Tell yourself you’re superior all you want, you’re still left out.
It’s like a reminder that no matter what you decide to call yourself you’re really just the same as you always were. You may as well introduce yourself by saying, “I’m some guy you may not remember an hour from now so call me whatever you want, doesn’t really matter”
we would all rather feel superior, just as the included do, but are we superior? just because i read or dance or exercise or talk to my kid or cook at night instead of watching tv, does that make me better or is that my justification for being excluded from the endless conversations about dancing with the stars?
suddenly we become the exoticized otter. i actually introduced myself that way once (“it’s okay if you didn’t catch my name; you’ll forget it anyway”) and ended up in a 2-year relationship where i was the token excluded person in his life. exclusion becomes the reason for association and the reason for its termination. besides, saying you’re superior is just a way to tell yourself that you’re excluding them, not the other way around.
I work at a large high school. Lunchroom segregation is by grade and 12 categories defined by Male/Female, Black/White, Jock/Nerd/Other. In a large, tightly compressed group of people who are very like you in age/location/experience, the pressure to differentiate is enormous.
Thanks for reminding me how silly this thought pattern is. I find myself still trapped in it, sometimes, and have been trying to escape it for a few years now. (I am in college, still, and was annoyed by how similar college-aged social interactions are to high-school-aged ones, and found myself still somewhat trapped in old, stupid hipster patterns.)
I think the premise of a dominant monoculture is flawed to begin with. As Ross said, the prevailing urge is not so much to be like everybody else, but to find a way in which you’re different from everybody around you. Sure, we absorb the habits of those around us, and we make some concessions so we can associate with and reach out to others, but the people listening to Good Charlotte would consider themselves non-conformists as well, because at least they’re not like the Fitch-wearing zombies all around them.
American Eagle, Gucci, Hot Topic, and the indie handmade clothing store all market their wares the same way, as a means to express who you are through what you own. There may be one Included group that’s more visible or more powerful or more arrogant than the others, but there are also dozens of tiny enclaves who consider themselves superior to anybody else.
Also, oh my goodness, the crushing realization that the popular people in high school are still as charismatic and social in the ‘real world’, and are thus still most likely to be successful.
Disappointment is fun.
The Cat and Girl Comments Section: Singlehandedly restoring my faith in the internet as a medium for intelligent discussion. Cat and Girl Comments Section, I love you so.
April 13, 2010
High School all over again.
April 13, 2010
arrrrrghhhh
April 13, 2010
Everyone’s into Good Charlotte, while you’re in the corner jamming to Talking Heads.
April 13, 2010
I fucking love Boy. He’s Everyman.
April 13, 2010
Represents all the class, race and gender revolutions throughout history. When included hits back by rewriting superior and inferior, then…
April 13, 2010
hehehe
April 13, 2010
Tell yourself you’re superior all you want, you’re still left out.
It’s like a reminder that no matter what you decide to call yourself you’re really just the same as you always were. You may as well introduce yourself by saying, “I’m some guy you may not remember an hour from now so call me whatever you want, doesn’t really matter”
April 13, 2010
we would all rather feel superior, just as the included do, but are we superior? just because i read or dance or exercise or talk to my kid or cook at night instead of watching tv, does that make me better or is that my justification for being excluded from the endless conversations about dancing with the stars?
April 13, 2010
Hipsterism 101.
April 13, 2010
suddenly we become the exoticized otter. i actually introduced myself that way once (“it’s okay if you didn’t catch my name; you’ll forget it anyway”) and ended up in a 2-year relationship where i was the token excluded person in his life. exclusion becomes the reason for association and the reason for its termination. besides, saying you’re superior is just a way to tell yourself that you’re excluding them, not the other way around.
April 13, 2010
I work at a large high school. Lunchroom segregation is by grade and 12 categories defined by Male/Female, Black/White, Jock/Nerd/Other. In a large, tightly compressed group of people who are very like you in age/location/experience, the pressure to differentiate is enormous.
April 13, 2010
And BTW: Two really stupendous and imaginative comics in a row. D.G. on a roll!
April 13, 2010
Dreaming in vai- oh! Ha ha!
April 13, 2010
I’d personally have been happy to have been left alone to eat at school. I can socialize any time. People just don’t take meals seriously.
April 13, 2010
Thanks for reminding me how silly this thought pattern is. I find myself still trapped in it, sometimes, and have been trying to escape it for a few years now. (I am in college, still, and was annoyed by how similar college-aged social interactions are to high-school-aged ones, and found myself still somewhat trapped in old, stupid hipster patterns.)
April 14, 2010
Jeez, why not just show him reading “The Fountainhead” and be done with it.
April 14, 2010
Ahahaha. Adam, your post was great. I like you
April 14, 2010
I think the premise of a dominant monoculture is flawed to begin with. As Ross said, the prevailing urge is not so much to be like everybody else, but to find a way in which you’re different from everybody around you. Sure, we absorb the habits of those around us, and we make some concessions so we can associate with and reach out to others, but the people listening to Good Charlotte would consider themselves non-conformists as well, because at least they’re not like the Fitch-wearing zombies all around them.
American Eagle, Gucci, Hot Topic, and the indie handmade clothing store all market their wares the same way, as a means to express who you are through what you own. There may be one Included group that’s more visible or more powerful or more arrogant than the others, but there are also dozens of tiny enclaves who consider themselves superior to anybody else.
April 15, 2010
OH MY GOODNESS. COLOR.
Also, oh my goodness, the crushing realization that the popular people in high school are still as charismatic and social in the ‘real world’, and are thus still most likely to be successful.
Disappointment is fun.
April 17, 2010
The Cat and Girl Comments Section: Singlehandedly restoring my faith in the internet as a medium for intelligent discussion. Cat and Girl Comments Section, I love you so.
April 18, 2010
Why is that ugly bald guy allowed to sit with the cool kids?
June 7, 2010
And the moral of the story is… 90% of everything is complete shit!