Why the world is... (General Question)

NapoleonD · July 21st, 2006 04:15 AM

So people this is my first time postage, why does the majority of the world need to feel accepted in society? Where is individualality?

I'm being over the top, but I rarely see individuals being themselves in my world, they either try impress people or to follow drilled in thoughts and values of certain societies... I don't want to be famous or be well known by masses of people, all I want to see is people willing to be themselves and have an open mind about the world... I see so much out there, yet people are so ignorant and so scared to face realitity they just do what they are told?

Excuse me, but has the free world lost its balls to speak out? All this violence and war going on? Is it purely for ultimate peace or is it just for profit/oil/control or is it to show who has the biggest pennis???

Please feel free to tell me to F*#k off or say what you feel! I am in my early 20s not much experience in the world. But F*#k BIG BROTHER who is watching over us!!!

P.S. I'm not a anti-social or anti-government, I just want REALNESS People!!! peace!

blissed · July 21st, 2006 04:49 AM

Fuck off

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blissed · July 21st, 2006 04:50 AM

Just kidding Hi NepoleonD, Yeah, theres definitely a case for a much less masculine attitude to governing the world. Witness the famous words by a certain well known fool "bring it on !!!!" Welcome to the boards

.

Belgareth · July 21st, 2006 05:37 AM

NapoleonD wrote:

So people this is my first time postage, why does the majority of the world need to feel accepted in society? Where is individualality?
I'm being over the top, but I rarely see individuals being themselves in my world, they either try impress people or to follow drilled in thoughts and values of certain societies... I don't want to be famous or be well known by masses of people, all I want to see is people willing to be themselves and have an open mind about the world... I see so much out there, yet people are so ignorant and so scared to face realitity they just do what they are told?
Excuse me, but has the free world lost its balls to speak out? All this violence and war going on? Is it purely for ultimate peace or is it just for profit/oil/control or is it to show who has the biggest pennis???
Please feel free to tell me to F*#k off or say what you feel! I am in my early 20s not much experience in the world. But F*#k BIG BROTHER who is watching over us!!!
P.S. I'm not a anti-social or anti-government, I just want REALNESS People!!! peace!

Welcome to the forum!

I support the essence of your post but there are a few anomalies in it.
Most violence and war is initiated by individuals or nations "speaking out" for what they believe is right i.e. for their individuality. I would say that those individuals (or nations), by your definition, have balls but not many would agree with the statement.

It isn't necessary to buck society to be a REAL person. Everyone has the right to their own opinion but it is not always appropriate to voice that opinion in away that may be offensive, because others may not see the world as you do. This is true whether you are average Joe Public, Politician, Religious Leader or Tin God.

pia · July 21st, 2006 11:18 AM

NapoleonD wrote:

So people this is my first time postage, why does the majority of the world need to feel accepted in society? Where is individualality?
I'm being over the top, but I rarely see individuals being themselves in my world, they either try impress people or to follow drilled in thoughts and values of certain societies... I don't want to be famous or be well known by masses of people, all I want to see is people willing to be themselves and have an open mind about the world... I see so much out there, yet people are so ignorant and so scared to face realitity they just do what they are told?
Excuse me, but has the free world lost its balls to speak out? All this violence and war going on? Is it purely for ultimate peace or is it just for profit/oil/control or is it to show who has the biggest pennis???
Please feel free to tell me to F*#k off or say what you feel! I am in my early 20s not much experience in the world. But F*#k BIG BROTHER who is watching over us!!!
P.S. I'm not a anti-social or anti-government, I just want REALNESS People!!! peace!

Hello NapoleonD welcome to the forumn mate

Contrary to your experience of the world where you rarely see people being themselves, I reckon I come in contact with many people who are being themselves and are open minded and being real. Maybe you are hanging out in the wrong circles.

Having said that, from my experience of the world son far, it is bullshit to try and be individual a different all the time. I mean we are people each of us has our own individual will, our little quirks and qualities that make us different from the next person but essentially we are all pretty similar in our needs and a part of a bigger world ... like little drops in the ocean.

You know alot of the people who are trying to be different and "open minded" actually seem more narrow minded to me ie. Hippies .. not all of them of course (I have lots of great hippy friends) but many of them are all about advocating peace and free love but they often seem to have such strong judgements of other people and of the world in general. Yep it pisses me off incase anyone didn't picke up on that

Of course people want to feel accepted in society, since the ... well since as far back in time as I know about, people have been hanging around in tribes and having common customs that make living together easier. I think it is only today that peoploe are getting all obsessed with individualism, everyone suddenly wants to be different and special and famous on myspace. I think if people were more content to be an ordinary person and accept that maybe they are pretty similar to every other person in the world, then we could all relax and be ourselves much more happily and easily.

oooh I sound a bit tetchy don't I

xox

pia · July 21st, 2006 11:45 AM

I just want to add that by ordinary I dont mean boring and homogeneous.
I'm not at all for conforming to the norm of societies nor to anyones expectations of me.
I guess what I really meant to say is that to me it seems silly to go againts those norms and expectations just for the sake of it.

