Non-conformist uniformity

[Weapon X]

D'ja ever notice how the people who most loudly denigrate others as "followers" and "sheep" are in fact extremely conformist themselves?
It seems that Conservatives and religious folks are most frequently accused of being non-thinking sheep and followers.
Look at these armies of non-conformists...

#Environmentalist hippies who deride Conservatives are in fact wearing their own blue jean uniforms and long hear/beards and unshaven female armpits, reading their own Liberal Orthodox canonical books: Nader, Diet for a Small Planet, Communist Manifesto, Noam Chomsky, etc.

#Goths wearing their black clothing and white make-up, reading Ann Rice, Percy Shelly, Keats, etc. Listening to Bauhaus and Nine Inch Nails. They're so rebellious!!

#Suburban Liberals with their uniforms: khakis, Bob Marley CDs, Ben & Jerry's t-shirts, fleece vests, and SUVs.

#All the conspiracy nuts with their canonical UFO and anti-Masonic Web sites and William Cooper's Behold a Pale Horse.

That's just what's on my mind since me and Li' Weapon finished our cereal this morning.

 

[velvett]

You know something - we don't always share the same point of view - but - I really do enjoy your posts.

 

[Weapon X]

Thanks, velvett! Right back atcha!
I'm just a guy trying to put together my own map of the universe.

 

[MoneyBags]

i say this shit all the time. they think they are being original and not conforming but they are conforming in the most pathetic way. bunch of fucking hippy types walking around campus before. i can tell when they look at me they are crying on the inside because they wish they could be like me.

 

[Weapon X]

Someone gave me a gray karma for this thread.WTF??!!

 

[mrbill]

don't worry weaponx...i just bumped you some good karma

 

[doc_pup]

Here's some karma for ya weaponx

 

[the nature boy]

D'ja ever notice how the people who most loudly denigrate others as "followers" and "sheep" are in fact extremely conformist themselves?

who's not a conformist? everybody conforms at some level. except for me. I am above all others in my superior intelligence, great looks, and modesty, therefore I do not need to conform.

 

[Lao Tzu]

read some books about memes and some books about knowledge of self and how to control them if you want real freedom. but you're always going to resemble someone.

 

[Weapon X]

Thanks, bros!

Hey nordstrom, recommend a coupla good intro books for studying Memes.
I am working on some brain reprogramming on some deep levels (ideally w/o drugs) via ritually-induced conciousness changes, and teh subject of memes would probably aid my research...

 

[Lao Tzu]

memetics is a new science (no one pays attention to it), and it has more to do with society as a whole rather than individual psychology. i would look into something by carl rogers or albert ellis if you want to redesign your personality.

virus of the mind - richard brodie

the the only good book i've read about it. blackmore's book wasn't too enthralling. and i haven't really seen any others on the subject that devoted more than a chapter to it. thought contagion was ok, but i read it 2 years ago so i barely remember.

http://directory.google.com/Top/Science/Social_Sciences/Memetics/

sadly, there aren't too many (that i have seen) books that take memes to a toooo intellectual level. fuck. i think blackmore, brodie & lynch are the only authors who actually have books about memes on the market. and most of the time they just focus on the pattern passing attribute instead of attempting to break a culture down into 300 or so interwoven memes with various psychological effects which result in one culture endorsing physical abuse against women & islamic control and another endorsing the opposite, etc. that would be an interesting read. to see a culture broken down to it's bare bones, then, just for fun, redesigning it.
i wish i could find a book that explained memes for what they are, the social equavilent of protein. protein is the smallest universal building block of organic matter & memes are the smallest building block of social matter.

i think that a real, valid understanding of yourself, an understanding of psychology, memetics & pharmacology can lead to a high degree of freedom if you want it too.

later

 

[Weapon X]

Thanks, nordy. I was, indeed, hoping for something that dealt with the topic on more of an individual level.
I don't know if you've studied Chaos Magick at all, but I think that is pointing me in some good directions. I know next to nothing about the pharmacology, though. And I wouldn't know how to go about procuring anything for that, anyway.

 

[Rex]

I have to look at those conformists on a day to day basis in school. I used to be quiet in class on political topics, but now they piss me off so bad that I question them and they don't understand what they're backing. They just think "its cool".

I've realized the following in school is "cool":

-The clothing combination of shorts, sweat shirt, and sandals.
Rex's take: If you're cold, then put on shoes, socks, and long pants. If you're hot, then take the sweater off.

-Not shaving.
Rex's take: Do you think that dirty sanchez dirt-stache makes you look older? It doesn't. As a matter of fact it makes you look younger. However if you can grow a legitimate goatee, then God speed.

-Going to South Street.
Rex's take: You fools. Just because you go to one street in Philadelphia, where hundreds of people can be found, for a day does not make you from Philly. Is there some mystique that the city gives you? If ya want to see hard then go into the neighborhoods. I work in one everyday, and my mom's house is still there. There's nothing amazing about a crack dealer and heroine dealer a block apart from one another. Except when they shoot one another, and the cess pool is cleaned out just a little.

-Systems
Rex's take: Why don't you invest in a quality car instead? Oh thats right it doesn't matter to you b/c mommy and daddy buy it for you on a whim anyway. Fucking spoiled brats.

 

[nycdefender]

WeaponX--here's some good karma for you. Apparently, some people can't stand to see the truth. Good observation, bro'.