Article: Why Being Anticonformity is Worse Than Conformity

[pleasurekatzen]

Why Being Anticonformity is Worse Than Comformity- cracked.com

Causing a buzz in some other communities, thought I'd toss it in here to see what the dgn thinks.

[Joey Deadcat]

[n0Mad]

"I want to be different, just like you." -The Alternative Credo

That article made a lot of sense and included thoughts I've had since high school, I just couldn't articulate them quite as well as the author. My favorite bit was:

If a bunch of you strive to be 180 degrees from something, you're all going to end up in the same spot. This wouldn't be a problem if you all just picked things you liked instead of trying to all be as different as possible from a specific target.

Kinda reminds me of the Tea Party.

That's why I hate all those discussion of what is and isn't goth. I know I'm not goth and I'm not trying to be goth. There are gothic elements in my life, but I just like what I like and don't what I don't. And it's why I love DGN get togethers like sushi night. We all have DGN in common and yeah, a few people show up wearing black, thick eyeliner, piercings and such but that is who they are. The rest of us also show up as who we are, some in suits, some in khakis and sweaters, some in rainbow socks ... We're all pretty much nonconformists, and that's cool. But yeah, anti-conformity is more annoying that conformity because in the former, you're actually making a conscious decision to be a loser whereas in the latter, you're just a loser.

[Destroit]

ROFL

Hence why I never saw goth as "anti-conformist". Preppy people would ask me about this all the time because as they see it, goth is about being anti-conformist. I always thought all that "down with the man!" rhetoric was kind of a punk thing, not goth, but that's not how the masses see it. But how could goths/rivetheads be anti-conformist if we all wear black, many have similar interests, and a huge chunk listen to the same music? I always explain that anyone in goth/rivethead subculture who does it to either be a rebel or to be an anti-conformist is in it for the wrong reason (i.e. a poser, in so many words or less). I'm in it because I'm a dark twisted mother fucker who likes listening to scary shit, being frightened and frightening others, absorbing all sorts of eerie shit, and living right outside of The Dark Fucking Apocalypse (i.e. Detroit, Michigan).

ROFL

Hence why I never saw goth as "anti-conformist". Preppy people would ask me about this all the time because as they see it, goth is about being anti-conformist. I always thought all that "down with the man!" rhetoric was kind of a punk thing, not goth, but that's not how the masses see it. But how could goths/rivetheads be anti-conformist if we all wear black, many have similar interests, and a huge chunk listen to the same music? I always explain that anyone in goth/rivethead subculture who does it to either be a rebel or to be an anti-conformist is in it for the wrong reason (i.e. a poser, in so many words or less). I'm in it because I'm a dark twisted mother fucker who likes listening to scary shit, being frightened and frightening others, absorbing all sorts of eerie shit, and living right outside of The Dark Fucking Apocalypse (i.e. Detroit, Michigan).

[phee]

[Destroit]

Probably the gothest line in the whole article: "No matter how different we are, we're all going to die one day."

Probably the gothest line in the whole article: "No matter how different we are, we're all going to die one day."

[st_masey]

IF whatever you are doing, or whoever you are, whether it be on the outside or inside, gets you laid... you are probably a conformist on some level.

[DJ Nocker]

IF whatever you are doing, or whoever you are, whether it be on the outside or inside, gets you laid... you are probably a conformist on some level.

hahaaaaaaaa

[DJ Nocker]

Hey...I have always said I am a terrible goth kid, lol.

[Destroit]

IF whatever you are doing, or whoever you are, whether it be on the outside or inside, gets you laid... you are probably a conformist on some level.

If you get laid you are clearly a conformist, copying off of all the people who have fucked before you.

If you don't get laid... :. Anti-conformity is not worth that much, come on now...

Sooo...does it work like integers in math?

Conformism + Conformism = Conformist

Conformism + Anti-Conformism = Anti-Conformist

Anti-Conformism + Anti-Conformism = Conformist

Conformism/0 = Hipsters or emos maybe?

If you get laid you are clearly a conformist, copying off of all the people who have fucked before you.

If you don't get laid... :. Anti-conformity is not worth that much, come on now...

Sooo...does it work like integers in math?