I think Belgareth already said something similar to what I meant to say and in a much more concise and elequent way then I managed.

I think maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.

xoxoxox

catt · July 21st, 2006 12:52 PM

pia wrote:

You know alot of the people who are trying to be different and "open minded" actually seem more narrow minded to me ie. Hippies .. not all of them of course (I have lots of great hippy friends) but many of them are all about advocating peace and free love but they often seem to have such strong judgements of other people and of the world in general. Yep it pisses me off incase anyone didn't picke up on that

Huh...I have a similar attitude to 'hippies', Pia. I adore the Hippy Ethic (not to mention the food), but a staggering proportion of hippies I've met have been very much of the "what is yours is mine" stance - which basically means that they can eat all your food and use all your stuff, and you're a fascist pig if you eventually tell them to "bugger off and get your own, you scabby, filthy parasite". And the preachiness wears thin after a while, too...it's easy enough to rant on with regurgitated horrible and depressing facts about the state of the world, but getting stoned on the couch every morning sure ain't helping. That being said, all they need do is shower once a day and bring me falafels in bed to remain on my good side.

xxCattxx

SCSIgirl · July 21st, 2006 01:15 PM

Belgareth wrote:

Welcome to the forum!
I support the essence of your post but there are a few anomalies in it.
Most violence and war is initiated by individuals or nations "speaking out" for what they believe is right i.e. for their individuality. I would say that those individuals (or nations), by your definition, have balls but not many would agree with the statement.
It isn't necessary to buck society to be a REAL person. Everyone has the right to their own opinion but it is not always appropriate to voice that opinion in away that may be offensive, because others may not see the world as you do. This is true whether you are average Joe Public, Politician, Religious Leader or Tin God.

Again, Bel states it with more elegancy that I ever could.

blissed · July 21st, 2006 09:24 PM

I might be wrong but I think this is at the root of what NepoleonD is trying to say. At one time people simply had to conform. But now what is the most acceptable is that people have a range of "lifstyles" to choose from, be it hippy or military or more finely tuned like goth or whatever. and to a greater or lesser extent a lot of people seem to conform to those lifestyles even to the point of enfranchisement. I once stayed in a house in Bath with 2 couples for a while who considered themselves to be hippy and one of the guys was into health food and charting his intake of different nutrients and would condemn the use of chemicals on the land and in food as much as I do, but then in the evening he'd go tripping on chemical narcotics because that was in his lifestyle and all part of the franchise. I think since I haven't had a TV that has made me a lot less likely to think in this way, because TV conditions your mind by re-enforcing someone else's values and giving them licence simply because they're broadcast to a lot of people and that influence is constant and quite subliminal. Right now I turn on the internet and right from the start of the day, every day I have my own agenda which I find a lot more comfortable. Ooh I hope thats not a big rant. Just giving everyone the benefit of my insightfulness

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alisha_x · July 22nd, 2006 06:02 AM

And very insightful it is hun

I consider myself an individual - in fact i try to consider everyone individually as an individual - but groups of people as groups - erm how to explain this..

think about a blade of grass - its colour - its shape, length, the shadow it casts how much it sways in the wind - its an individual -

think about a football pitch - its a pitch and you assume all the grass is the same

Otherwise you would have to process every blade of grass every time you looked at the field as it is constantly changing...

Somehow that explains it - basically I think everyone is an individual even if they would rather not be and expressing their not wanting to be an individual is as much an epression of their own individualism as -ironically- they would like it not to be...

I will stop now - heat has got to my head again....

blissed · July 22nd, 2006 06:18 AM

alisha_x wrote:

I think everyone is an individual even if they would rather not be and expressing their not wanting to be an individual is as much an epression of their own individualism as -ironically- they would like it not to be...

Ha ha I love that I know what your saying and it's true, it just sounds pretty funny

.

