It’s ironic that people who “don’t fit in” with one group will find a new group, and morph to fit in there. They were never the “cool kids,” so they created a new “cool kids.” And just like the “cool kids,” they’ll do whatever it takes to maintain their status within this group. They peg their identity to this group, and where the group goes, they go.
The need to belong leads to the need to agree. This becomes dangerous when truth or your own instincts take a back seat to the group’s ideas. You sacrifice your own growth to be part of a whole. If you are willing to accept ludicrous ideas in order to avoid being cast out, that makes you a very dangerous person. Suddenly, everyone who disagrees or offers valid criticism of your sacred cow is your enemy; and it’s pretty easy to do evil things to an enemy.
When you slip, the insecure group will make your mistake very well known. I’ve seen people fall victim to circumstance; maybe a mistake, maybe a false accusation. I’ve seen vipers sink their fangs into those who they called friends in order to save their own skin, to preserve their place within the group. These snakes are the same people who can’t handle criticism, challenge, or questions. The victims are often so distraught by this that they try to beg their way back into acceptance. The insecure dogmatic needs to rejoin so badly that he’ll cut the limbs off of his own identity to do so, knowing full well that the vipers will strike again at the slightest provocation.
Fuck the group and their stupid dogmas. You are the only person on planet Earth who has seen what you have seen and lived what you have lived. Your values and beliefs were formed by your own experiences, which are unique to you, and should be worn proudly. You, and you alone, know what is best for you. Anyone who expects you to believe as they do does not have your best interests in mind. When the vipers turn against the individual, the individual walks away. The individual finds new people with whom his interests overlap in the great Venn diagram of life. That’s the nice thing about not fitting in: you can not fit in anywhere.
Stay Dangerous, My Friends,
-RJ
SPUD UNDERGROUND IS BETTER IN PRINT.
Issue 8 isn’t available anymore, but you can get it as part of
Spud media 