metal music are often quite foul looking people with foul ideas. Pantera were a successful metal band, and at one of their concerts some person near the front was giving them some abuse and eventually they got fed up. They shouted at the crowd to beat this guy to a pulp, which they did. That’s disgusting!! What reasonable-minded person would command that when he could just ignore it? Although to be honest I’m more amazed at the members of the crowd who would gladly inflict so much pain on a person on the command of a member of a band; but I guess they have their idols. Still, I don’t know many people who would do that who listen to music about girls.
Let me tangent for a minute and speak about mob-mentality however, it may provide some justification for the actions I just described at the Pantera concert. People have a personal space zone. They allow people to intrude certain amounts depending on their relationship, but it is still there. In large crowds, our personal space is intruded upon, and that causes a slight agitation to us that we mostly put up with; but it is the seed that is sewn for things like riots. Say you are at a public protest for something the government has done that you don’t like. Throughout the course of the day when you hear of all the things that annoy you about the government, you get angry. Normally you could contain your rage but today everyone’s personal space is invaded and everyone is getting pissed off, and so you start a riot. When people are in a crowd their sense of individuality is taken away, and they identify themselves as ‘the crowd’. Because they are no longer an individual, they are not bound by society’s norms and are therefore much more likely to do things that society would normally not permit. This is why things like riots and fights at Pantera concerts may happen. If you ever watch a riot on TV, the tactic the police and army try to use to stop the riot, is break everyone up so the crowd is no longer a crowd but a number of individuals who have regained their personal space, and therefore their sense of identity and normal level of self-control.
I guess however, that Goths feel they have no identity amidst the crowd of ‘conformists’, and that’s why they dress differently, to regain their sense of identity so they won’t be so angry. Yet I can’t help but think it’s a bad idea to then hang out with people who have the same angry ideas. (I do wish to point out now that I am generalising, and am aware that not all Goths are angry).
Back to the point. Famous metal heads are known for their excessive alcohol consumption and drug taking. Basically society doesn’t like Goths because when they see a Goth they see a cocaine-user, and someone who does things that are basically harmful to society. Paul Waterman and I recently went to the Metallica concert in Marley Park. We knew that people who wanted to be individual, people who would be exactly like the stereotypical metal head would surround us. As a result we did not wear a Metallica t-shirt (I don’t even own one), or black. I wore navy trousers, a grey long-sleeved t-shirt, and a green t-shirt with Optimus Prime on the front. Paul wore jeans with a kind of checked-shirt and white t-shirt. Everyone else on the bus was wearing black pretty much all over, and Metallica t-shirts. Oh my rat!! Look at these individuals!! All looking exactly the same. I like to think I stood out with my green. Now I’m not trying to be like “Look at me, I’m the best”, but Paul and I were the only individuals on that bus. We were the only ones who were different. One of the bus rules was no alcohol on the bus. I saw loads of these people sneaking vodka into their Diet Cokes. All of them seemed pretty keen on getting drunk. We had to stop twice on the way so that literally all but about seven people could get off to have a smoke. The language was the worst I’ve ever heard. I need to write another blog about swearing but my word, what was the point?? Swearing became cool when we were kids because it was brave to do it, because you were living on the edge. Now these people were doing it because they still thought it was cool but all it did was make them exactly the same as everybody else!! On the way home a lot of people were smoking at various stages inside the bus. That’s certainly illegal. It’s not as if we didn’t stop for a smoke break, they just needed to not conform to the rules and stink out my lungs in the process.
Basically the point I’m trying to make here is that almost none of the metal heads did anything that was any different to their stereotype. It is perfectly reasonable for people to judge them as a group and not as individuals, yet if you were to confront one about this they would get angry that you judged them as such. There is no individualism there.