Belgareth · July 22nd, 2006 07:01 AM

catt wrote:

Huh...I have a similar attitude to 'hippies', Pia. I adore the Hippy Ethic (not to mention the food), but a staggering proportion of hippies I've met have been very much of the "what is yours is mine" stance - which basically means that they can eat all your food and use all your stuff, and you're a fascist pig if you eventually tell them to "bugger off and get your own, you scabby, filthy parasite". And the preachiness wears thin after a while, too...it's easy enough to rant on with regurgitated horrible and depressing facts about the state of the world, but getting stoned on the couch every morning sure ain't helping. That being said, all they need do is shower once a day and bring me falafels in bed to remain on my good side.
xxCattxx

Catt, I'm behind you 100% on the hippy ethic but sadly it has been perturbed to the state where it is no longer recognisable. I can't remember a dirty hippy and they would freely give you anything they owned, without expectation of recompense.

catt · July 22nd, 2006 11:49 PM

Belgareth wrote:

Catt, I'm behind you 100% on the hippy ethic but sadly it has been perturbed to the state where it is no longer recognisable. I can't remember a dirty hippy and they would freely give you anything they owned, without expectation of recompense.

That's the thing, hon - these days, it's all too convenient to label yourself without adhering to or practicing the associated ethic. And this topic for me is straying dangerously close to a rant on religion, which is something I feel way too strongly about to messy up the forums with. I also am sounding like an old "I Remember The Days" fart, so let's just leave this there.

Hey...who likes licorice!?

xxCattxx

jackscratch · July 23rd, 2006 12:25 PM

This is amusing - why do we find the need to label? I certainly do it too, particularly when I'm feeling the need to typecast someone..."ah, he/she's just a stupid (insert stereotype here)".

In my business circles I'm often called a hippy type, probably because I choose to try eat lower on the food pyramid and ride my bike instead of drive a car whenever I can.

Last night I was walking downtown and some dude begging for spare change shouted "yuppie!" (haven't heard that one in a while) maybe because I was dressed in a certain way or chose to not give him money?

And I certainly wouldn't be considered a hippy by my more flowery friends because I don't wear patchouli oil, I love to eat and stay in nice places and probably make too much money (which certainly isn't a lot, just more than most of my hang loose friends).

If I wear black does that make me a goth or a middle aged dork trying to look young or do I just like to sometimes wear black?

Not long ago I was surfing with a friend in Mexico, he's a total mix of ancesteries - Greek, Mexican, Italian, Hawaiian - and is super dark complected with kinky hair. We were out in the water in the lineup and some Mexican bradahs next to us said in spanish - "don't worry about the whitey and the nigger, we'll just snake their waves". My buddy paddled over to them and in perfect spanish said, "I don't think so amigo, you can wait your turn. And by the way, my mom grew up in the next village down the road." Their jaws dropped open while they mumbled an apology...needless to say we had no further problems.

This individuality thing is funny too. I certainly prefer to think of myself as an individual, I chose individual pursuits and like to think that I'm unique and hang out with many different types of people but don't consider myself to entirely fit in any one type. But I don't like long periods with non like minded people, I grow bored and judgemental and can't wait to be with my own "kind". Am I really an individual or do I just like to think I'm one?

Most of my Asian friends (ones who actually are born and raised in Asia, not US/western born) view this individuality thing as way over rated - in fact, it's not all that desireable to be an individual, but instead to fit in and be part of the tribe, supporting it, striving to contribute and do the best you can, regardless of whether your profession is CEO or shit handler. They find it amusing if not confusing as to why so many westerners put so much emphasis on individuality, why would anyone want to be outside of society and not part of everything else?

So my point is, most types are really only how we try to make sense of the world, and they rapidly fall apart as we get to know ourselves and each other - our perceptions guide our thinking but are really very fragile and based on faulty logic. And few of us are really individuals, most of us strive to be accepted and loved by people we deem important.

Belgareth · July 23rd, 2006 07:28 PM

catt wrote:

Hey...who likes licorice!?
xxCattxx

Ah! Now - is that old-fashioned licorice, or the garbage they sell now ;-)

Sorry, Catt - I couldn't resist it.

paintjam · July 23rd, 2006 10:06 PM

NapoleonD wrote:

So people this is my first time postage, why does the majority of the world need to feel accepted in society? Where is individualality?
I'm being over the top, but I rarely see individuals being themselves in my world, they either try impress people or to follow drilled in thoughts and values of certain societies... I don't want to be famous or be well known by masses of people, all I want to see is people willing to be themselves and have an open mind about the world... I see so much out there, yet people are so ignorant and so scared to face realitity they just do what they are told?
Excuse me, but has the free world lost its balls to speak out? All this violence and war going on? Is it purely for ultimate peace or is it just for profit/oil/control or is it to show who has the biggest pennis???
Please feel free to tell me to F*#k off or say what you feel! I am in my early 20s not much experience in the world. But F*#k BIG BROTHER who is watching over us!!!
P.S. I'm not a anti-social or anti-government, I just want REALNESS People!!! peace!

hello young napleonD

well as i do agree with 'blissed' and feel that women should be running more of the world, the reality of the worlds ways (for now) dictates otherwise.

i think that perhaps the vast majority of humans on this planet, out of choice or not, are kinda herded along in their thinking and actions.

those that would love to make a difference are usually too few in numbers to do so.

lately it seems that wars and other atrocities are being commited for profitable reasons (like the one that we are in). but some, like the current unrest in the middle east (why do they call it the middle east, why not the middle west, i mean their customs are more western?), it is simply due to deeply rooted hatred for one another that i fear will never go away.

the world has not 'lost its balls' to speak out, but those 'balls' have definitely gotten smaller it seems.

jamie

jackscratch · July 24th, 2006 07:05 AM

Yo. Here's my take, perhaps at risk of being ostracized and labelled a misogynist.