Conformism + Conformism = Conformist

Conformism + Anti-Conformism = Anti-Conformist

Anti-Conformism + Anti-Conformism = Conformist

Conformism/0 = Hipsters or emos maybe?

[Slogo]

"I don't wanna live in a third world country with all the conformists"

[Simon Bar Sinister]

[victoriavengeance (1)]

rofl. a favorite quote of mine, "Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everybody I've ever known."

Chuck Palahniuk, which for using that quote gives me +5 hipster points.

yeah, you all just saw that happen ;]

[FarrIL]

Another thing, and it's something my sister brought up after I recently lost my job... "You gotta let go of the Goth thing... you cant keep doing it."

I spoke up "Um, yes you can, and I'm not goth."

If we were all anti-conformists, we'd be jobless. A "gentle medium" is abiding by the rules and suggestions but also finding a way for it to suite you. I had to wear a uniform at Auntie Anne's, but at least they let me keep my piercings. In a corporate environment, I'm not sure my labret would be suitable, but I have a retainer for that. If my plugs are an issue, there's flesh-coloured ones I can purchase to hide the fact my ears are stretched. I'm not losing 'myself', I'm just making it more tasteful towards those who dont know or like it.

And there's a time and a place to be that, dress that way, listen to that music. The rest of the time, you do have to bite the bullet. Going to a club? Pull out that spiked collar! Going to work? Opt for the ankh necklace? Blast the music in your car, but bare through whatever plays on the company radio at work.

I personally am all for the gentle medium. I can abide by the dress code, just let me hunt a while and I'll find something that we both like.

[DJ Nocker]

to be frank, most of the people on this site, and in general usually only like 1, maybe 2 things about the goth culture, usually its the fashion statement...

[Slogo]

I'm not even goth...There's just a bunch of people on here that I'm friends with. I don't know what I am.

[Epic_Fail_Guy]

At this point in life, I don't even give a flying fuck what I am.

Popeye says It best, "I am what I am, and that's all that I am!"

[killyosaur]

IF whatever you are doing, or whoever you are, whether it be on the outside or inside, gets you laid... you are probably a conformist on some level.

Well if that is the case then I must be the most anti-conformist person on this forum!

[kat (1)]

I like certain things that are associated with goth culture and was labeled goth before I knew what the hell it even was.

If you met me and heard how I talked (mainly when I get hyped up about something), I could be labeled "hoodrat", that's also why I speak straight from my emotions, because growing up where I grew up, there was no basic "how's the weather talk", everyone I grew up with conversed like they were writing Tupac lyrics.

However, based on the type of work I used to do and hope to be doing again, I may be labeled a "hipster", I hate "hipsters", which means I hate myself (gotta love deductive reasoning),....and now I am goth again.

I hate labels, nobody fits perfectly into any classification.

Edited December 8, 2010 by kat

[n0Mad]

I thought about the part of the article where the author was discussing how all the anti-Twilight rants sound the same, "Vampires don't sparkle," and that falls into anti-conformity. However, Brahm Stoker pretty much set down the popular vampire mythos, and even outside of him, pretty much all the other mythos don't have sparkly vampires. So to not sparkle is conformity. Making a vampire sparkle just because she saw it in her dream and not really having a reason for it, is being different for the sake of being different and that would be anti-conformity. So, the argument that vampires don't sparkle is not anti-conformity, but rather conformity (anti-anti-comformity?). We want our vampires to conform to the mythos and they don't sparkle!

[Hellion]

Good example of non original cookie cutter conformist bs IMO.I'll pass,no thankyou!!

You'll find this in just about every sports bar around

[torn asunder]

[st_masey]

As far as I've seen, being goth isn't about conformity or non-conformity. It seems to be more about enjoying things for children and excusing that enjoyment by covering it in layers of black and anger.

[Destroit]

to be frank, most of the people on this site, and in general usually only like 1, maybe 2 things about the goth culture, usually its the fashion statement...

That's why I got sick of a lot of the CC crowd, because you knew that even though so many wanted to dress up like it the actual tastes and genuine attitude didn't seem to be there to back it up.

That's why I got sick of a lot of the CC crowd, because you knew that even though so many wanted to dress up like it the actual tastes and genuine attitude didn't seem to be there to back it up.

[Joey Deadcat]