Now I’m sure those of you who know me are thinking, “Sam you filthy hypocrite!! Here’s you bashing all the metal heads, but you listen to Metallica as well.” Well yes it is true, I do listen to Metallica, and Iron Maiden, and System of a Down; all bands that I am particularly fond of. Do you know who else I like? McFly, Eminem, Coldplay, Queen, loads of bands; hell I listen to Classic FM. My point here is that although I may like SOME types of metal music, I am not obsessed by it and my life does not revolve around it. Again I am not trying to say, “Look at how great I am, everyone be like me” because that would defeat the purpose, but I do not fit into that stereotype. A friend said of me recently that I have my own unique style of clothing. I must say I disagree entirely; I wear jeans and a t-shirt, its not that special. I guess though, that I fit mostly into that incredibly large group of people who like a little bit of everything and are influenced by a little bit of everything. Those people who are shaped by everything are much more likely to be individual than those who are influenced by only a few things.
Romans 2 v 2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. This verse is of course referring to Christians as it is from the New Testament, but it raises a good point. At the time when that was written, Christians were very different from the rest of the Roman Empire. Christian men were supposed to love their wives instead of just using them as tools to further their line; they did not partake with temple prostitutes, or worship any of the idols on the street corners, they treated their slaves as equals. The whole point of being different was to behave in a way that was different but admirable. To be morally upright and good and nice to everyone, even your enemies. It was to make people like them and see that their way of life was worth living. Alice Cooper (a rock and metal artist) is a Christian. When asked in interview how it was possible that such a heavy rock artist could be a Christian he said, “Drinking beer is easy. Trashing your hotel room is easy. But being a Christian, that's a tough call. That's real rebellion!" I must say I respect his answer, and he is probably one of the most rebellious out there, because it is very hard to resist a lot of that stuff in that sort of environment. Things that anyone can do deserve no respect, things that require discipline do. I’ve been told many times that people respect how I choose not to get drunk, and I thank you for that, it makes it easier; but I’m afraid I don’t respect the views of people who do get drunk. I mean, I respect it as a choice that they make and I still wish them the best in life; but their decision requires no discipline or commitment, so why should I respect it as something that is admirable?
Satanists do not actually believe in Satan or worship Satan, but rather it is kinda based around self-worship in a way, based somewhat on the values a traditional Satan would uphold. One of the most interesting teachings I find is that of loving your friends and hating your enemies. This is easy and I suppose has some logic to it; but it takes you nowhere. The Bible teaches that you should still love your enemies and be good to them. What merit is there in loving your friends but hating your enemies? Does it make you a good person or just a person? Should you be commended? No, of course not. Anyone can love their friends but it takes effort and resolve to be nice to those who dislike you; but I think the rewards speak for themselves because more people will like you, and that should be one of our ultimate goals in life. It has been said that the best way to get rid of your enemy is to make him your friend.
Being an individual is hard, I’m not going to lie; but is it really THAT important? Yes of course it is very important to be yourself and not be exactly like someone else; but why be completely different if it means you will be too segregated. There are those people out there who try to say that they don’t fit into any group, that they’re ‘just *insert name here*’. Unfortunately those people are just a little weird, and tend to annoy people with how deliberately weird they are. We should strive to be people who do the right thing and do what benefits everyone, and not just our own carnal desires; instead of simply trying to not be the same. If we are good people, who are willing to give up time to help others, and who treat everyone well, then people will see that we are different and individual in our behaviour instead of our clothes and hair. People will see us and want to be like us, not so that we all get grouped together in a negative way, because we shouldn’t want to be those who scare or annoy others; but because they will see that we are people that others like and respect.
Throughout all this we should never forget who we are or what we like. It’s ok to like heavy metal and wear black, and hell if it floats your boat have a cigarette too. But there is more to life than just ourselves and so we must think of others and how our actions affect them. It’s ok to be similar to someone or to aspire to have similar qualities as someone, as long as you are still in essence yourself and not someone else. Regardless, you are an individual because you are a singular entity; there is no need to try really hard to be different. Individualism isn’t the way you dress because that is such a small part of you. The real individual is the way you are on the inside. Find what YOU want to achieve and who YOU want to be and pursue that, individualism will follow. “Be yourself, that’s what’s really cool” – Ben Stiller as David Starsky.
God Bless all of you
Later Dudes
SaM
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Posted by samwisdom on 2009-09-28 16:42:49 | Rating: | Views: 28
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