Much as I'd like to think that if women were in charge and that perhaps there would be more collaboration and willingness to talk, negotiate, and think of the future instead of bomb the shit out of our enemies, I don't see much evidence to support it.

And granted there has not been a lot of evidence to generalize from, but Margaret Thatcher, Imelda Marcos and Elena Cecescau I don't believe will go down in history as loving humanitarians.

Don't misunderstand me, I strongly support women in power, if for no other reason than because they represent at minimum half the people on this planet, but also because they certainly could do no worse than their male counterparts, probably even better. It makes no sense for females to not be heads of state and ceo's. The US is long past due to have a female president.

But I tend to think it a bit naieve that it's the solution to the current mess in world politics.

Anecdotely, I work with many women who are in positions of power, and I've seen the full gamut of personalities and approaches, just like men. Some can hold opposing ideas in parallel to consider the best solution, some are driven by overdeveloped egos, some want to win at any cost, and some just want to make the world a better place.

Actually, I think MOST people want to make the world a better place, even George Bush. And much as I'd like to believe that Bush and his crazies are evil incarnate, I'm sure they too think they're doing the right thing.

I haven't met many people who wake up in the morning and think "how badly can I screw the world up today". I think they just become clouded in their thinking and draw poor conclusions, which sadly has catastrophic impact. Ciao, JS

blissed · July 25th, 2006 12:41 AM

NapolreonD, it's about time you posted and told us how wise we are

.

NapoleonD · July 27th, 2006 01:44 AM

Thanks for all the input from everyone! I much appreciate all your comments and Thanx for the welcomes!

The reason why a started this topic is to gain a broader understanding of human behaviour and sociology. I guess, I am at still at a age were pressure to conform to certain trends are important for some people to feel accepted amoung society. This is pure based on my own subjective view on my interactions with the people surrounding my geographic location. I do agree that people do need to feel acceptance from their peers and groups, it has been part of lives since the apes dudes. At times i get bored and tired of seening the same thing over and over again but thanx you lovely people I now understand the human psyche a little bit more. I just feel the need for greater interaction from a greater diverse groups/people!

The world could sometimes take a step back, and look at the situation from all points of view before making a detrimental decision. I do agree to that diversity puts spice into world and all for equal opportunity, but the current media conditions are too manipulative in forming peoples lives...

Thanx again for all the insightful comments and thoughts, Its is always interesting hearing people view on things, cheers! (Sorry it took so long for a reply)...
Feel free to continue to add comments!!! AND YOU ALL ARE WISE!!! Masters!! (",)

catt · July 28th, 2006 11:02 AM

NapoleonD wrote:

Thanks for all the input from everyone! I much appreciate all your comments and Thanx for the welcomes!
The reason why a started this topic is to gain a broader understanding of human behaviour and sociology. I guess, I am at still at a age were pressure to conform to certain trends are important for some people to feel accepted amoung society. This is pure based on my own subjective view on my interactions with the people surrounding my geographic location. I do agree that people do need to feel acceptance from their peers and groups, it has been part of lives since the apes dudes. At times i get bored and tired of seening the same thing over and over again but thanx you lovely people I now understand the human psyche a little bit more. I just feel the need for greater interaction from a greater diverse groups/people!
The world could sometimes take a step back, and look at the situation from all points of view before making a detrimental decision. I do agree to that diversity puts spice into world and all for equal opportunity, but the current media conditions are too manipulative in forming peoples lives...
Thanx again for all the insightful comments and thoughts, Its is always interesting hearing people view on things, cheers! (Sorry it took so long for a reply)...
Feel free to continue to add comments!!! AND YOU ALL ARE WISE!!! Masters!! (",)

Uh, not entirely relevant, but...best. icon. ever.

xxCattxx

#1 July 21st, 2006 04:15 AM

Why the world is... (General Question)

#2 July 21st, 2006 04:49 AM

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#3 July 21st, 2006 04:50 AM

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#4 July 21st, 2006 05:37 AM

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#13 July 22nd, 2006 11:49 PM

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#14 July 23rd, 2006 12:25 PM

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