kw
01-20-2004, 08:57 PM
I should probably say why i'm talking about this. A while back, I commented about hating goths (if you don't know what that means, google it), and someone said I was narrowminded. I've been called a lot of things in my life, but narrowminded has not been one of them.
It made me think.. Am I really openminded, or do I (like everyone in the world) like to think I am, while slagging everyone that's different.
After all, I look like every other guy in the streets, nothing particularly different about me, if I look at myself objectively (or as objectively as one can, it is quite hard to be truly impartial)..
The thing is, I don't like people falling in line like sheep. It's the thing in this world I hate most of all. I've only recently realised this, after doing soulsearching trying to find out WHY I hate things like 'goths' or religion, or a lot of other things I really don't like. Let's start with an obvious one, religion. This has been discussed in another thread so I won't go into it too much. But I don't like people believing things just because they've always been told they were true. This is the case for most people that are religious. Only a few gain a new faith during their life.. If you don't believe people are spoonfed to believe in a certain religion by their parents, think about this: Isn't it peculiar that for some reason all the people that believe in Christianity live in western countries? And that all the people that happen to believe in the Islam live in arab countries? Its no coincidence, these beliefs are pushed on people from birth by their parents, and society as a whole. They believe them, because they've always believed them. They're afraid of the chaos caused by truly considering WHAT they are believing. Thus, they fall in line like sheep.
This type of reasoning, frankly, pisses me off. Now there's something like 'goths'. One might argue that it's people fighting against the mainstream, which I'm all for. The problem is though, they're being different by all being exactly the same type of different.
They choose not to conform to the standards of society, by conforming to the standards set in another society, like wearing black clothes. They feel like they are rebelling, but instead they're just a different breed of sheep. (Of course, it feels cooler to be a black sheep instead of a white sheep ;))
I think of myself as an individualist, but in doing so, I feel no desire to suddenly wear black clothes, just 'because all the other real individualists do!'. That just seems like a rediculous reasoning to me.
A lot of friends of mine are quite different too, though you wouldn't necessarily tell from the outside. There's no uniform to being an individual, just be your self. Most importantly, consider the things you do, while doing them. Don't blindly do things because you've "always done it this way".
I don't mean to come off sounding like I'm better than others, because frankly, I am not. I'm merely demonstrating a point, something I've thought about for some time now. I find myself automatically conforming a lot of the time.. Not always a bad thing, I might add. Being yourself is all good, but you don't want to be farting loudly at christmas dinner at your in-laws.. Or showing up naked on a party, because you didn't feel like wearing clothes just then. :D
I have no point to prove, or statement to make, I'm just sharing with you the thoughts I've had about this subject. Hope it was a good read for you, and made you think. By all means, share your thoughts on the subject as well. (Or any other subject, just make a new thread for those instead ;))
Regards,
Kwazy Webbit
It made me think.. Am I really openminded, or do I (like everyone in the world) like to think I am, while slagging everyone that's different.
After all, I look like every other guy in the streets, nothing particularly different about me, if I look at myself objectively (or as objectively as one can, it is quite hard to be truly impartial)..
The thing is, I don't like people falling in line like sheep. It's the thing in this world I hate most of all. I've only recently realised this, after doing soulsearching trying to find out WHY I hate things like 'goths' or religion, or a lot of other things I really don't like. Let's start with an obvious one, religion. This has been discussed in another thread so I won't go into it too much. But I don't like people believing things just because they've always been told they were true. This is the case for most people that are religious. Only a few gain a new faith during their life.. If you don't believe people are spoonfed to believe in a certain religion by their parents, think about this: Isn't it peculiar that for some reason all the people that believe in Christianity live in western countries? And that all the people that happen to believe in the Islam live in arab countries? Its no coincidence, these beliefs are pushed on people from birth by their parents, and society as a whole. They believe them, because they've always believed them. They're afraid of the chaos caused by truly considering WHAT they are believing. Thus, they fall in line like sheep.
This type of reasoning, frankly, pisses me off. Now there's something like 'goths'. One might argue that it's people fighting against the mainstream, which I'm all for. The problem is though, they're being different by all being exactly the same type of different.
They choose not to conform to the standards of society, by conforming to the standards set in another society, like wearing black clothes. They feel like they are rebelling, but instead they're just a different breed of sheep. (Of course, it feels cooler to be a black sheep instead of a white sheep ;))
I think of myself as an individualist, but in doing so, I feel no desire to suddenly wear black clothes, just 'because all the other real individualists do!'. That just seems like a rediculous reasoning to me.
A lot of friends of mine are quite different too, though you wouldn't necessarily tell from the outside. There's no uniform to being an individual, just be your self. Most importantly, consider the things you do, while doing them. Don't blindly do things because you've "always done it this way".
I don't mean to come off sounding like I'm better than others, because frankly, I am not. I'm merely demonstrating a point, something I've thought about for some time now. I find myself automatically conforming a lot of the time.. Not always a bad thing, I might add. Being yourself is all good, but you don't want to be farting loudly at christmas dinner at your in-laws.. Or showing up naked on a party, because you didn't feel like wearing clothes just then. :D
I have no point to prove, or statement to make, I'm just sharing with you the thoughts I've had about this subject. Hope it was a good read for you, and made you think. By all means, share your thoughts on the subject as well. (Or any other subject, just make a new thread for those instead ;))
Regards,
Kwazy Webbit